GOVT IN A FIX OVER DEMANDS OF KARGIL MARTYR’S FAMILY

NEW DELHI: The government appears to be short of options on how to address the demand of the father of Kargil war hero, the late captain Saurabh Kalia, who wants an apology from Pakistan for torturing his son.

NK Kalia has moved the Supreme Court, demanding that the government should drag Pakistan to an international judicial forum for violating international norms of dealing with prisoners of war. He said his son was captured alive and subjected to brutal torture by Pakistani forces, before sending back his mutilated body 15 days later.

The government, though sympathetic, apprehends a set of problems if the matter is to be reopened again.

Though Kalia wants the government to move the International Court of Justice at Hague, official sources said if the matter is taken up at an international forum, it is likely to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which deals with matters related with prisoners of war.

“The first hurdle is that neither India nor Pakistan have accepted the jurisdiction of the ICC since last 10 years, therefore it is uncertain whether the case would even be admitted,” said an official.

The next problem is that the Hague court, which came into existence in 2002, cannot take up cases which took place before it was set-up.