NEW YORK: The global rights watchdog, Human Rights Watch (HRW), has said that a crackdown on protests in occupied Kashmir beginning in July 2016 killed over 90 people and injured hundreds, fueling further discontent against Indian forces.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the HRW in its 'World Report 2017' said that protests erupted in July 2016 after the killing of Burhan Wani and two other members of Hizbul Mujahideen in occupied Kashmir.
It said that in all, over 90 protesters were killed and hundreds of others were injured. The report said that the Indian Central Reserve Police Force, a paramilitary unit, defended the use of shot guns that fired pellets and resulted in hundreds of eye injuries, even as it told the Jammu Kashmir High Court that “it was difficult to follow the standard operating procedure given the nature of the protests”.
It said that at least 32 schools were burned down and several were taken over by Indian paramilitary forces that set up temporary camps inside.
The HRW report also mentioned that in August 2016, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein, expressed regret at the failure of Indian authorities to grant his office access to occupied Kashmir for a fact-finding visit.
