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Srinagar, June 01, 2013 (PPI-OT): A UN expert on human rights has urged India to revoke draconian law, Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), from occupied Kashmir and Northeastern Indian states. The UN Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, in his report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva also called upon New Delhi to institute a commission of inquiry into extra-judicial killings.
“A credible commission of inquiry into extra-judicial executions in India, or at least in the areas most affected by extra-judicial executions, should be appointed by the government,” he said. He maintained that the commission should also serve a transitional justice role, adding, “It should investigate allegations concerning past and recent violations of the right to life.”
“The commission should propose relevant measures to tackle them (extra-judicial killings) and work out a plan of action for the future to eradicate practices of extra-judicial executions,” the UN Special Rapporteur said in his report.
It is to mention here that during Heyns’ visit to India and occupied Kashmir in March 2012, several human rights defenders and civil society groups had lodged complaints on the extra-judicial killings committed by the Indian forces.
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