Shopian “fake” encounter brought back memories of Pathribal, Machil: APHC

APHC on Tuesday said that the “fake” encounter surfaced in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on July 18 brought back painful memories of Pathribal and Machil fake encounters and urged human rights groups and the world community to ask GoI to stop the rights abuses immediately and seek an impartial probe into this “brutal” and “heart wrenching” incident.
According to a statement, APHC said that the media reports of the “staged” encounter in Shopian in which three innocent laborers of Rajouri were killed in “cold blood” on July 18 by Army brought back painful memories of Pathribal and Machil fake encounter and exoneration of the guilty.
“Staged killings, torture and disappearances are the result of the heavy militarization of J&K and the complete impunity which the armed forces enjoy from law and accountability for the last more than three decades, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths of Kashmiris and destruction of their property”, APHC in its statement said.
It said that since last year those killed during “encounters” were buried secretly by the authorities in far off places, as their bodies were not even-handed over to their families for last rites raising serious questions about the whole exercise such as what happened in the killing of these missing laborers.
Terming the killing of laborers in a staged encounter as “inhumane”, APHC reiterated that human rights abuses of all kinds against the people of Kashmir are at its peak and urged upon rights groups and the world community as well to ask Government of India to stop it immediately and seek an impartial probe into this “brutal” and “heart wrenching” incident.