New Delhi: The government must ensure a prompt, independent and impartial investigation into the recent unlawful killings of civilians by armed groups in Kashmir, Amnesty International India said on Friday. The human rights watchdog said the Indian authorities must take urgent steps for the protection of the people of Kashmir. For decades, people of Jammu and Kashmir have suffered from gross human rights violations and abuses committed by both state and non-state actors.
The sheer impunity with which the human rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been systematically disregarded by Indian authorities must end if we are to fulfil the rights of victims and help ensure that such abuses against civilians are not repeated," said Aakar Patel, chair of Amnesty International India Board, in a statement. The rights body demanded a prompt, independent, and impartial investigation into the recent unlawful killings of civilians by armed groups in Kashmir.
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The spate of targeted killings, including of both Hindus and Muslims, by militants in Kashmir started in May this year. Scores of Kashmiri Pandits, employed under the prime minister's package in 2012, staged protests threatened mass exodus after the killing of Rahul Bhat. Bhat's killing sparked demonstrations by around 6,000 Kashmiri Pandit employees at various places. They demanded they be relocated outside the Valley. (PTI)
