Srinagar
Remembering the victims of Chattisinghpora massacre on their 18th anniversary, Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) on Monday demanded an impartial probe into the killings of 36 innocent Sikhs in March 2000. The party said that Kashmir has become a land of tragedies only because of the illegitimate government forces.
Remembering the massacred Sikhs and those who lost their lives while protesting against the killings, JKDFP in a statement said that Chattisinghpora and Pathribal like tragedies are an eye-opener for the international community to imagine the situation of Kashmir which has witnessed countless massacres over the years.
JKDFP paid rich tributes to the people killed in Chattisingpora and Pathribal eighteen years before and said that victims of the said massacres are waiting for the international community to act humanly.
Pertinently, the innocent Sikhs were killed in Chattisinghpora area of South Kashmir’s Islamabad district when the then US President, Bill Clinton was in India. Government forces killed five more innocent persons in Pathribal area of the same district after some days claiming that they were foreign militants involved in Chattisinghpora massacre. However, later investigations revealed that the deceased persons were ordinary civilians who were killed by the army personnel in a fake encounter. Later CBI held government forces responsible for the Pathribal killings however, the culprits continue to roam free.
JKDFP said that Kashmiris are being killed, massacred, humiliated and tortured so that they are compelled to surrender their political rights. The political leadership is adamant to break the will of the people of Kashmir by killing them every now and then under the different pretext and jailing them like JKDFP chief Shabir Ahmad Shah, a spokesman said.
The party said that international community should take notice of the human rights violations committed by the occupational forces in Kashmir. The tragic incidents like Chattisinghpora which took place in last three decades have shattered the Kashmiri people however they have not given up their demand of freedom.
JKDFP paid homage to all the martyrs of Kashmir including Brakepora, martyred by government forces. “The party demands an investigation of all the massacres by any impartial international agency as we don’t believe in Indian agencies,” the JKDFP said.
