ISLAMABAD, Jan 21 (APP): Legal Forum for Kashmir (LFK) has launched a comprehensive dossier on Zia Mustafa’s extra-judicial execution in a staged encounter at Poonch Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
To highlight the ongoing situation in IIOJK, the LFK on Friday organized a roundtable debate titled “Investigation War Crime Cases in IIOJK”, here at a local hotel.
According to the dossier, the 15-year-old Zia Mustafa from Rawalakot AJK inadvertently crossed the Line of Control on January 13, 2003 and was arrested by Indian occupying forces. The family members of Zia Mustafa lodged a missing report before the concerned police station.
The army and Jammu Kashmir police led by the then Director General of Police A K Suri gave a joint press conference to the Indian media on April 11, 2003 projecting and presenting Zia as a foreign militant, allegedly involved in so called terror incident.
However, the dossier reports that Zia was a minor when he crossed the border unknowingly and later, was falsely implicated in militancy by the Indian forces and agencies.
The report further states that the trial court in Shopian, Kashmir framed charges against Zia under Sections 302, 120b, 450, 395, of IPC; 7/27 PACT; 2/3 IMCO. However, the state out of prosecution witnesses failed to produce a single piece of evidence against Zia.
Accordingly, the court closed the prosecution evidence. The State of Jammu and Kashmir filed a criminal appeal before the Jammu and Kashmir high court Srinagar Wing, which was meritless and accordingly dismissed by the court.
The state again approached the supreme court of India and filed a criminal appeal 39899/2018 with the condonation of delay application which was still pending.
Zia’s lawyer Mubashir Gattoo while talking to local media said Zia an under trial for 17 years was facing a case before session’s court, but there was no evidence for his conviction.
The dossier highlights the extra-judicial execution of an under trial who was in a judicial custody when the joint counter insurgent group including Indian army without following the mandate of law took Zia outside the jail and killed him in a staged encounter.
The dossier also reveals the important documents showing Zia a minor boy at the date of his arrest, moreover, the prisoners list exchanged by the foreign offices listed Zia an under trial prisoner. It highlights the 111 fake encounters and the alleged perpetrators involved in these war crimes.
The LFK held a roundtable debate inviting law experts and key stakeholders on the ‘universal jurisdiction’ case submitted before the metropolitan war crime unit in the United Kingdom.
The experts hailed the efforts of Stoke White Investigation Unit for filing a suit against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and other six Indian officials responsible for torture and extra-judicial killing of the duo.
Dr Muhammad Mushtaq, former Director General of Sharia Academy eulogized the remarkable work of Stoke White and also pitched for constitution of war crime tribunal for the crime against humanity in IIOJK.
Hakan Camuz said that he hoped that the request to British police seeking the arrest of Indian officials would be followed by other legal actions also focusing on Kashmir.
He added the Stoke White was sure that it was not going to be the last one, there would probably be many more applications.
Towards the end, Executive Director Nasir Qadri said this is the beginning of lawfare against the occupier and his organization would further pursue the war crime cases to different available forums so that the perpetrators involved were apprehended for their crimes.
He further said Kashmir had faced worst human carnage for the last 74 years and the international community could no longer be silent spectators to India’s atrocity crimes and impunity.
