UN body to aid search for persons missing in J&K

The UN human rights body has come to the aid of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), which is championing the cause for the people allegedly missing in the custody of security forces for the last 20 years in Jammu and Kashmir.

APDP is among 204 organisations that have been selected for the financial grant under the UN Voluntary Fund for the Victims of Torture (UNVFVT) for 2010 by the office of the high commissioner for human rights (OHCHR). It is for the first time in 20 years of turmoil that UN body has sanctioned the financial aid to any human rights organization in Kashmir.

APDP, headed by Parveena Ahangar whose son Javid Ahmad Ahangar is missing in custody since 1990, has been given the financial assistance under the medical, psychological and legal category.

“We have received the first installment of the grant and have been told to conduct a survey of the people who are missing in custody”, said Ahangar.

APDP has started a door-to-door survey in different part of the valley to collect the data of the actual number of people missing in the custody of the security forces in the last 20 years.

“We have 400 members in our organisation whose children have gone missing in the custody of the security forces. But there are thousands other cases in different and far flung areas which have gone unreported so far. Our focus is to collect all details and background of the people who have gone missing”, said Ahangar.

The financial grant has been sanctioned even as the UN deleted Kashmir from the list of long pending disputes recently bringing relief to New Delhi, which has been battling hard to do away with international tag attached with Kashmir issue.

“I had gone to Geneva where I had a threadbare discussion on the issue of disappearances. Then a representative visited Kashmir and had a long meeting with us, which paved way for the grant”, said Ahangar. Human rights organisations say there are 8000 to 10,000 people missing in custody. However, the Jammu and Kashmir government has given contradictory figures about the disappeared people.

Figures presented in the state assembly in 2009 revealed that 3429 persons have gone missing from their homes while only 110 persons have disappeared after arrest in the state from 1990 to July 2009. Of the total missing persons, 2367 belong to Jammu zone and 1062 hail from Kashmir province.

But in 2010, the government has come up with another list of figures in the assembly. In a written reply to a question, the government said 1105 persons are reported to have disappeared from the state since 1989 and around 530 cases of ex-gratia relief has been provided to the affected families so far.

“Our data will be comprehensive with all details of the people missing in custody. This will be submitted to the OHCHR for further action”, said Ahangar.