Muzaffarabad: Speakers at two seminars expressed serious concern over the denial of justice to the victims of the Kunanposhpora mass rape in Kupwara district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

According to a statement by Kashmir Media Service, the seminars were organized by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) chapter at Fatima Jinnah Postgraduate College and Saheeli Sarkar Girls College in Muzaffarabad, marking the 34th anniversary of the horrific Kunanposhpora mass rape incident.

The seminars were addressed by APHC-AJK General Secretary Parvaiz Ahmed Shah, and leaders Shameem Shawl, Zahid Ashraf, Uzair Ahmed Ghazali, and Mushtaq ul Islam. The speakers expressed grave concern over the severe human rights violations being perpetrated by Indian forces in IIOJK.

The speakers said the Indian government along with the judiciary and the army failed to punish the troops involved in the tragedy despite having ample evidence. Citing the BBC documentary and the book ‘Do You Remember Kunan-Poshpora’ on the tragic event, the speakers said there was ample evidence to prove that Indian troops were involved in the horrific incident. However, the perpetrators remain free to this day.

They criticized the Indian Army’s impunity, bolstered by black laws, which made a mockery of justice in the name of national interest, depriving thousands of Kashmiri women of their rights to justice. The speakers called upon the international human rights organizations to take cognizance of the increasing atrocities, injustice, and human rights violations in IIOJK.

They urged the international community to pressure India to repeal the black laws, release all illegally detained Hurriyat leaders and activists, and put pressure on India to resolve the Kashmir dispute.

The speakers also paid rich tributes to the Kashmiri martyrs and appealed to the UN to compel India to stop violating international laws in IIOJK.

It is important to note that, on the unnerving night of February 22-23, 1991, around 100 Kashmiri women were gang-raped by Indian forces personnel during a cordon and search operation in the Kunanposhpora area of Kupwara district. The Indian troops and their commanders involved in this tragic incident have yet to be held accountable.

Meanwhile, the jailed APHC General Secretary, Molvi Bashir Ahmed, in a message from the IIOJK jail, termed the mass rape of Kashmiri women as a disgrace to so-called Indian democracy. He added that India was denying access to international human rights organizations in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and stated that Kashmiri women were being used as a weapon of war.