Mumbai, June 7: The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) today demanded abolition of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Kashmir and said the common people in the militancy-affected state are deprived of their basic rights.
 Forces in Kashmir have all the rights. However, commoners are deprived of all their rights, APDP founder Parveena Ahanger alleged.
 "Forces brazenly violate the laws, but no action is taken against them. However, commoners, which largely include teenagers, are picked up regularly," she said at a press conference here.
 The bodies of people allegedly killed by security personnel are not handed over to their families, Ahanger said.
 Demanding abolition of AFSPA, she said "there are a lot of problems in Kashmir. There are half-widows and kids who don't know whether their father is dead or alive."
 APDP, formed in 1994, is an association of the relatives of youths who disappeared over the last 20 years.
 Narrating her own grief with moist eyes, Ahanger said, "My college-going son was picked up by security personnel in 1990. I tried a lot to enquire about him but couldn't trace him."
 "We get no justice. We don't need money and we don't need work. We only want our children back."
 Asserting that security is the main issue in Kashmir, she said, "We (parents and relatives) have no clue about the fate of children who suddenly disappear. The body is not handed over to us. And if they are alive and had been jailed, that information is also hidden from us."

Lastupdate on : Tue, 7 Jun 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
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