Srinagar: Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing a deepening human tragedy as thousands of people continue to remain missing, exposing the crimanal face of the occupation authorities in the territory.
According to Beyond the Time News, shocking data tabled in the Indian Parliament reveals that out of 7,151 missing persons reported in occupied Jammu and Kashmir in 2023, as many as 4,190 are still untraced. The admission was made none other than by India’s Minister of State for Home Affairs, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, in a written reply to Rajya Sabha member Randeep Singh Surjewala.
Although the actual number of missing persons is far more than the state, yet the confession by the data submitted by the Modi regime itself lays bare the alarming scale of disappearances in the occupied territory, where fear, lawlessness and prolonged militarisation have turned everyday life into a nightmare. Children and women form the bulk of the missing, underscoring the extreme vulnerability of civilians under Indian occupation.
Official figures show that while police managed to trace 2,961 individuals during the year, thousands of families continue to live in agony, not knowing the fate of their loved ones.
Pakistanis firmly standing with Kashmiris in solidarity
The situation of missing children is particularly disturbing. The number of child disappearances has shown a steady and frightening rise—from 627 cases in 2020 to 723 in 2021, 821 in 2022, and persistently high levels in 2023. Girls constitute the majority among missing minors, intensifying fears of trafficking, abuse and other serious crimes in an environment marked by impunity and weak accountability.
Recovery rates further expose the failure of the system. Of the 821 children reported missing in 2022, only 376 were traced, leaving 445 still unaccounted for. This grim pattern has continued year after year, creating a growing backlog of unresolved cases and shattered families.
Overall figures highlight a worsening crisis. In 2020, 5,824 persons were reported missing in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, but only 2,011 were traced. In 2021, 6,486 cases were reported with 2,526 recoveries. In 2022, 6,983 people went missing and just 3,136 were found. By 2023, the cumulative toll reached 7,151 missing persons, with more than four thousand still untraced.
The staggering number of untraced persons stands as a damning indictment of India’s claims of “normalcy” in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and highlights the urgent need for international attention to the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the territory.
