Human rights abuses in Kashmir have been perpetrated by various belligerents in the territories controlled by both
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
since the two countries'
conflict over the region began with
their first war in 1947–1948, shortly after the
partition of British India
The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Pakistan is the Islam ...
. The organized breaches of fundamental human rights in
Kashmir
Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
are tied to the contested territorial status of the region, over which India and Pakistan have fought
multiple wars. More specifically, the issue pertains to abuses committed
in Indian-administered Kashmir (comprising the territories of
Jammu and Kashmir and
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...
) and
in Pakistani-administered Kashmir (comprising the territories of
Azad Jammu and Kashmir
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir ( ), is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee:
*
*
* and constituting the western portion of the larger ...
and
Gilgit–Baltistan).
Indian-administered Kashmir
Incidents near the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan
The
Line of Control
The Line of Control (LoC) is a military control line between the Indian and Pakistanicontrolled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir—a line which does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary, but ser ...
(LOC) is a military control line between Indian and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir. The line does not constitute a legally international boundary but it is a
de facto border, designated in 1948 as a cease-fire line, it divided Kashmir into two parts and closed the Jehlum valley route, the only entrance of the
Kashmir Valley
The Kashmir Valley, also known as the Vale of Kashmir, is an intermontane valley in northern Jammu and Kashmir, a region in Indian-administered Kashmir.(a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcont ...
. This territorial division which, to this day still exists severed many villages and separated family members from each other.
The
landmines
A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whic ...
planted by the
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
alongsides of the line have killed scores of innocent people and left thousands as disabled. Without compensation, these disabled persons in the Indian Kashmir are fighting for the survival.
During
2008 Kashmir unrest, the
Hindu extremist groups and the supporters of
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
blocked the Srinagar-Jammu National highway (
NH 1A). The only national highway which connects
Kashmir Valley
The Kashmir Valley, also known as the Vale of Kashmir, is an intermontane valley in northern Jammu and Kashmir, a region in Indian-administered Kashmir.(a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcont ...
to the rest of India remained closed for several days and stopped the supply of essential commodities.
In response to the blockade, on 11 August 2008, under the leadership of
Sheikh Abdul Aziz, 50,000 to 2,50,000 Kashmiri protesters attempted to cross the Line of Control to
Muzaffarabad. The protesters were stopped at
Uri which resulted in killing of fifteen people and hundreds injured when police and Indian paramilitary forces fired on them.
[Tensions rise as Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz shot dead](_blank)
/ref> A slogan raised by the protesters was, (Break down the blood-soaked Line of Control let Kashmir be united again).
Jammu and Kashmir
Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir, a disputed territory
A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of territories (land, water or airspace) between two or more political entities.
Context and definitions
Territorial disputes are often related to the ...
administered by India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, are an ongoing issue. The allegations range from mass killings, forced disappearance
An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a State (polity), state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the i ...
s, torture, rape and sexual abuse to suppression of freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...
and bans on religious gatherings. Several massacres have taken place in the region since 1990. The Indian Army
The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
, Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security personnel and various militant
The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...
groups have been accused of committing severe human rights abuses against Kashmiri civilians.
According to official figures released in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly around 47,000 people—including 7,000 police personnel and 20,000 militants—have died because of the insurgency , and 3,400 have disappeared. According to a 2006 report by Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
, at least 20,000 civilians have died in the conflict. A WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks () is a non-profit media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by ...
issue accused India of systemic human rights abuses, it stated that US diplomats possessed evidence of the apparent widespread use of torture by Indian police and security forces. ''The Intercept
''The Intercept'' is an American left-wing nonprofit news organization that publishes articles and podcasts online. ''The Intercept'' has published in English since its founding in 2014, and in Portuguese since the 2016 launch of the Brazilia ...
'' in 2019 also reported of "systematic" torture perpetrated by Indian authorities without punishment or accountability.
India rejected a UN panel in April 2019 asking about steps taken by New Delhi to address alleged abuses listed in their OHCHR
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...
report. Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
halted its operation in India in September 2020 after alleged government freezing of its bank accounts, which the rights group partly attributed to its calls for Indian authorities to account for "grave human rights violations in Delhi riots and Jammu & Kashmir." India's National Investigation Agency
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is the principal counter-terrorism law enforcement agency in India. Established under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, it is tasked with investigating and combating offenses related to terroris ...
raided several NGOs in October 2020 for alleged funding to terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir, the action was criticized by a spokesman for activist Parveena Ahanger as a case of "crackdown on the human rights defenders in Kashmir".
Indian security forces
In September 1990 the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was enacted in Jammu and Kashmir after passing in the Parliament of India
The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...
to handle the rise in Kashmir Insurgency.[ “(PDF) The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990”]
Indian Ministry of Law and Justice Published by the Authority of New Delhi Human rights group Amnesty claim that the special powers under (AFSPA) gives the security force immunity from alleged violations committed, and condemn it. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay has urged India to repeal AFSPA and to investigate the disappearances in Kashmir.
On 26 February 2009 the Chief Minister stated the act should be repealed, the security forces however said that revoking the act would be detrimental to security and help terrorist moral, though the militancy has declined the act is still in force International NGO's as well as the US state department have documented excesses such as disappearances, torture and arbitrary executions carried out during India's counter terrorism operations.
Human rights watch has also accused the Indian Security Forces of using children as spies and messengers, India army have targeted reporters and human rights activists, they have also been accused of committing over 200 rapes in an attempt to intimidate the local population. Wikileaks cables are reported to contain material stating that the International Committee of the Red Cross briefed US officials in India, alleging that India "condoned" torture and that "sexual penetration" formed part of the maltreatment of victims. The ICRC alleged that of the 1296 detainees interviewed, 681 had reported of being tortured. Of those, 304 individuals complained of sexual torture/abuse.
In 2005 Médecins Sans Frontières
(MSF; pronounced ), known in some English-speaking settings as Doctors Without Borders, is a charity that provides humanitarian medical care. It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin known for its projects in conflict zo ...
conducted a survey in Kashmir which found that the number of people who had witnessed a rape in Kashmir since 1989 was comparably far higher than the number of people who had witnessed a rape in other conflict zones such as Chechnya and Sri Lanka. The survey found that 13% of respondents had witnessed rape and 11.6% of the interviewees had themselves been victims of sexual abuse since 1989. Dr Seema Kazi states that rapes committed by Indian security forces outstrips the rapes committed by militants in both scale and frequency. Professor William Baker stated at the 52nd United Nations Commission on Human Rights that rape in Kashmir was an active strategy of the Indian forces to humiliate Kashmiri people.
In April 2002, authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir arrested three Indian paramilitary soldiers following the gang rape of 17-year-old girl. In July 2011, there were anti-India protests in Srinagar against the alleged rape of a 25-year-old village woman in the village of Manzgam.
In October 2011, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir apologised for the release of names, parentages and addresses of 1400 rape victims. However, no details were revealed as to whether the rapes were by security forces, militants or part of crime. Liaquat Ali Khan, an academic writer considers that these excesses in Kashmir do not have official sanction but are easy to commit because of the powers, to cordon and search villages and suburbs, that are vested to security forces by the law. The authorities use association with terrorists to discredit the testimony of the victims, in case the association is established. The security forces have carried out extrajudicial killings, assaults and other human rights violations. An investigation by the Jammu and Kashmir state human rights commission
A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights.
The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...
has found 2730 bodies in unmarked graves at 38 sites in northern Kashmir. At least 574 of these were identified as being local people.
On April 9, 2017, in the Kashmir human shield incident a 26-year-old man captured by the Indian Army, was tied to the front of a Jeep belonging to Indian Army as a column of Indian troops was moving through a locality. The man was reportedly tied to the vehicle to dissuade other Kashmiri insurgents from hurling stones at the Indian troops. The man was accused of being involved in throwing stones at Indian troops. The Government of India stated that it would stand by the officer who took the decision to use the insurgent as a human shield. J&K Human Rights Commission ordered the Government of Jammu and Kashmir
The Government of Jammu and Kashmir is the principal administrative authority responsible for the governance of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Established on 5 March 1948 as the Government of Princely state of Jammu and Ka ...
to pay 10 Lakh Rupees as compensation to man used as human shield. Jammu and Kashmir government refused to pay. Major Leetul Gogoi was awarded a Chief of Army Staff Commendation Card by General Bipin Rawat for counter-insurgency operations, which included tying a Kashmiri protester to a jeep as a human shield.
Reports of torture emerged in 2019 during the Jammu and Kashmir lockdown, with 3,000 Kashmir residents purportedly detained on 29 August. Activists on 25 September of the same year found that roughly 13,000 boys had been detained since 5 August, claiming that Indian authorities used excessive force during arrest and torture on some of the boys while imprisoned.
A joint 2020 survey from New York's Skidmore College
Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,700 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...
and a Kashmiri university found that 91% of polled college students wanted a complete withdrawal of Indian forces from the region. According to the Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
in August 2019, most Kashmiris wanted independence from India or a merger with Pakistan.
Muslim militants
The rapes by Islamic militants have been reported since the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. On 22 October 1947, Pashtun militants invaded Baramulla in a Pakistan army truck, and raped women including European nuns. In March 1990, the wife of a BSF inspector was kidnapped, tortured and gang-raped for many days. Then her body with broken limbs was abandoned on a road. On 14 April 1990, a Kashmiri Pandit nurse from the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences
Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, often abbreviated as SKIMS, is the largest medical institute under State Legislature Act in Srinagar, in the Indian union territory
Among the states and union territories of India, a Union T ...
in Srinagar was gang-raped and then beaten to death by terrorists. Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) took responsibility for the crime, accusing Bhat of informing the police about the presence of militants in the hospital. On 6 June 1990, a lab assistant at the Government Girls High School Trehgam, was kidnapped and gang raped for many days. Then she was sliced at a sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
.
Prana Ganjoo was abducted with her husband in Sopore. She was gang-raped for a number of days before they were both killed in November 1990.
From 1993, reports of rape by Islamic militants had increased, and there were many cases of the militants threatening to kill the family unless a woman was handed over to the militants. According to the HRW, the rape victims of militants suffered ostracism and there was a "code of silence and fear" that prevented people from reporting such abuse. According to the HRW, the investigation of case of rape by militants was difficult because many Kashmiris were reluctant to discuss it for the fear of violent reprisals.[The Human Rights Crisis in Kashmir](_blank)
Asia Watch, a division of Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
. Lat accessed on 10 March 2012. Also published as a book:
The increase in number of rape cases resulted in an increased number of abortions, leading to one case of murder of doctor. The doctor was accused of being an informer by the Islamic groups Hezb-ul Mujahidin and Al Jehad.
In January 1991, a woman was forcibly asked to "marry" a militant. Her brother was killed when the family refused, and the girl was taken away.
On 30 March 1992, armed militants demanded food and shelter from the family of a retired truck driver in Nai Sadak, Kralkhud. The family complied, but the militants killed the owner and raped his daughter and wife. Then both the women were also shot dead.
Another women was forced to marry the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Farooq Ansari in Kishtwar in 2000. In 2005, a 14-year-old Gujjar girl was abducted from Lurkoti village by the Lashkar-e-Taiba militants, and forced to marry one of them. She was gang-raped by her "husband" and his militant friends. In December 2005, 15-year-old of Bajoni (Doda district) was forced to marry a Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant, after her family was threatened with death. Periodic reports by Amnesty, International Commission of Jurists
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is an international human rights non-governmental organization. It is supported by an International Secretariat based in Geneva, Switzerland, and staffed by lawyers drawn from a wide range of jurisdi ...
, Human Rights Watch and the US state department had documented massive human rights violations by militant groups supported by Pakistan.
= Violence against Hindus
=
During the eruption of militancy in Kashmir valley, terrorism by majority sect specifically targeted the Hindu Kashmiri Pandit
The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, located within the In ...
s minority and violated their human rights.[Paradise lost](_blank)
BBC news. Reports by Indian government state 219 Kashmiri pandits were killed and around 140,000 migrated due to militancy while over 3000 stayed in the valley. Reports from Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is an international human rights non-governmental organization. It is supported by an International Secretariat based in Geneva, Switzerland, and staffed by lawyers drawn from a wide range of jurisdi ...
confirmed Indian reports of systematic human rights violations by Pakistan-backed militants.
According to a report published by ''Asia Watch'':
According to a resolution passed by the United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
in 2006, Islamic terrorists infiltrated the region in 1989 and forced most of the Kashmiri Pandits to flee Kashmir. According to the report, the population of Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir had declined from 400,000 in 1989 to 4,000 in 2011. These groups targeted the Hindus in the Kashmir valley forcing an estimated 100,000 to flee.
From 1994 to 1998, the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front were accused of ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...
by using murder, arson and rape as a weapon of war to drive out hundreds of thousands of Pandits from the region. On 25 January 1998, 23 Kashmiri Pandit
The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, located within the In ...
s, including nine women and four young children living in the village of Wandhama, were killed by unknown persons wearing the uniforms of Indian Army soldiers, who had tea with them, waiting for a radio message indicating that all Pandit families in the village had been covered. Thereafter, they rounded up all the members of the Hindu households and then summarily gunned them down with Kalashnikov rifles.[23 Kashmiri Hindus Gunned Down on Republic Day Eve]
. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
Hindu civilians were reported in 2005 to have been subject to rape and murder perpetrated by members of terrorist organisations like the JKLF and the Hizbul Mujahideen. Muslim civilians who were considered political opponents of terrorists or those who were believed to be informers had also been raped or murdered.[Rape in Kashmir: A Crime of War](_blank)
Asia Watch, 1993 (A Division of Human Rights Watch) & Physicians for Human Rights.
Pakistani-administered Kashmir
Azad Jammu and Kashmir
Pakistan, an Islamic Republic, imposes multiple restrictions on peoples' religious freedom. Religious minorities also face unofficial economic and societal discrimination and have been targets of sectarian violence
Sectarian violence or sectarian strife is a form of communal violence which is inspired by sectarianism, that is, discrimination, hatred or prejudice between different sects of a particular mode of an ideology or different sects of a religion wi ...
.[
The constitution of Azad Kashmir specifically prohibits activities that may be prejudicial to the state's accession to Pakistan, and as such regularly suppresses demonstrations against the government.][ A number of Islamist militant groups operate in this area including Al-Qaeda, with tacit permission from Pakistan's intelligence.][
There have been allegations of human rights abuse. A report titled "Kashmir: Present Situation and Future Prospects", which was submitted to the ]European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
by Emma Nicholson, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, was critical of the lack of human rights, justice, democracy, and Kashmiri representation in the Pakistan National Assembly. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence operates in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and is involved in extensive surveillance, arbitrary arrests, torture, and murder.[ Generally this is done with impunity and perpetrators go unpunished.][ The 2008 report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees determined that Pakistan-administered Kashmir was 'Not free'.][ According to Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, chairman of the International Kashmir Alliance, "On one hand Pakistan claims to be the champion of the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people, but she has denied the same rights under its controlled parts of Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan".][European Parliamentarians express concern for Gilgit-Baltistan]
, German Information Center, New Delhi, 12 April 2008
In December 2009, activists of nationalist Kashmiri groups staged a protest in Muzaffarabad to condemn the alleged rigging of elections and killing of an 18-year-old student during the elections. The killing had led to widespread protests in the district.
Large protests erupted during the February 2012 Kohistan Killings where 18 people were ordered off from a bus and killed by gunmen on the Islamabad-Gilgit route. The act drew condemnation from the UN Secretary-General
The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...
.
In October 2019, the protesters were demanding that Azad Kashmir's existing legislative assembly be converted into a constitutional assembly and the area's unification with the Gilgit-Baltistan region. As a result of the police trying to stop the rally, 100 people were injured.
Gilgit–Baltistan
The main demand of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan is a constitutional status to the region as a fifth province of Pakistan. However, Pakistan claims that Gilgit-Baltistan cannot be given constitutional status due to Pakistan's commitment to the 1948 UN resolution. In 2007, International Crisis Group
The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a global non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, conducting research and analysis on global crises. ...
stated that "Almost six decades after Pakistan's independence, the constitutional status of the Federally Administered Northern Areas (Gilgit and Baltistan), once part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and now under Pakistani control, remains undetermined, with political autonomy a distant dream. The region's inhabitants are embittered by Islamabad's unwillingness to devolve powers in real terms to its elected representatives. The rise of sectarian extremism is an alarming consequence of this denial of basic political rights".[Political unrest in Gilgit-Baltistan]
''Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...
'', 26 July 2009
In 2009, the Pakistan government implemented an autonomy package for Gilgit-Baltistan which entails rights similar to those of Pakistan's other provinces.[ Gilgit-Baltistan thus gains province-like status without actually being conferred such a status constitutionally.][ The direct rule by Islamabad is replaced by an elected legislative assembly and its chief minister.][
There has been criticism and opposition to this move in Pakistan, India, and Pakistan administrated Kashmir.][Gilgit-Baltistan package termed an eyewash]
Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...
, 30 August 2009 The move has been dubbed as an eyewash to hide the real mechanics of power, which allegedly are under the direct control of the Pakistani federal government.[Discontents in Gilgit-Baltistan]
Daily Times (Pakistan)
The ''Daily Times'' (''DT'') is an English-language newspaper that is simultaneously published from Lahore and Islamabad.
The ''Daily Times'' is considered a left-leaning newspaper that promotes liberalism, liberal and secular ideas. It is a m ...
, 21 April 2010 The package was opposed by Pakistani Kashmiri politicians who claimed that the integration of Gilgit-Baltistan into Pakistan would undermine their case for the independence of Kashmir from India. 300 activists from Kashmiri groups protested during the first Gilgit-Baltistan legislative assembly elections, with some carrying banners reading "Pakistan's expansionist designs in Gilgit-Baltistan are unacceptable". However, many people of Gilgit-Baltistan oppose integration into Kashmir. They want their region to be merged into Pakistan as a separate province.[
]
See also
* Kashmir conflict
The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, and also between China and India in the northeastern portion of the region. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1 ...
, a territorial conflict between India and Pakistan over the region of Kashmir
** Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir, an overview of organized abuses in Indian-administered territory
** Human rights abuses in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, an overview of organized abuses in Pakistani-administered territory
* Human rights in India, an overview of the state of human rights throughout India
* Human rights in Pakistan, an overview of the state of human rights throughout Pakistan
* Peacebuilding in Jammu and Kashmir, confidence-building measures between India and Pakistan in the region
* Tika Lal Taploo
Bibliography
* Bansal, Alok (2018). ''Gilgit-Baltistan and Its Saga of Unending Human Rights Violations''. Asian Eurasian Human Rights Forum. Pentagon Press LLP. New Delhi.
References
{{Kashmir conflict
Kashmir
Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
Kashmir
Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
Kashmir