ISLAMABAD - A US-based human rights group on Thursday accused Pakistani security forces of using torture and other rights abuses in Pakistan’s part of Kashmir. “Most incidents of politically motivated torture recorded by Human Rights Watch involved the ISI, or the police acting on the military’s behalf,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report, referring to the military’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).In the 71-page report on Pakistani Kashmir, HRW noted that there had been a reduction in infiltration of Islamist militants into Indian Kashmir, but it was still taking place. “Most of those interviewed were of the view that though the level of infiltration had decreased substantially since 2004, there have been no indications that the Pakistani military or militant groups had decided to abandon infiltration as policy.”
The report said the Pakistani military still maintained a close relationship with the militant groups in Kashmir.
It said last year’s devastating earthquake in the region was used an “opportunity to craft a new image for the militant groups rather than as an opportunity to disband them”.