India has rejected every request over Kashmir

India has been blocking prosecution of Indian soldiers in civilian court in Kashmir for alleged rights abuses including murder and rape, according to documents given Tuesday to the Associated Press. The revelation is likely to spark an outcry by Kashmiri activists who for years have accused Indian troops of abusing wide-ranging powers to search, seize and even shoot suspects. Those powers were given in 1990 when India faced unrest in the Himalayan territory. Under the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Kashmir needs federal approval for prosecuting paramilitary or army soldiers in civilian courts. Kashmir has sough permission in 50 such cases in the last two decades, but India has refused every one, the territory s Home Ministry said in a response this week to a Right to Information request filed by The Coalition of Civil Society, a local rights group. The Kashmiri government would not say what other options it could or would follow in seeking justice. "We re taking legal recourse," Home Department Secretary B.R. Sharma said Tuesday, without specifying what that might be. The rights group said the information vindicated what Kashmiri activists have been arguing for years. "It implies there is 100 percent legal impunity for Indian troops operating in Jammu and Kashmir," said Khurram Parvez of the Coalition. Kashmir s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah proposed eliminating the special powers last year, but was rebuffed by the federal government after the army objected. India has long relied on military might to retain control over Kashmir and has fought two territorial wars with Pakistan. The 1990s uprising and subsequent Indian crackdown killed 68,000 people. Nevertheless, the region remains heavily militarized, with hundreds of thousands of Indian troops stationed and maintaining checkpoints throughout Indian-controlled territory. Pakistan and China also control portions of the region. Human rights workers have accused Indian troops of illegally detaining, torturing and killing suspects, sometimes even staging gunbattles as pretexts to kill.