JOIN USArmy chief Gen Bipin Rawat on Wednesday thrashed the new UN report on Kashmir as “motivated one,” which didn't reflect on the Indian Army's human rights records in the state.
“I don't need to speak about the human rights record of the Indian Army. It is well known to all of you, it is well known to the people of Kashmir, and to the international community. I don't think we should get too concerned about the report, some of these reports are motivated,” Rawat told reporters on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi.
The Indian Army's human rights records are absolutely above board, he maintained.
The Army chief's comments are directed towards a controversial UN report on Kashmir brought out by the United Nations Human Rights – Office of the High Commissioner. The report is based on indirect sources and secondary information as UN officials did not get access to Jammu & Kashmir. Views of India and Pakistan governments were incorporated.
While describing the rights situation in Indian (consisting of the Kashmir Valley, Jammu and Ladakh regions) and Pakistani side (Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan) of the conflict zone, the report underlines the need to address past and ongoing human rights violations and deliver justice for all people in Kashmir.
The Ministry of External Affairs did not agree with the report's conclusion.
“India rejects the report. It is fallacious, tendentious and motivated. Such malicious reports couldn't undermine the will of the people. India will take all measures necessary to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country from cross-border terrorism,” the foreign office had stated in a strongly worded statement.
In February 2018, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed Parliament that since 1990, the Jammu and Kashmir government had sought the sanction of the central government for prosecution of members of the security forces in 50 cases.
The central government refused to sanction the prosecution in 47 cases, while decisions remained pending in relation to three cases as of April 2018, the UN report said, quoting information furnished by the government to Parliament.
Indian authorities insist that any allegations of human rights violations by security forces are appropriately handled by the military justice system.