Tarigami for credible mechanism on disappeared persons from JK

Srinagar, Aug 30 (UNI) CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami today urged the Jammu and Kashmir government to set up a credible mechanism to ascertain the whereabouts and the fate of hundreds of disappeared persons from the state during the past two decades.

Raising the issue during the zero hour in the state Assembly, Mr Tarigami said August 30 was being observed across the world as the international day of disappeared persons.

There have been hundreds of such cases in Jammu and Kashmir during the past two decades, he added.

The CPI(M) leader said the issue had been raised on several occasions in the House in the past. ''What has happened so far? There may be contradictions in the exact number of disappeared persons, but there are none as far as the measures needed for addressing this matter of grave concern,'' he added.

Mr Tarigami said there were two types of disappearances - enforced/non-voluntary and voluntary. The first one being forced by the law enforcing agencies, he alleged.

The CPI(M) leader demanded setting up a credible mechanism to address the issue. ''The government should make it a priority issue and set up an inquiry commission which would ascertain the whereabouts of disappeared persons from the state. This will also enable the parents to know the fate of their children,'' he added.

UNI