Despite Indian government claims that "normalcy" has returned to Indian-Administered Jammu and Kashmir after elections held in 1996, this report demonstrates that abuses by Indian forces remained rife.

Topics: rape and torture in Doda, extrajudicial executions in Doda, militant abuses in Doda and Southern Districts, extrajudicial executions in Kashmir Valley, disappearances in Kashmir Valley, torture in Kashmir Valley, detention practices that facilitate abuse, detentions for extortion, abuses involving countermilitant militias, threats against human rights defenders, attacks on the press, the ongoing problem of impunity, militant abuses in the Valley, applicable international law (human rights law, international humanitarian law)

Terms: Rashtriya Rifles, Village Defence Committees, manual labor, violation of freedom of religion, extrajudicial executions of Ghulam Qadir Wani, Imam Din Bhat, Saleema Bhat, Mohamed Husein Bhat, Sakeena Bhat, Shabeena Bhat and Mohamed Ashraf, enforced disappearance of Mohammad Saleem Zargar, extrajudicial executions of Ghulam Hassan Ganie, Ali Mohamed Bhatt and Mohamed Amin, enforced disappearances of Abdul-Ahad Dar, Ashiq Husein Malik, Mushtaq Ahmad Dar, Mushtaq Ahmad Kha, Meraj Din Dar, Mohahamed Sha'ban Khan, Mohamed Yahya Khan, Shabir Ahmad Dar, Bilal Ahmad Sheikh, Nizar Ahmed Wani, Bashir Ahmed Wani, Bashir Ahmad Bhat and Mohammad Iqbal, beating, electric shocks, stretching, hanging, sexual torture, log roller, lacck of access to healthcare, Public Safety Act (PSA), Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA), arbitrary detentions of Nur Mohamed Kalwal, Abdel Majid Gadyara, Mehraizin Gadyara, Farouq, Abdelaziz Dar, killings of H. N. Wanchoo, Dr. Farooq Ahsai, Dr. Abdul Ahad Guru and Jalil Andrabi, harassment of Ghulam Nabi Shaheen and Ghulam Rasul Dar, assaults on Zafar Mehraj and Habibullah Nakash

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This report examines the cases of those who have “disappeared” in Jammu and Kashmir against the backdrop of recent political developments. It seeks to identify the legal, institutional and political factors which facilitate “disappearances” and impede redress. The report concludes with a list of recommendations to prevent future “disappearances”.

Topics: recent political developments, disappearances in India, factors facilitating disappearances, four illustrative cases of disappeared persons

Terms: Javed Ahmad Ahanger, Syed Bashrat Ahmad Shah, Sheikh Gowhar Ayoub, Bilal Ahmad Bhat

This is a Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission fact-finding report on the initial investigation of the 1998 mass killing of 19 members of an extended family in Salian, Kashmir. The investigation finds Special Police Officers and paramilitary officers to be responsible for the massacre, and it recommends that they are investigated. It also identifies the Indian Army as negligent and silent when the massacre took place. It ordered compensation be paid to survivors and that witnesses be protected.

Topics: 1998 Sailan Massacre

Terms: extrajudicial killings, custodial rape, Sailan massacre, use of torture, rape as torture, excessive use of force, Special Police Officers (SPOs), paramilitary forces, SPO Zakir Hussain, informants, associates of SPO Zakir Hussain, Indian Army

This report by examines how Kashmiris are coerced by Indian forces to participate in the elections and vote. The report also sheds light on militant groups in Indian-Administered Jammu and Kashmir, particularly Indian state-sponsored counter-insurgency groups.  It is based on a fact-finding trip conducted from May 19 through 23, 1996 during elections and other investigations.

Topics: counter insurgents, the prelude to elections, day of polls, counter-insurgent outfits, reports in the media
Terms: state-sponsored armed groups, surrogates of the Indian army, 'setting a Kashmiri to kill a Kashmiri' strategy, state-sponsored gangs, murder, loot and extortion, state disinformation, propaganda of state-sponsored gangs as people acting in self-defense, propaganda of armed resistance denying democratic rights, denial of political rights, elections to subvert democratic rights, election manipulation, propaganda of elections as act of political allegiance, J&K Disturbed Areas Act, J&K Public Safety Act (PSA), Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act (TADA), Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), excessive use of force by security personnel, lack of press freedom, staged encounters, fake encounter killings, Rashtriya Rifles, denial of right to self-determination

This report finds that India has been operating secret state-sponsored paramilitary groups composed of captured or surrendered former militants described as “renegades” by the Indian government. Many of these groups have been responsible for grave human rights abuses, including summary executions, torture, and illegal detention as well as election-related intimidation of voters.

Topics: recommendations, background, applicable international law, violations by Indian government forces, state-sponsored renegade militias, attacks on human rights activists, attacks on the press, attacks on medical workers, abuses by uniformed Indian security personnel, torture, violations by militant organizations, killings on Hindu minorities, extrajudicial executions and reprisal killings

Terms: March 1996 killing of Jalil Andrabi, December 1995 shooting of Zafar Mehraj, December 1995 killing of Farooq Ahmed Sheikh, Ikhwan-ul-Muslimoon, January 1996 killings of Mohammed B and Sheikh Y, December 1995 killing of Ghulam Ahmed Bhat and Khurshid Ahmed Bhat, custodial torture, custodial rape, Rashtriya Rifles, enforced disapppearances, arbitrary detention, excessive use of force, custodial killings, cordon and search operations, Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)