Growing up in Jammu and Kashmir, admits decades of armed conflict and militarization, Khuram Parvez was immersed in the struggle for human rights from a young age. As a child he witnessed the tragic shooting of his grandfather at a protest. This transformative moment led Khurram to dedicate his life to nonviolence and human rights advocacy.
As founder and Programme Coordinator of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) and the Chair of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, a collective of 13 non-governmental organizations from ten Asian countries, Khurram has relentlessly led investigations on State-sanctioned violence and reported on numerous human rights violations in Kashmir, including indefinite detention, extrajudicial killing, torture, sexual violence, enforced disappearances, widespread impunity, and more. Despite facing repression and attacks by State and non-State actors, he courageously continued to denounce violations of rights.
In 2004, Khurram’s left leg was amputated due to a landmine injury he suffered while monitoring the parliamentary elections. The same landmine killed his dear friend. In 2016, he was banned from travelling to attend the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, and was then arrested for 76 days. On November 22, 2021, Khurram Parvez was detained by the Indian Government under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). He has since been held without due process in India’s Rohini Prison Complex, 500 kilometers from his wife, his two children, and the rest of his family.
