Fact-finding team heads to Kashmir

A fact-finding team, including Indian MPs, has been sent to Indian-governed Kashmir to investigate the recent deadly violence in the volatile region.

The all-party fact-finding delegation, led by Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram, is scheduled to meet with local officials and political groups in Kashmir.

“We have to talk to each other. And those who have grievances against the government have to talk to the administration,” AFP quoted India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as saying on Wednesday.

But Kashmir’s pro-independence leader Syed Ali Geelani says he will not engage in any talks with the 38-member delegation.

The protests, which have lasted for three months, initially erupted after a 17-year-old student was killed by police in June.

Violent street protests and crackdowns by security forces have claimed the lives of 106 people, including children, during the past three months.

Demonstrations in Kashmir continue despite a round-the-clock curfew. Kashmiris have defied the curfew, pelting security forces with stones.

Amnesty International has asked India to take immediate steps to protect and respect human rights in Kashmir and to investigate the killings of demonstrators by police.

The London-based human rights group in a Saturday statement urged New Delhi to order security forces to refrain from using firearms against demonstrators.

“Security forces should use the minimum force necessary to defend themselves or others against an imminent threat of death or serious injury. They should not employ intentional lethal use of firearms except where such use is strictly unavoidable in order to protect life,” it said in a statement.

Pakistan, which also rules part of Kashmir, has slammed India for its brutal crackdown on demonstrators.