Staff Reporter Islamabad
The forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir, in its latest report, has highlighted that the people in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) are suffering from a lack of habeas corpus, illegal detentions and killings.
In its second report, the Forum, which comprises an informal group of concerned citizens, has noted that denials of the right to bail and fair and speedy trial remain, coupled with misuse of draconian legislation, such as the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), to stifle dissent. The Forum for Human Rights in Jammu & Kashmir, an independent body co-chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B Lokur and former Kashmir interlocutor Radha Kumar, has released a report on the rights situation in IIOJK and said that “most violations continued even after 18 months” of abrogation of the special status.
It pointed out that arbitrary detentions continue, public assembly is still prohibited under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (CrPC) and hundreds, including minors and several elected legislators of Jammu and Kashmir, remain under preventive detention. “A new category of ‘protective’ detention has been introduced in the recently concluded district development polls,” the report said.
The report says that J&K’s industries “still reel under the dual impact of the lockdown and the COVID-19 pandemic, pushing the majority into loan defaults or even closure”. “Unemployment in J&K is 16.6 percent, almost twice that in the rest of India; healthcare is still restricted; and the local and regional media have not regained what little independence they had,” the report said.
