Army chief Rawat junks UN report on ‘rights abuse’

Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday trashed a recent United Nations report on alleged human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir as “motivated,” reiterating the government’s position that it was “fallacious, tendentious and motivated.”

“I don’t think we should get too concerned about the report. Some of these reports are motivated,” Rawat said on the sidelines of a cyber security conference.

He said the army’s human rights record was “absolutely above board.

Released on June 14, the report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, titled ‘Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Kashmir: Developments in the Indian State of J-K from June 2016 to April 2018, and General Human Rights Concerns in Azad J-K and Gilgit-Baltistan,’ sought an international inquiry into the alleged abuses.

General Rawat added, “I don’t need to speak about the human rights record of the Indian Army. It is well known to the people of Kashmir and to the international community.”

The report also sought repealing of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) “urgently” and also the immediate removal of “the requirement for prior central government permission to prosecute security forces personnel accused of human rights violations in civilian courts.”

Reacting to the report when it was released, a government spokesperson said, “It is overtly prejudiced and seeks to build a false narrative,” and violated “India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

I don’t think we should get too concerned. Some of these reports are motivated. I don’t need to speak about the human rights record of the Indian Army. GEN BIPIN RAWAT, Army chief