Jammu:
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has supported the call for the DNA profiling of bodies in thousands of unmarked graves in state and has asked relatives of people who have disappeared to give blood samples to see if there is a match with bodies buried in these graves.
The state Assembly is debating the very emotive issue today after initial chaos when the main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) walked out over its demand that Question Hour be suspended for the discussion not being met. The ruling National Conference contended that one of its MLAs had already moved a resolution on the matter and it would be taken up later in the day as part of the business of the House.
Over the years, thousands of people have disappeared in Jammu and Kashmir, never to be seen again and human rights activists allege that many of these people were eliminated in the fight against terrorism and buried in unmarked graves. They have sought that these graves be dug up so that DNA samples can be matched to those from the families of missing people.
In the debate that finally began in the state Assembly today, the Chief Minister, supporting DNA profiling, also cautioned, "Every missing person is not dead. Some people who have been declared missing are living across the border."
He also said that some unmarked graves contained the bodies of foreign militants as well. "Out of over 2,100 unmarked graves in Poonch, 2090 graves contain bodies of foreign militants whose identity could not be ascertained," Mr Abdullah said.
The PDP has demanded that the state human rights commission's recommendations on the matter be adhered to. "There are thousands looking for near and dear ones. The bodies may be those of militants, but they are our civilians...Let's go according to recommendations of the human rights commission," PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said after her party walked out of the Assembly.
In his speech, the Chief Minister promised that the state human rights commission's recommendations "will not be ignored."
The Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights Commission has recommended the formation of an independent and structured body to look into all aspects of unmarked graves in the state. Hearing a case after its police investigation wing submitted a report establishing the presence of over 2000 unmarked graves in north Kashmir, the commission asked the state government to conduct DNA profiling of the bodies buried in these unmarked graves. The Commission had also asked the government to investigate the presence of over 3000 unmarked graves in the Poonch and Rajouri regions.