*SRINAGAR: In occupied Kashmir, Indian troops in their unabated stateterrorism subjected thousands of Kashmiris to custodial disappearanceduring the last twenty-nine years and the families of the victims have noinformation about their whereabouts.*
According to the data released by the Research Section of the Kashmir MediaService on the occasion of the International Day of Disappeared, on Friday,over 8,000 Kashmiris have vanished in the custody after they were picked upby the Indian troops, police and paramilitary forces.
The report maintained that thousands of unnamed graves had been discoveredin the territory and the human rights activists feared that these gravescould be of the disappeared Kashmiris.
The impunity provided to the troops and police personnel through draconianlaws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Disturbed Areas Act and PublicSafety Act gave them the license to kill and harass the people and ransacktheir possession without being questioned and the tragedy is that theburden of proof is shifted on the victims.
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On the other hand, the held valley is under strict a lockdown since 5thAugust when Narendra Modi-led Indian government announced the repeal ofArticle 370 of the Indian Constitution that granted special status to Jammuand Kashmir.
Due to the severe blockade, the residents are facing acute shortage ofessential commodities including baby food and life-saving medicines and thevalley represents a humanitarian crisis, as per Kashmir Media Service.