Srinagar, September 29: The police and political parties in Jammu & Kashmir have taken note of the MAIL TODAY exposé of the numerous unmarked graves in Jammu’s Poonch and Rajouri areas.
J& K director general of police Kuldeep Khoda said he will ensure the matter is invested. “ I have read the MAIL TODAY story and ordered the Jammu IG and divisional commissioner to look into it,” Khoda said.
Ruling out that the unmarked graves could be of youth killed in encounters, he said: “ Every encounter is recorded with the police and a proper FIR has been registered in each case.” “ The grave digger might not have the records available with him. I don’t know on what basis you filed the report, but we are looking into it,” he said.
The ruling National Conference ( NC) has demanded an investigation into the matter.
Srinagar, September 19: “ Chief minister Omar Abdullah has told Union home minister P. Chidambaram that a proper investigation needs to be conducted on the unidentified graves,” NC spokesman Muhammad Shafi said.
Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti said she had heard similar stories from Poonch and Rajouri areas. “ A delegation from the area once told me that some of their boys were killed and then burnt,” she claimed.
She said the state government should implement the recent SHRC recommendations and start conducting DNA profiles of these graves. “ Over the past three years, the CM has been talking about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission ( TRC). But nothing has been done so far,” she added.
Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik said the issue of unmarked graves should be treated in a humane manner.
“We don’t know who is buried there and where they are from.
The whole issue should be investigated,” Malik said.
Hurriyat Conference chief Syed Ali Geelani said he had visited Rajouri and Poonch regions where people told him about unidentified bodies.
“Once, 19 members of a family were killed in Surankote,” he said. “ I’ve visited Surankote and other graveyards in Poonch. People told me that unidentified bodies have been buried there. But I am not sure about the number,” he added.
CONFIRMING the MAIL TODAY exposé on the existence of unmarked graves in Poonch, J& K chief minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said a “ truth and reconciliation commission” should be set up to unearth the facts. But he denied the presence of “ mass graves” as reported in the September 26 edition of this publication.
“With only a few exceptions where two bodies were found, not more than one person has been buried in the individual graves,” he said. Saying the issue should not be seen in black and white, he added: “ Quite often, there are various shades of grey.” Referring to the article in MAIL TODAY, Omar said: “ A newspaper has carried a report about the presence of 2,500 graves in Poonch, including mass graves… The records reveal that 2,136 militants have been killed in Poonch since 1990, of which 2,090 were of foreign origin.
The graves could be theirs, but to declare them ‘ mass graves of unidentified persons’ cannot be the real reflection of facts.” Arguing for the commission while speaking on a motion moved by the National Conference legislators to discuss the issue of mass graves, the chief minister said: “ This can be the biggest J& K- centric confidence- building mechanism ( CBM) by India and Pakistan for the people of the state.” He also requested the leadership of the two countries to hold a dialogue on the issue and come forward with a joint strategy.
He clarified that his government would not wait for the commission’s formation.
“The state human rights commission recommendations on the issue will be given due consideration and implemented,” he promised.
Omar said the proposed panel would clear the air on how many people were from across the Line of Control ( LoC), how many had died in militant training camps and how many had been killed by militants. “ Should we not seek the answer to how many people were killed by militants? Have we no right to ask who killed our people and under what conditions were they killed?” he asked.
The chief minister told the House: “ We are not here to hide the facts or conceal the truth… but our endeavour is to dig out the facts and bring these before the public. This cannot be done overnight but we have to make a start in this direction.”
-Thanks Mail today