Human shield row: Amnesty condemns J-K’s refusal to compensate victim

The Amnesty International says the refusal to pay the victim is a callous attempt at evading its human rights obligations.

Amnesty International India on Thursday condemned the Jammu and Kashmir government for refusing to pay compensation to a youth who was strapped to an Army vehicle and paraded in the Kashmir Valley.

Farooq Dar, who was used as a human shield by army, sits in his home in Chill village in Budgam district and holds a picture of him being tied on a jeep.(Waseem Andrabi /HT File Photo)

Amnesty International said: “The Jammu and Kashmir government’s refusal to pay compensation to a man who was strapped to a jeep and paraded by Army is a callous attempt at evading its human rights obligations.”

On October 27, the Jammu and Kashmir Home Department rejected a recommendation from the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) to give Farooq Dar Rs 1,000,000 as compensation for “humiliation, physical (and) psychological torture, stress, wrongful restraint and confinement”.

The government said it could not accept the recommendation because “there were no accusation of human rights violations levelled against the government” and there was “no scheme or policy” under which the compensation could be paid.

The Amnesty statement said: “The Jammu and Kashmir government claimed that it was not responsible for violating Dar’s rights, but refusing to pay him compensation for torture is also a human rights violation.”