Set up independent commission to probe forced disappearances,

A human rights group has asked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to set up an independent commission for probing cases of forced disappearances and unmarked graves in the state.
The demand for the independent commission was made by Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) in a letter to the Chief Minister, a spokesman of the group said today.

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"APDP through its letter to the Chief Minister demands an Independent Commission of Inquiry, co-chaired by two retired justices of the Supreme Court of India, assisted by a panel of international experts and under scrutiny of independent observers.

"The commission should be tasked with the mandate of investigations of enforced disappearances and unknown, unmarked and mass graves, within a set time frame," a statement said.
The spokesman said this commission should carry out forensic examinations, DNA profiling, identify those responsible for enforced disappearances and devise a framework for reparations.
The demand for an independent inquiry comes seven years after the APDP report 'Facts Underground' that detailed the presence of more than 940 unmarked graves in the Uri area of Baramulla district in North Kashmir.
The investigation wing of the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) had admitted to presence of unmarked graves in some areas of north Kashmir and made a slew of recommendations for putting closure to thousands of cases of enforced disappearances.