I read it and found this "
VII. VIOLATIONS BY MILITANT ORGANIZATIONS
Militant organizations operating in Kashmir have c
ommitted grave violations
of international human rights and humanitarian law.
Many of the violent attacks
committed by these groups have deliberately targete
d civilians. Among the worst
abuses have been the assassinations of hundreds of
civilians, including members of
the Hindu community, civil servants and political f
igures, particularly Muslim
political leaders associated with the National Conf
erence party and other political
groups opposed by the militants.
Militant groups have also abducted and executed ci
vilians, both Hindu and
Muslim, whom they have accused of being government
informers or of otherwise
supporting the government of India.
148
In many cases, those accused of being
informers have first been detained for interrogatio
n and torture by the militant
group. Execution generally follows a summary "heari
ng", during which the
detainee is given virtually no opportunity to defen
d him or herself. Militants have
also tortured and summarily executed captured secur
ity personnel in their custody.
These executions have reportedly increased in 1992
as a deliberate form of
retaliation for the increase in custodial deaths by
Indian security forces. Militant
spokespersons have acknowledged that executions of
captured security force
personnel are carried out as a matter of policy. Su
ch summary executions constitute
grave violations of international humanitarian law.
Members of militant groups have also raped women i
n Kashmir. While there it
is not clear that militant leaders have explicitly
sanctioned such abuses, there is
little indication that the militants have done anyt
hing to stop their forces from
committing rape. Some incidents of rape by militant
s appear to have been
motivated by the fact that the victims or their fam
ilies are accused of being
informers or of being opposed to the militants or s
upporters of rival militant
groups. Some members of militant forces have also l
aunched other violent attacks
on women who do not adhere to prescribed dress code
s and other social
restrictions. These attacks, and the fact that they
are carried out with impunity, have
contributed to a climate of fear for women in Kashm
ir.
Militants have engaged in indiscriminate attacks w
hich have injured and killed
civilians. Members of militant groups have thrown g
renades at buses and used
rocket-propelled launchers to fire grenades into go
vernment buildings of the civil
administration, injuring and killing employees. Arm
ed militant groups have also
launched targeted bomb attacks against civilians in
Jammu.
Kidnappings of civilians has been a hallmark of th
e militants' efforts since the
conflict began in earnest in 1989. Militants have k
idnapped civilians and held them
as hostages for detained colleagues, or to pressure
rival militant organizations.
Militants have also kidnapped civilians in order to
extort funds from their families.
When the conflict escalated 1989, militant groups
issued widespread threats to
members of the minority Hindu community in Kashmir.
Attacks on Hindus since
1988, and particularly in early 1990, have driven m
ore than 100,000 Hindus to flee
Kashmir to Jammu and Delhi, where most remain in in
creasingly desperate
conditions in refugee camps. Tens of thousands of M
uslims have also fled. Those
militant groups which espouse an extremist Islamic
ideology have also issued
threats to persons associated with businesses they
consider "un-Islamic," including
liquor dealers and cinema hall owners. Militant gro
ups have also issued threats to
journalists whom they have accused of "biased" repo
rting.
All of these abuses constitute grave violations of
international human rights
and humanitarian law. Although some militant leader
s have issued statements
calling on their forces not to engage in criminal a
ctivities, to Asia Watch and PHR's
knowledge, the militant groups responsible for thes
e gross abuses have taken few if
any steps to end them.
Militant Operations
At least eleven major militant organizations, and
perhaps dozens of smaller
ones, operate in Kashmir. They are roughly divided
between those who support
independence and those who support accession to Pak
istan. The oldest and most
widely known militant organization, the Jammu and K
ashmir Liberation Front
(JKLF), has spearheaded the movement for an indepen
dent Kashmir. Its student
wing is the Jammu and Kashmir Students Liberation f
ront (JKSLF). A large
number of other militant organizations have emerged
since 1989, some of which
also support independence, others of which support
Kashmir's accession to
Pakistan. Although all groups reportedly receive ar
ms and training from Pakistan,
the pro-Pakistani groups are reputed to be favored
by Pakistan's military
intelligence, the Directorate of Inter-Services Int
elligence (ISI). The most powerful
of these is the Hezb-ul-Mujahidin. Other major grou
ps include Al-Jehad, Al-Barq,
Hizbollah, Ikhwan-ul-Muslimin, Jamait-ul Mujahidin,
Tekriq-ul Mujahidin, Allah
Tigers, Al-Umar Mujahidin and Al-Umar Commandos. Ac
cording to press reports,
several hundred fighters from Afghanistan and Sudan
have also joined some of the
militant groups.
149
Intense rivalries among the militant groups, and p
articularly between the
dominant groups, has sparked frequent clashes and h
as often prevented the miltants
from coordinating military operations.
150
As of mid-1993, a Coordination
Committee comprised of representatives of the leade
rs from the JKLF, Hezb-ul
Mujahidin, Iqwan Muslim, Harkat-ul-Mujaheedin; Jama
it-ul-Mujaheedin; Tahreek-
ul-Mujaheedin, Hizbollah; and Muslim Mujahidin had
assumed some judicial
oversight for the various groups, under the authori
ty of recognized legal and
religious advisors. The committee reportedly has no
written laws or regulations. It
is not known whether the committee plays any role i
n coordinating military
strategy.
The militant forces do not control territory in Ka
shmir, but certain parts of the
valley have gained a reputation as strongholds of p
articular militant groups,
particularly towns near the Line of Control which s
eparates the Indian state of
Jammu and Kashmir from the territory controlled by
Pakistan. Many of these
towns, notably Kupwara, are along the supply lines
for weaponry from Pakistan.
The Hezb-ul Mujahidin, for example, is reported to
have a dominant presence in
the town of Sopore where, according to recent press
reports, the group has claimed"
And many more.
