KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
A rights defender on Friday challenged the statement of the Chief Minister that only six persons suffered eye injuries, with two of them losing sight in one eye each, and no person was killed or rendered blind on account of use of pellet guns by forces in the valley in 20115.
“Such blatant lies of the CM are an attempt to obfuscate the truth and confuse the public opinion locally and internationally,” Manan Bukhari, human rights defender and head of Kashmir Rights Monitoring Center, said in a statement this evening.
Bukhari who is also author of the book “Kashmir: Scars Of Pellet Gun” written and compiled on the subject said that before issuing such statements “Madam CM should at least have gone through the official figures and other relevant reports provided under RTI act by the various Hospitals and relevant institutions of the Valley”.
Terming the statement as “non-factual”, Bukhari said, “pellet gun is a preferred weapon of the forces to quell the public protests or to target the bystanders and other civilians in Kashmir. And since its introduction this deadly weapon has created havoc and like Mudasir Ahmad Hajam, Irshad Ahmad Parray, Yasir Rafiq Sheikh and Abdul Gani Gojri there are number of victims who lost their lives to deadly pellets. Leaving aside the death, these pellets have also lead to complete vision disability among the victims like Amir Kabir Beigh, Hayat Ashraf Dar, Farooq Ahmad Malla, Muhammad Sidiq Chotta, Suhail Farooq and others.” “Besides there are hundreds of victims who have lost one eye or have got partial visual disability due to these pellets fired by the law enforcing agencies.”
On March 2013 and Feb 2014, the PDP who were then in opposition walked out of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly to protest against the use of Pellet guns on protestors. They criticised the government over the use of “Harmful Weapons on Public” and sought a reply.
“The use of pellets by the security personnel while dealing with the protesters is adversely affecting People’s health. People are being injured and killed by the pellet Guns,” Bukhari quoted PDP President Mehbooba Mufti as having said when in opposition. “PDP had also alleged that State government’s use of Pellet guns against civilian protestors, left many youth deprived of their vision and caused loss and impairment of Vision to many in Kashmir.”
A ban on the use of Pellet Guns and Chilli grenades in Kashmir valley as well as compensation for the injured youth for their medical bills and treatment was demanded, the rights defender said.
“However, after coming in the power, the pellet guns continued to haunt Kashmir youth and there has been no let-up in brutal pellet attacks and 2 persons lost eyes eight in both eyes while as more than 80 persons sustained critical injuries, 70% of such victims got visual disability. More so, since Madam CM took over more than 20 persons got eye injuries while as at least 1 person was operated for serious abdomen injury by pellets fired by the men in uniform,” the statement added.
“It is important to mention here that according to the latest RTI Reports released by the KRMC, official figures provided by only two hospitals of the valley, the SKIMS Bemina, through RTI Act under number SKIMS/MCH/24/2016/209-10 Dated 21/01/2016, during 2015, Two patients lost eyesight in both eyes, three patients lost eye sight in one eye and according to the SMHS Hospital under no. RTI/SMHS/7865, dated 28-12-2015, during the same period 32 patients with serious pellet gun injuries in their eyes were operated in the Department of Ophthalmology. This means that the eye sight of these 32 persons was also damaged,” the statement informed.
Terming the use of pellet gun on humans, a crime against humanity and against the International humanitarian Law, Bukhari said, “I have has facts and figures about the people injured by pellet guns and the Chief Minister’s statement in the so-called Jammu Kashmir Assembly was bereft of facts and meant to mislead the international community.”
“This was being done to hide the crimes committed by government forces in Jammu Kashmir and to mislead the international human rights bodies that Kashmir was not witnessing any human rights violations,” the statement added.
