Pakistan terror based organizations Jaish-E-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen use and recruit children in the clashes that happened with the security forces last year, according to the UN report which they released on Thursday.
The annual report of the UN Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, covering the January-December 2017 period, said globally, over 10,000 children were killed or maimed in conflict last year while more than 8,000 were recruited or used as combatants.
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The report contains over 20 countries including Syria, India, Afghanistan, Yemen, Philippines, Nigeria. The report said that there were three incident reported in which children were recruited in Jammu and Kashmir in the clashes between the forces and people of Kashmir.
“One case was attributed to Jaish-e-Mohammed and two to Hizbul Mujahideen,” the report said, adding that “unverified” reports also indicate the use of children as informants and spies by the security forces.
The UN said it continued to receive reports of recruitment and use of children, including by Maoists, particularly in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. “Naxalites reportedly resorted to the use of a lottery system to conscript children in Jharkhand,” it said, adding children continued to be killed and injured during operations of security forces against armed groups.
The government data said that 188 civilians were killed in Maoist affected areas, but there was no data on missing children. In March 2018, a 15-year-old boy was killed during clash between the security forces and Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists in Padgampora village of Pulwama district.
In Jharkhand, the report said, suspected Maoists attacked a school in Khunti district, partially destroying it. With regard to military use, the occupation of over 20 schools was documented by the Central Reserve Police Force in Srinagar, Kashmir, in April.
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“Increased tensions in Jammu and Kashmir reportedly also led to the closure of the school for varying periods, including in Rajouri (65) and Poonch (76) districts,” it said. In Pakistan, the report said, the UN continued to receive reports of the recruitment and use of children, including from madrassas, also, the alleged use of children by armed groups for suicide attacks. In January, Tehrik-e-Taliban, Pakistan released a video of children how to carry suicide attacks.