16 Years On, Justice Still Denied for Aasiya and Neelofar: Shopian Tragedy Haunts IIOJK

Sixteen years after the horrific rape and murder of Aasiya and Neelofar in Shopian, justice remains a distant dream—a haunting reminder of institutional impunity and India’s weaponization of sexual violence in IIOJK.

On May 30, 2009, the lifeless bodies of Aasiya Jan and Neelofar Jan, two young women from Shopian in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), were discovered in a chilling case of abduction, gang rape, and murder allegedly by Indian troops. Today, as IIOJK marks the 16th anniversary of the Shopian tragedy, families, activists, and rights groups continue to demand justice that remains shamefully elusive.

The case, widely condemned at the time, became a symbol of India’s militarized oppression in IIOJK and sparked mass protests across the valley. However, despite public outrage and mounting evidence, no one has been held accountable. Instead, the incident was buried under a web of denials, cover-ups, and institutional silence.

In a statement issued in Srinagar, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) called the Shopian incident a “dark stain on India’s conscience”, with Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas describing it as a “serious attack on the collective conscience of the people of IIOJK.”

“This tragedy shook the entire valley. Sixteen years later, the pain still lingers because the killers walk free under state protection,” Minhas said, calling for an impartial international probe under the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal.

Over the past three decades, Kashmiri women have endured systematic sexual violence at the hands of Indian troops. From Kunan Poshpora to Shopian, a horrifying pattern emerges—rape as a tool of war, used to crush dissent and inflict psychological terror on the civilian population.

“Harassment, torture, and rape have become weapons India wields against the mothers, sisters, and daughters of IIOJK,” said one women’s rights activist. “These crimes are not isolated—they are state-sanctioned and part of a broader policy of domination.”

The families of Aasiya and Neelofar, devastated and silenced for over a decade, have lost faith in Indian courts and investigating agencies, turning instead to international human rights bodies for redress.

“We do not expect justice from those who protect the perpetrators,” a family member said. “We appeal to the international community to investigate and expose this ongoing war against the women of IIOJK.”

Despite the scars, the memory of Aasiya and Neelofar continues to fuel resistance and demand for accountability across IIOJK. Their names are now etched in the territory’s long, painful history of Indian state violence—but also in its unyielding struggle for justice, dignity, and self-determination.