ISLAMABAD: Thousands of civilians in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) have been left permanently disabled due to the systematic use of violence by Indian security forces, including pellet guns, torture, landmines, and other forceful measures, according to a report.

Released on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, a Kashmir Media Service report warns that more than 7,000 people have suffered pellet injuries since 2016, with over 200 losing their eyesight.

Hospitals in Srinagar recorded 777 pellet-related ocular injuries in just four months: doctors at a local hospital treated more than 1,000 pellet victims in the two years after the 2016 uprising. Human Rights Watch has confirmed that 139 people were fully or partially blinded, while 1,459 others sustained severe eye injuries requiring multiple surgeries.

The report says Indian forces, including the army, paramilitary units, police, and Special Operations Groups, have used pellet shotguns, bullets, crowd-control shells, and tear gas not only during protests but also in residential areas, targeting bystanders, schoolchildren, and women. Victims frequently suffer shattered bones, damaged organs, and lifelong disabilities.

It also documents brutal torture methods in interrogation centers, including electric shocks, severe beatings, crushing of leg muscles with wooden rollers, burning with heated metal, and hanging detainees upside down. Many of those tortured have been left permanently crippled or psychologically scarred.

The report says the danger extends beyond direct violence. Landmines, unexploded ordnance, and booby traps have killed or disabled thousands across districts such as Poonch, Rajouri, and Budgam since 1947. In Tosa Maidan, a former Indian army artillery range, at least 150 people were disabled and 75 killed, with locals claiming the real figures are much higher.

Medical evidence cited by the Kashmir Media Services report shows the conflict has created a mental health emergency. A study by the Government Medical College Srinagar found that pellet victims suffer from high levels of major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, anxiety, and substance abuse, leaving many unable to reintegrate into everyday life.

The report highlights the emotional trauma through individual stories, including that of photojournalist Zuhaib Maqbool, who was struck by pellets in 2016 while covering a protest. He has undergone multiple surgeries but continues to live with severe vision impairment and chronic pain.

The Kashmir Media Services report concludes that disabled individuals in the region face “double discrimination,” first from their injuries, and then from the challenges of surviving in a heavily militarized, conflict-affected territory with limited access to rehabilitation, education, or employment.

The report urges the international community, human rights bodies, and global civil society to take urgent notice of what it calls a systematic pattern of violence aimed at crippling an entire generation of Kashmiris.

Articles tagged with "violence against Kashmiris"

India using violence to systematically cripple Kashmiris: report