Srinagar: Over 5,400 children have gone missing in the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir from 2016 to 2022, with over 1,500 still unaccounted for, according to recent data.

The Kashmir Media Service reported that in 2016 alone, 1,070 children were missing, consisting of 589 boys. The following year, 725 children were reported missing, with 431 boys and 294 girls. In 2018, 800 children went missing, including 384 boys and 416 girls.

The trend continued in 2019, with 661 children reported missing, comprising 306 boys and 355 girls. In 2020, 627 children were reported missing, with 277 boys and 350 girls. The year 2021 saw 723 children go missing, including 280 boys and 443 girls. In 2022, 821 children were reported missing, with 319 boys and 502 girls.

Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas, the spokesman for the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, expressed concern over the rising number of missing children. He attributed the disappearances to actions by the Indian Army and its agencies, claiming they pick up children during cordon and search operations and later sell them inside India.

Minhas further stated that many children leave their homes due to frustration from frequent raids by the Indian Army and paramilitary forces, as well as the poor treatment of inmates, including children.