J-K Government has come out with figures of 2080 more unmarked graves in Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu province. However, this time it has left no scope of mystery about the identity of the persons buried in these graves, saying they are all foreign militants. The government has stated that around 3431 militants have been killed in the twin districts over the past two decades and of them 2080 have been categorized as unidentified foreign militants. The Home Department which presented the report to State Human Rights Commission on July 3 said that the bodies of “the militants who were not identified” were handed over to local people for burial according to religious rites.  The report states that the foreign militants have always been difficult to identify in counter-insurgency operations and as such they are categorised as unidentified persons. The report, however, makes it clear that all those killed are combatants. Last year, the government had put up a similar defence after the SHRC probe confirmed the existence of the 2156 unmarked graves in four districts of the Valley. But does government’s explanation sum up the entire truth about these graves? More so, when there is no scientific basis for such an explanation.  The attempt here is not to reject the government defence but to pursue the cause of truth in the matter. And truth demands that we can hardly take the government’s word for it. There is little legal evidence to back the government claim. The police have conducted no identification profile of the bodies before handing them over for burial. And if we are to accept the government explanation, the logic would demand we also accept the contention of human rights groups that it is the hundreds of disappeared persons in the state who are buried in these graves. The fact is that there is no easy access to truth in this case. And the least that the government can do is not to ply the line that the only truth about these graves is that foreign militants are buried in them.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 4 Jul 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 4 Jul 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 5 Jul 2012 00:00:00 IST