STRUCTURES OF VIOLENCE

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| Structures of Violence
claiming to be ex-Ikhwanis when in fact they were never
part of the Ikhwan. This was said to be the case with:
Mohammad Abbas Mir, son of Ali Mohammad Mir [his
brother Ashiq Hussain Mir was an Ikhwan], Mohammad
Ashraf Mir, son of Abdul Aziz Mir, Ashiq Lone, son of
Ghulam Mohammad Lone.
A striking testimony during the visit to Larkipora was that
of Bilal Ahmad Wani [Testimony no.39] who describes the
killing of his brother and the modus operandi of the army
[accompanied by Ikhwan] during an encounter:
My brother Mohammad Shafi Wani was used as human
shield and killed. He was aged 22. This happened on 18
May 2001.
He had finished tuitions and come home. He ate and was
getting ready for Friday prayers. Meanwhile militants
were caught in Kaba Marg, a near by village. He said he
would go for prayers. My mother was worried because
there was firing going on in Kaba Marg. There was also
camp close by and she was worried that the camp
personnel would come. But he went anyway and returned
safely. Then he decided to go and hide in the fields as the
other boys were doing. As he was going, additional forces
were coming from the Larkipora camp. I was also with my
brother when the army personnel came by and picked us
both up. There was a Sardar Major. 36 RR was around
those days.
The encounter was going on along with Ikhwan from the
Sadoora camp. Manzoor Kachru was one of the Ikhwani
present. Also present were Abbas Kandroo [real name:
Mohammad Abbas Sofi] who is now in Territorial Army,
and Januk (Ikhwan Muzamil Rather) was also there.
As I said, the army stopped us. They said if you run we will
shoot. The following boys, besides my brother and me
were picked up: Tariq Ahmad Rather, son of Mohammad
Yousuf Rather, Bashir Ahmad Rather, son of Ghulam
Hassan Rather, Reyaz Ahmad Rather, son of Mohammad
Jabbar Rather. All of us were from Larkipora. I was 16
years old then.
We were taken to Kaba Marg in an army vehicle. There
was a house there. They asked us to take some
explosives and keep it there. Two of the boys managed to
escape during this process. I went in and the militants said
that if I was doing this under compulsion I should keep the
explosives to one side. I did so. Then my brother was also
forced by the army to go inside the house with the
explosives. He went in and left the explosives, at the same
moment the militants ran. Then the army started
shooting. My brother died in this process. The explosives
also exploded. One army man died as he was shot by a
dying militant under the rubble. In addition the following
militants died: Ghulam Rasool Wani, resident of Gund,
Mohammad Amin Gani, son of Ghulam Ahmad, resident
of Verinag and Manzoor Ahmad Dar, son of Mohammad
Sultan, resident of Nassu, Badragund. Even after my
brother died they tried to give me another bomb to take
inside. But my mother who had come, fought with them
and she took the bomb away from me. The army people
beat her and her left shoulder got injured.
The Camp Record
The Khanabal army camp, along with the other
accompanying agencies and groups, perpetrated
widespread and systematic violence across Islamabad.
A general overview of the violence perpetrated within and
because of the Khanabal army camp is perhaps best
illustrated by the testimonials of workers at the Katoo
market, in Harnag, which is just adjacent to the camp.
They describe numerous instances of being picked up
and tortured by personnel of the Khanabal camp. For
example, in 1993, they state that shopkeepers,
numbering close to 200, were picked up from around the
camp, including from Katoo market, and taken to the
camp and tortured. The RR was then stationed at the
camp. This was done because a Brigadier had been killed
in Bijbehara the previous day and the RR sought to
retaliate.
In another incident, the workers at the Katoo market recall
the Fidayeen attack on 11 January 2000. Following this
attack, for three years, the market was made to follow a
timetable by the camp – opening hours were at 10:00 am
and closing hours at 4:00 pm. No vehicles were allowed to
stay there in the evenings. This particularly affected the
business of the local community. The Ikhwan associated
with the camp regularly harassed the shopkeepers. For
example, they used to force them to shut their shops even
when there was no call for a shutdown from the profreedom
parties such as the Hurriyat Conference. Further,
they were regularly made to pay ransom / extortion money
to the Ikhwan.
In the case of Islamabad town, the heavy militarization –
from Ikhwan, MM, BSF, CRPF and Police to the presence
of the army, including at High Ground that overlooks the
town – has led to numerous killings and other violations.
While conducting our eld research in Islamabad town
and adjoining areas the researchers came across the
following cases of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial
executions, and torture. These cases are not a
comprehensive listing of the cases of violations in the
area. They represent only the very limited number of
cases which were narrated to the researchers by the
interviewees. The attempt of this report is not to produce a
comprehensive list of crimes perpetrated by the
structures of violence existing in the area. But to bring in
focus the patterns, scale and structure of violence. These
cases should be read along with the more detailed
testimonies also provided in the Annexure to the section,
(Annexure 1 ) and the detailed list of violations at
Annexure 2.
Enforced Disappearences
The following persons have been subjected to enforced
disappearance and the involvement of a unit/ofcer is as
indicated below:
• Mushtaq Ahmad Shah alias Shahbaz, son of
Ghulam Nabi Shah, resident of Nai Basti, was
disappeared by the army in 1996.
• Reyaz Ahmad Gilkar, son of Mohammad
Subhan, resident of Dabrunna, Islamabad was
disappeared on 25 April 1994 by army from Khanabal
camp.
• Nazir Ahmad Malik, son of Khalil Malik, resident
of Khanabal, Islamabad, was disappeared in ending
January 2003 by army.
• Mohammad Qasim Khan, aged 25, son of Sattarud-Din
Khan, resident of Cheglipora, Chattergul,
Islamabad, was disappeared in 2003 by Major Pikel of
7 RR.
• Gulzar Ahmad Mir, son of Abdul Majeed Mir,
resident of Bumthan Katran, Mir Bazaar, Islamabad,
was disappeared on 2 June 1991 by army.