Kashmir rights violations spark outcry

The emergence of videos showing large scale human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir has outraged people across the disputed Himalayan valley.

The clips show Indian soldiers herding naked young men to police stations in the northwestern Kashmiri town of Sopore.

The videos posted on social networking sites including Facebook and YouTube were recorded by some regional security officers.

The developments have outraged people in Kashmir and prompted international outcry.

Amnesty International (AI) and other human-rights organizations have urged Indian authorities to carry out an investigation into incident.

“The approach of the local police raises serious concerns. Instead of investigating and identifying the perpetrators of the humiliating treatment, the police appear to be more concerned about who uploaded and circulated the video clip,” a senior official from London-based AI said.

Sources say authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have arrested people for simply posting this video or talking about it.

Torture and abuse by Indian troops are common allegations in the volatile valley. Testimonies from former detainees show that the way Kashmiris were treated in Indian jails dwarf the Abu Ghraib scandal, where US-led forces were photographed humiliating Iraqi prisoners.

Meanwhile, the round-the-clock curfew imposed in Kashmir has not stopped thousands of people from coming to the streets to protest against the death of six more protesters by Indian forces over the past 24 hours.

The demonstrations come after another three people were killed and 20 others were wounded in anti-India rallies on Friday.

Three persons were also killed and dozens more were injured after police opened fire on participants in a funeral procession on Saturday.

Kashmiri cities have been either under curfew or shut down over the past few weeks.

Kashmir’s summer of violence has now claimed the lives of at least 102 people — some as young as nine. These deaths have further triggered protests.

Roughly, 500,000 Indian troops are stationed across Kashmir.

Both India and Pakistan claim the region in full, but rule over it in parts.