Amnesty International demands investigation into extrajudicial killing of three Kashmiris in IIOJK

Prominent human rights watchdog Amnesty International on Thursday demanded an independent and transparent investigation into the extrajudicial killing of three Kashmiris by Indian forces in Shopian area of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

“Amnesty International calls for the extrajudicial execution to be investigated and prosecuted by independent civilian authorities. Civilian investigations and trials offer a degree of transparency and independence that is missing from the military justice system,” said Executive Director of Amnesty International India, Avinash Kumar in a statement.

The Amnesty statement said that the UN Human Rights Committee, which monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), has stated that in cases of human rights violations by Indian forces, investigations should be carried out by civilian authorities to ensure independence.

On July 18, Indian army martyred three cousins in the Amshipora village of Shopian district in southern Kashmir, declaring them “militants”.

Earlier, Pakistan had strongly condemned the extra-judicial killings of three Kashmiri labourers from Rajouri by the Indian occupation forces in a fake encounter in Shopian region of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson said.

The FO spokesperson, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, said that over 200 innocent Kashmiris have been martyred by the Indian occupation forces.

The statement read, “India’s efforts to subjugate the Kashmiri people through killings, torture, forced disappearances, incarcerations and brutalization have failed in the past and will not succeed in the future. Nor will India succeed in bringing illegal and forcible demographic changes in IIOJK in violation of international law and conventions.”