Srinagar, Dec 16: In the backdrop of civilian killings in Pulwama a day earlier, former Union Minister, Prof Saifuddin Soz, Sunday, in a letter, urged the Common-Wealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) Chief Sanjoy Hazarika to visit Kashmir and see for himself the “blatant and extreme” human rights violations through the black and draconian law – the AFSPA.
“I also told him that what happened at Pulwama, was a massacre of unarmed civilians and his organization should demand an enquiry by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court of India,” Soz said in a statement.
He, it added, reminded CHRI Chief that he had himself described this Act as an ‘archaic’ and extremely violative of human rights and had urged Government of India to scrap it.
“I also reminded him that he had himself admitted that it was impossible to reach the victims of this black law. I conveyed to him that now was a situation that Army and the forces felt free to use this lethal weapon – the AFSPA, in routine and on daily basis,” the statement added.
Soz said he conveyed to Hazarika that in view of the fact that National Human Rights Commission was a dysfunctional body, his responsibility had increased.
“I forwarded the copy of the letter to many Human Rights Activists in India and to many Generals including General D.S. Hooda,” Soz added.