Mind your language, Amnesty tells government on JK operations

NEW DELHI AUG 26: Amnesty International has this time taken umbrage to the use of ``aggressive'' language by the Government in describing ...

NEW DELHI AUG 26: Amnesty International has this time taken umbrage to the use of “aggressive” language by the Government in describing its policies against insurgents in Jammu and Kashmir even as it continues to lambast the security forces for their shoddy way of handling the situation there.

“Official announcements (in J-K) use revealing terms like `eliminating’ militants, `sanitizing’ areas and `search and destroy missions’ of security forces”, a letter of the Amnesty International addressed to Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah following the massacre of 32 pilgrims at Pahalgam last month said. Alleging that the “firing in panic (at Pahalgam) by security personnel speaks of institutional failures of training, communications and control,” the letter says Government’s policy in J-K appears for some time to have been to kill rather than to arrest and bring to trial members of the armed groups.

The letter by deputy secretary general Nicent del Buono delves into the violence in Kashmir in the wake of Hizbul Mujahideen’s call for ceasefire last month. Amnesty has termed J-K government’s efforts to conduct a high level inquiry into the massacres as a “sham” as the involvement of government authorities does not conform to the international standards of justice.

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Although Amnesty’s criticism of the security forces is not new, its objection to the ways government talks about security operations certainly is. “The letter says:“statements about security operations consistently mention the number of militants killed as part of the achievements of security forces. There are also reports that members of the special task force, a police force with counter insurgency duties, are given cash rewards based on the number of militants killed and arms recovered. This may have contributed to the upsurge of killings in J-K.”

The Amnesty letter even objects to the defence spokesman’s statement after the Pahalgam massacre that “searches would continue until the ultras are traced and killed.”

The international organisation has also asked Abdullah’s government to ensure that the “security concerns in J-K never override their obligations to respect the fundamental rights, particularly the right to life and the security of person”.

The Government of India has so far not taken cognizance of the reports of the Amnesty international, saying these were one-sided and smacked of anti-India prejudices.