ALLEGATIONS OF TORTURE IN KASHMIR

Early day motion 471, tabled 4 September 2012 by Roger Godsiff (Labour). Signed by 28 members.

That this House views with the gravest concern the evidence of continued state sponsored, systematic and organised torture and rape of the Kashmiri civilian population as documented by the recent Channel 4 Dispatches programme; notes the growing and now incontrovertible evidence of over 6,000 unmarked graves in the area of demarcation known as the Line-of-Control on the border between Indian and Pakistani controlled Kashmir; believes that these graves, the majority of which appear to be the bodies of unknown young men, constitute a large proportion of the estimated 8,000 to 10,000 who disappeared during the conflict in Kashmir, one of the heaviest militarised zones in the world; commends the work and courage of Kashmiri lawyer Parvez Imroz and others like him who seek to keep the Indian authorities accountable for their actions in the face of specially drafted laws such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act under which soldiers and paramilitaries enjoy almost total immunity from prosecution; and calls on the Government to press the Indian authorities to allow the UN expert on torture to be allowed entry to Kashmir.

Signatures by party: Labour 13, DUP 3, Plaid Cymru 3, Social Democratic and Labour Party 3, Liberal Democrat 2, Alliance 1, Conservative 1, Respect 1, Scottish National Party 1.