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Srinagar, March 31, 2018 (PPI-OT): In occupied Kashmir, over 318 children have been killed in the past fifteen years (2003-2017) and the perpetrators are yet to be booked, reads a report prepared by the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS). The report ‘Terrorized: impact of violence on the children of J and K’ which is an assessment of violence against children in the territory, gives data on killings, arrests, mass violence and sexual violence. It however, doesn’t count the number of children blinded due to the firing of Indian forces’ personnel on protesters during the 2016 mass uprising.
Of the 318 children killed, 121 fell in the age group of below 12 years, while 154 were between 13 to 17 years of age. Infants (up to 2 years of age) too have become victims of violence as 13 infants have been killed in last fifteen years. “The youngest victim of violence in last fifteen years was the 10-month-old baby Irfan who was killed in 2010, when his mother was caught between forces and protestors in Dangiwacha, Baramulla,” the report mentioned.
The data reveals that out of the total 318 children killed in the violence, 72 were girls, which accounts for 22.64% of the total children killed. “While one teenage girl was raped and murdered by armed forces in 2009 in Shopian while another 16-year-old girl from Bandipora committed suicide after being raped by an Ikhwani,” the report said.
The highest number of killings of children in the last 15 years took place in years 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2010 – with 50 killings in 2006, followed by 48 killings in 2010 and 36 each in the years 2005 and 2003 respectively, the report added.
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