ISLAMABAD: The United States has castigated the Indian government for extrajudicial killings, torture, rape and disappearances by Indian troops in Jammu and Kashmir and north-eastern Indian states.

According to KMS (Kashmir Media Service), the State Department in its annual document, released by the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington, stated that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act is still considered valid, which provides the Indian troops immunity from prosecution for acts committed by them.

The document also referred to the Public Safety Act and said that under this act the authorities could detain a person without charge or judicial review for as long as two years.

The document maintained that the family members are not allowed access to the detainees in jails. The police, the document added, routinely employs arbitrary detention and denied detainees' access to lawyers.