Amnesty unhappy over SC decision

Srinagar: The Amnesty International (AI) has expressed its disappointment over the Supreme Court’s refusal to reopen cases of killings of Kashmiri Pandits following the outbreak of insurgency in the Valley in 1989-90.

Reacting to SC’s rejection of a review petition seeking to reopen 215 cases in which as per the claim of the petitioner over 700 members of Kashmir’s minority Brahmin community were killed nearly three decades ago, the AI said that all allegations of unlawful killings must be investigated into independently.

“The Supreme Court’s decisions are a setback for justice and accountability in Jammu and Kashmir. All allegations of unlawful killings must be investigated by independent civilian authorities and those responsible brought to justice,” said Asmita Basu, programmes director at AI India on Saturday. 

She recalled that the apex court had in July asked for an investigation into over 80 cases of alleged extra-judicial executions in Manipur dating back to 1979 and that  the ruling was seen as an affirmation of the fact that crimes cannot be overlooked only because of the passage of time.