The Members of the British Parliament have reiterated their concerns over the ‘fake encounters’ in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), and demanded the Indian authorities to ensure independent and transparent inquiries into the killings of Kashmiri civilians by the security forces.
In a fresh letter addressed to the Indian High Commission to the UK Gaitri Issar Kumar and also endorsed by 28 other MPs, the Labour MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth Debbie Abrahams sought an update on the welfare of the detained Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez.
Khurram Parvez, who is the Program Coordinator of Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), was arrested last month in Srinagar by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) after the JKCCS criticized the Indian security forces for allegedly killing civilians during a controversial shootout with alleged rebels in Srinagar.
The letter mentioned that over the last two years, nearly 2,500 Kashmiris have been detained under the Unlawful Activities Preventions Act, which allows detention without charge for months.
It also voiced concerns over the alarming reports regarding the recent so-called ‘fake encounters’, where alleged terrorists have been killed by Indian armed forces and/or police but in fact have been found to be civilians.
The British Parliamentarians also expressed their distrust in the Magisterial Inquiries into the killing of killings of civilians in Kashmir by the Indian security forces.
They mentioned that since 2008, 108 magisterial probes have been ordered in Kashmir in the aftermath of violent incidents; however, neither any of the reports of inquiries have been made public nor has a single person been convicted.
