By IANS
Srinagar : The parents of those people, who have disappeared from the valley in the last two decades of militancy, Thursday demanded an independent commission for determining the fate of their kith and kin.
Nearly two hundred people belonging to 60 families of disappeared people staged a demonstration here seeking to know the fate of their loved ones who simply vanished during the last eighteen years of violence here.
The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) was formed here in 1994 by traumatized parents and other relatives.
Parvez Imroz, a prominent local rights activist, who also provides free legal assistance to APDP said: “An independent commission needs to be set up to find out the fate of thousands of disappeared persons who never returned home after they were stated to be missing.
“It is the responsibility of international groups to expose the lies about the disappearances in Kashmir and mount pressure on the Indian government. The silence of international organizations only helps the government”.
The parents of disappeared persons carried placards and wore white cloth bands on their heads saying, “Let us know whether they are dead or alive. At least give us a chance for the decent burial of our loved ones”.
While local rights groups and the APDP maintain nearly 10,000 people have disappeared mysteriously in Kashmir during the last 18 years, the official stand is that around 1,017 persons are missing whose fate needs to be ascertained.