Civil Liberties applicable to complaints received by the Commission, rather than the special procedure laid down in Section 19 of the Act. 3.13 As in earlier years, the Commission remained in touch with the competent authorities at the State level, both in Jammu & Kashmir and in the North-Eastem States, in respect of the broad range of human rights issues facing them. Procedures continued to be recommended for a variety of situations, including cordon-and-search and similar operations, with a view to protecting human rights to the greatest extent possible in the complex circumstances prevailing in these States. All concerned were also reminded to function in accordance with the ruling of the Supreme Court in Writ Petition No. 910 in respect of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. It wll be recalled that the Commission had, itself, made a submission before the Apex Court in that case. 3.14 The Commission also continued to deal with the representations received fiom members of the Kashmiri Pandit community who have been forced to leave the Valley and live in the most trying conditions, and in large numbers in camps in Jammu, Delhi and elsewhere. In this connection, an important decision was announced by the Commission on 11 June 1999, in respect of the degree and nature of its jurisdiction for the State of Jammu & Kashmir. It is hoped that this decision, and the many practical recommendations and procedures that the Commission has made, or set in place since then, will be of continuing assistance to this group in alleviating their poignant circumstances. 3.15 On the same day, namely 11 June 1999, the Commission also announced its opinion on the grave claim brought before it by groups representing Kashmiri Pandits, that members of their community were the victims of genocide. The extensive data presented to the Commission was profoundly disturbing and tragic. The Central Government indicated that the number of those killed because of the insurgency and terrorism in the State between 1988-1997 was 16,850, including 710 Hindu civilians and 6,219 Muslim civilians. A list of 157 'leaders' who had been killed in the Valley over this period was also provided: 37 of them were Hindus and 120 were Muslims. Though there were minor differences in the figures provided by the parties, there was a general view that some 300,000 Kashmiri Pandits had been forced to leave the Valley because of the terror imleashed in their home State. Representatives of the Pandits asserted that some 1000 members of tlieir community had been killed in the Valley, and the names of those who had succumbed to torture in the hands of the terrorists were mentioned. The State and Central Governments did not dispute the numbers of those who had had to leave the Valley. They asserted, however, that in addition to the Kashmiri Pandits, a number of Sikh families and some 1500 Muslim families had also registered for relief assistance, while many other Muslim families had left but been afraid to register for fear of reprisals against their relatives. 21