Justice continues to elude the victims of Kunanposhpora mass rape despite the passing of over three decades in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Indian troops gang-raped around 100 Kashmiri women of all ages from eight-year-old girls to eighty years old women during a cordon and search operation in Kunanposhpora area of Kupwara district on the night of February 23, 1991.
Thirty-three years have passed since the Kunanposhpora mass rape occurred but the victims are still awaiting justice while the troops involved in the heinous crime are roaming free, Kashmir Media Service report said, today, on the completion of thirty-three years to the tragic incident. It said that the memories of Kunanposhpora mass rape are still alive in the minds of the Kashmiri people.
The report pointed out that Indian troops have raped, gang-raped and molested 11,263 women in IIOJK since January 1989 till date. It said, the impunity given by India to its troops under draconian laws is the main reason behind the Kunanposhpora-like tragedies.
“Kunanposhpora mass rape is a glaring example of Indian troops’ brutalities in IIOJK. It is a blot on the so-called democratic face of India, which is using rape of women as an instrument of state terrorism in IIOJK. Kunanposhpora tragedy is a proof of institutionalized violence being used by India and the war crimes perpetrated by Indian troops in Kashmir,” it said.
The report maintained that India was employing rape as a military tactic to humiliate the Kashmiris and break their resolve for freedom from its subjugation.
It said that New Delhi must be pressurized to reopen Kunanposhpora mass rape case to bring perpetrators to book. India must be held accountable for the heinous crimes by its troops against the Kashmiris, it added.—KMS
