Moderate Hurriyat Conference chief Mirwaiz Umer Farooq today demanded an inquiry into the fate of "missing" persons allegedly subjected to forced disappearance by security forces in Kashmir over the past 20 years.
"Troops and intelligence agencies of the so-called world's largest democracy, empowered by draconian laws, picked up innocent Kashmiris... And subjected them to forced disappearance," Mirwaiz told a Friday congregation at the historic Jamia Masjid here.
"We demand an impartial inquiry into the fate of the thousands of Kashmiris who were subjected to forced disappearance over the last 20 years," he added.
"There are about 9,500 people missing while 6,500 unmarked graves have been discovered in Kashmir. Kin of the missing persons have every right to protest (in order) to know about the people who are buried in those graves," he said.
Despite the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) staging protests every month, international human rights organisations have "done nothing other than maintaining silence" over the issue, he said.
He then appealed to rights organisations and the International Court of Justice to ensure "justice for the affected people".
He said it was "highly shocking" that those sitting in the Assembly for the "sake of power", claiming to be the representatives of the people, had not even paid lip service to the "grave issue of enforced disappearances or killing of Kashmiris" by security forces.
