NEW DELHI: Amnesty International India (AII) on Thursday told authorities to carry out “effective, independent and impartial” investigations into an encounter in India Occupied Kashmir’s (IoK) Kulgam area on Sunday which left at least 14 people dead.
AII Executive Director Aakar Patel said, “What transpired in the aftermath of the Kulgam encounter is unfortunate and could have been avoided had the authorities taken extra caution to ensure that civilians would have access to the area only after proper sanitisation of the encounter site was done.”
“In case of any direct or indirect violence between security forces and armed groups, extra caution should be exercised to ensure that civilians in the area do not become collateral damage. Safety of the civilian population should be of paramount importance.”
It was further reported that Amnesty “urged the authorities to ensure all those responsible for the incident are brought to justice for their failure to protect the human rights of the population” of IoK.
Following the incident, Pakistan strongly condemned the violence in Kulgam and said that it had repeatedly called for resolving the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal during a weekly press briefing on Thursday claimed that “Indian forces had killed 20 unarmed Kashmiris,” adding that “Pakistan stands with the families of Kashmiris”.
On October 21, a large number of demonstrators, some hurling stones, marched on a village in Kulgam where Indian government forces were fighting with an unknown number of suspected Kashmiri fighters.
In the crossfire, three suspects were shot dead but a subsequent explosion at the scene killed five demonstrators. A sixth civilian injured in the explosion later died at a hospital in Srinagar.
Indian forces also fired shotgun pellets and tear gas at the protesters, leaving at least 30 injured.
After years of peaceful protest, more and more Kashmiris are once again picking up arms as the Indian authorities have refused to consider their demand for the right to self-determination. India has some 500,000 troops deployed in IoK.
This year at least 186 armed Kashmiris, 80 anti-Indian protesters and 75 Indian forces personnel have died in clashes across IHK.