CB BureauThe United Nation’s (UN) human rights wing has come forward
to help the families of Kashmiris who have been missing for the past two
decades. The families allege that the missing were picked up by the security
forces and never returned.
Srinagar-based Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons
(APDP) has been appointed by the UN to implement the project and the UN will
ensure enough grant for the purpose.
‘The project will be implemented through the APDP. We have
to undertake a survey to ascertain the number of disappeared persons across the
state. Each case will be documented and we will also come to know the
circumstances under which they disappeared or details of the agency
(responsible for) their disappearance,’ Zahoor Wani, the project coordinator,
said in an official statement.
The APDP believes that some 8,000 men have disappeared in
the Valley, mostly while they were in security forces’ custody. The state
government, however, has estimated the number of the missing from a few hundred
to 3,429. It claims that many of them have crossed the border to receive arms
training.
The survey to find out the exact number has already started
in the Srinagar and Kupwara districts. ‘The entire survey across the Valley
will take six months. It will later be extended to Jammu,’ Wani said.
This is the first time that a UN body has come forward to
help the families. New Delhi is averse to ‘outside interference’ on Kashmir and
has denied international human rights groups access to the state.
‘No family will be provided any cash assistance but the UN
body can arrange legal and medical assistance. Additionally, the educational
requirements of the children of the victims can also be arranged,’ Wani said.
APDP has been struggling for years to trace the people
who have disappeared. It has demanded that a commission be set up to probe the
disappearances.