ISLAMABAD/SRINAGAR, 22 September 2006 — A US-based human rights group yesterday accused Pakistani security forces of using torture and other rights abuses in Pakistan’s part of Kashmir. “Most incidents of politically motivated torture recorded by Human Rights Watch involved the ISI, or the police acting on the military’s behalf,” Human Rights Watch said in a report, referring to the military’s Inter-Services Intelligence.

HRW issued a similar report on Indian Kashmir last week in which it said that rights abuses continued there unchecked. In the 71-page report on Pakistani Kashmir, HRW noted that there had been a reduction in infiltration of Islamist militants into Indian Kashmir, but it was still taking place.

“Most of those interviewed were of the view that though the level of infiltration had decreased substantially since 2004, there have been no indications that the Pakistani military or militant groups had decided to abandon infiltration as policy.” The report said the Pakistani military still maintained a close relationship with the militant groups in Kashmir. It said last year’s devastating earthquake in the region was used an “opportunity to craft a new image for the militant groups rather than as an opportunity to disband them.”

Director of South Asia Human Rights Watch Brad Adams told a press conference in Islamabad, “though the track record of Pakistan-administered Kashmir is not that alarming as is the case of Indian-held Kashmir but still human rights situation in Azad Kashmir is not satisfactory.” He was accompanied by human rights activist in Pakistan I.A. Rehman and south Asia researcher of Human Rights Watch in Pakistan Ali Dayan Hasan.

Adams said the Human Rights Watch issued a similar report on Indian Kashmir on Sept. 12, which relates to ruthless killing of thousands of Kashmiris by Indian security forces in the name of “Cross Fire”, “Encounters” and “Self-Defense”. “There are over 4,000 people detained in Indian Kashmir and their cases are not even presented before the courts. Detention without trials is a gross violation of human rights”, he said adding, “we have discussed these issues with the corps commander of Indian Army in Srinagar”.

Meanwhile, a schoolboy was killed and two other children wounded in Indian Kashmir yesterday when a grenade thrown by suspected Muslim militants at a police party missed the target. Four others, including two soldiers, were also wounded in the explosion that took place in Tangmarg, a tourist resort west of Srinagar.

The fresh violence in the disputed region came a day after a front-line militant group, Hizb-ul Mujahedeen, offered a conditional truce during Ramadan. Ramadan is expected to begin at the weekend. Earlier yesterday, Indian soldiers shot dead four suspected militants near the Pakistani border in Uri, 100 km west of Srinagar, an army spokesman said.

—Additional input from agencies