Posted by Dinesh Agrawal dxa4@psu.edu
Times of India
June 28, 1999
Title: Pakistan involved in war crimes: Experts Author Prakash Chandra Hota Publication: Times of India Date: June 28, 1999 NEW DELHI: Experts on international law suggest crimes tribunal for violating the Geneva convention and other global laws for torturing and killing Indian soldiers in captivity. ``It is a clear and blatant violation of international law and Geneva convention,'' says Rahmatullah Khan, professor of international law at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) here, condemning the killing of Sqn Ldr Ajay Ahuja, Lt Sourav Kalia and five other Army personnel in Pakistan army's captivity. Calling for a pro-active approach rather than merely being reactive to Pakistani aggression, Prof Khan says India should go to the United Nations Security Council and have it referred for a full scale investigation. Agreeing with him, Rajiv Nayan of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) says India should take up the issue with the concerned world bodies so that the world knows of the true picture of the Pakistani ruling elite and the ideology it is pursuing to guide its domestic as well as foreign policy. Accusing Pakistan of involvement in war crimes, a senior Army official says Islamabad has established in the last three wars that they never respect the Geneva convention. Calling for proper documentation of the latest cases of torture and mutilation to present them at international fora, he says Pakistan should be convicted for its involvement in war crimes. ``It can be safely ascertained that Pakistan is not a country which the comity of nations can trust,'' says Mr Nayan. The mutilated bodies of Lt Kalia and five other soldiers of the Four Jat Regiment were handed over on June 9 by the Pakistani army in the Kargil sector. ``This is an outrageous act and a violation of international conventions,'' an Army spokesman had said immediately after the bodies were received by India. ``This is a clear violation of Geneva convention relating to the treatment of prisoners of war (PoW),'' says Prof B S Chimni of the School of International Studies at the JNU. Article one of the Convention says, ``The high contracting parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the present convention in all circumstances.'' ``Even in the 1971 war there were a large number of cases where Indian soldiers' mutilated bodies were thrown into the Indian side,'' says a war veteran. He cites cases where the Pakistani army did not spare even civilians and brutally tortured and killed them during the freedom struggle of Bangladesh. The Pakistan government has the legal obligation to punish those involved in the cases of mutilation and killing, says Prof Chimni. Prof Chimni says Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif ought to apologise for the torture and killing of Indian soldiers in captivity as it failed to perform its duty as a government. (PTI)
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