Srinagar, Aug 22: A day after government recognized State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) revealed presence of unmarked graves containing over 2156 bodies at 38 sites in north Kashmir, Chief Minister of the region Omar Abdullah Monday said there was a need to form a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to unearth the facts.
“I have said it before that there is need for setting up of Truth and Reconciliation (T&R) commission. The commission should be assigned the task to probe all the killings in the region. Whether the killings were carried out by militants or security forces it needs to be probed,” Omar told reporters here.
He said he had demanded setting up of Truth and Reconciliation Commission when his party was in opposition in Kashmir. “I repeat the same today. There is no way out but to setup the commission,” he said.
Replying to a query on the unearthing of mass graves by SHRC, the chief minister said, “It is too premature to comment on the issue”.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Mehbooba Mufti expressed surprise that inspite of downfall in the graph of militancy, fake encounters are still taking places.
She said the SHRC report about more than 2000 unidentified bodies are buried in unmarked graves in 38 places is a shocking report and needs a thorough investigation.
“A high level probe should be conducted to establish identity of the victims,” Mahbooba demanded and said that DNA tests of these unidentified bodies should be conducted.
She appealed to the civil nature of the Indian society to come forward and discuss human issues to help the people of Kashmir get justice.
