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Kashmir Violence Escalates

April 17, 2017 | Expert Insights

A 17-year-old teen has now been added to the list of people who have died at the hands of the paramilitary officers deployed in Kashmir as the unrest enters its 28th year. Violence is only expected to increase over the following months even though overall counts of death has reduced since 2000.

History of armed forces in Kashmir

After the ministership of Sheikh Abdullah and external threats from Pakistan the Indian government has deployed scores of troops, from the late 1980’s, to control the growing insurgency in the disputed area of Kashmir. Internal disturbances began to ravage the state under the influence of terrorist outfits, such as the Mujahideen and Lakshar-e-Toiba, whose infamous leaders sparked dissent between the state and the people.

Currently there are four security forces operating in the state of Jammu and Kashmir: The Army, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Forces (BSF) and the state police.

Although the Indian government has not confirmed the actual number of deployed armed personnel, it is estimated that there are over 60,000 forces distributed across various districts of the state.

Why is the Armed Forces (Jammu & Kashmir) Special Powers Act (AFSPA) a disputed matter?

The Armed Forces (Jammu & Kashmir) Special Powers Act of 1990 grant special powers to both commissioned and decommissioned officers of the armed services that has been challenged in courts since 1997. The Supreme Court had upheld the ruling wherein powers given to the army were not “unconstitutional” or “arbitrary”.

By using Kashmir’s classification as a “disturbed area,” many acts of violence committed by army personnel, including the tendentious ‘enforced disappearance,’ can only be tried in military courts.

The upsurge in violence in the “disturbed area” has brought greater international inspection of the matter. The Act itself has been criticized by several independent UN Special Rapporteurs such as Rasheeda Manjoo who maintains that the Act “allows for the overriding of due process rights and nurtures a climate of impunity and a culture of both fear and resistance by citizens.”

What are the human right violations committed by the army?

Amidst by-elections, which saw a mere 8% voter turnout, there were reported clashes between the army and civilians. In response to protests and stone throwing, the army used pellets and tear gas as crowd control, critically injuring many in the process.

Amnesty International and Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCSS) have released annual reports that both account for gross human rights violations on unarmed civilians including, but not restricted to, sexual violence, illegal detentions, torture, arson and extrajudicial killings. More recently, there has been unverified video footage showing a shawl maker, tied to the front of an army vehicle, being used as a human shield.

What are the possible future outcomes?

The UN has been called upon by the two nuclear armed parties to the conflict for immediate intervention. It would be cultural mortification for India and Pakistan to give up the state to the other party. The lack of cohesion among people and a strong foundation for a new government to be built upon, the possibility of providing autonomous power to the entire state is also not practicable. The failure of electoral processes within the state proves the uncertainty of a plebiscite in the near future.

In an attempt to control growing separatist unrest, the use of security personnel has, according to many Kashmiris, done more harm than good. Now the insurgency is homegrown. The future course of events that may transpire has been deliberated upon by critics who uphold the UN Rapporteur view of an immediate repeal of AFSPA.