Kashmir Is Full Of Painful Tale Of Disappearances, Time For International Community To Intervene: IFJHR

Request UNO to build pressure on the Government of India, J&K government to trace the disappeared

Srinagar: Major Highlights of the Report titled Painful Separation is a heartwrenching true story of two friends of Kupwara district.

The report has been compiled by International Forum for Justice and Human Rights (IFJHR). Chairman IFJHR releases the report in presence of victims and relatives disappeared Manzoor Ahmed Khan.

Kashmir is full of painful tale of disappearances but this  is one is the latest case, just a year old.

On the fateful day of August 31, 2017, not only two friends, but two neighbours got separated in a very painful manner in Diver area of Lolab in northern district of Kupwara in Kashmir.

The report coincides with the international day for disappeared.

The pahari speaking Manzoor Ahmed Khan son of Ghulam Qadir Khan and Nasrullah Son of Sharifullah Khan of Diver, Lolab saw their fate turning towards them in a very gory manner.

Khans of Lolab have a lifestyle of shifting to hillocks in summer months and on August 31, 2018, they did the same and reached place called Trimakh Top where there is an army camp that houses 27 Rashtriya Riffles (RR) where there is an entry system i.e. the soldiers allow people through a proper entry on a ledger being maintained by them.

Maryam, the wife of Manzoor Ahmed Khan (as the nikah ceremony was performed already) became half widow on the same day her husband disappeared in the army camp and is living a miserable life since as she waits for her husband to return.

Maryam stays with her parents as her rukhsati (final ritual of mariage) didn’t take place.

On the next day, Nasrullah started search for his friend and approached the soldiers of 27 RR, who instead of cooperating with him took him inside the camp and brazenly thrashed and beat him to the pulp.

According to doctors at the SKIMS, Soura, Nasrullah has been put on a dialysis.

Nasrullah is father of five children, the eldest being 16-year old daughter.

The doctors also stated that Nasruallah’s body has serious bruises and marks of torture.

The doctors said that Nasruallah has developed Rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney failure.

Time for international community to intervene:  It has been the one year when Manzoor Ahmed Khan went missing after entering an army camp at Trimakh, Diver, Lolab in northern Kashmir. The army initiated a probe and even defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited Trimakh and assured a thorough probe. The army probe has not yielded any result.

Even the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of police led by a SSP rank officer also conducted the probe but, a year on, there has been no whereabouts as to whether Manzoor is alive or dead.

More painful is that Manzoor’s nikah ceremony was performed with a woman of his tribe and she still waits for the return of Manzoor.

Since September 1 is observed as the the disappearance day across the globe, I urge the United Nations Special Rapporteur to intervene into the case of Manzoor and build pressure on the Government of India and the J&K government to clarify as to whether army had killed Manzoor in custody or he is somewhere in captivity.

At the same time, I urge the world human rights bodies to look into the case of Manzoor’s friend, Nasrullah Khan, who in a bid to trace Manzoor, faced brutal torture that resulted in damaging of both his kidneys and till date he has not been provided any compensation.

I urge International Red Cross and World Human Aid Bodies to come forward and to help Nasrullah recover from his kidney damage caused by the immense torture he faced inside the Army camp in Trimakh, Diver, Lolab, Kupwara.