KL Desk
SRINAGAR
October 9, 2012
APDP has termed the official figures on missing contradictory saying the successive governments have been offering different statistics over the enforced disappearances in Jammu and Kashmir. It was responding to the October 8 statement in which the government informed assembly that J&K has 2305 persons missing since 1990.
The response statement had quoted from the past in which different government officials have offered different figures. On July 18, 2002 the then Home Minister of National Conference government, Khalid Najeeb Suharwardy acknowledged that 3184 persons had gone missing since 1989. On Juine 11, 2003, the Peoples’ Democratic Party led government admitted 3744 persons are ‘missing’ in Jammu and Kashmir since 1989 and later on June 21, 2003 the government stated that 3931 persons were ‘missing.’ In March 2006, contradicting the earlier figures again, the then Chief Minster, Ghulam Nabi Azad stated that a total of 693 cases of disappearances have been registered. Two years later on May 2, May 2008, Omar Abdullah stated during a press conference that 4000 persons had disappeared. This statement came when Abdullah was in the opposition. After assuming the office of the Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah on August 17, 2009, informed the state legislature that 3429 persons had gone missing between 1990 to July 2009. On March 23, March 2010, the Omar Abdullah government informed the state legislative assembly that 1105 persons have disappeared during the turmoil in the state since 1989. The statement was not supported by any substantive information regarding any missing persons having been found.
“Based on the contradictory statements furnished by government in the state legislative assembly for last 10 years, it appears that government has consistently contradicted itself,” the APDP spokesperson said. “The incumbent government clearly appears irresponsible as it has contradicted itself at least thrice in the last 4 years without providing any explanation for the contradictions. These contradictory statements are also a reflection of how insensitive government is towards the plight of the family members of the disappeared.”
The spokesman said that the latest statement the government claims that only in 182 out of 2305 cases of disappearance FIRs have been registered, which means that government is admitting that they have denied the right of investigation and justice to the remaining cases of disappearances.
FIRs. “These contradictory statements and unabated denial also amount to obfuscation of truth and cover up. The government by these cover up statements is siding with the perpetrators and thus politically culpable for these crimes,” the statement said.
Asking government to explain these contradictions and make public the process by which they arrived at the differing figures, the APDP has asked the government to make public the full details of these 2305 disappeared persons.
