Nirmala Sitharaman dismisses UN report claiming human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir

NewsBharati    14-Jul-2018
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New Delhi, July 14: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday dismissed a United Nation report on human rights violation in Kashmir, saying that the Indian Army exercises maximum restraint in carrying out operations in the troubled state.

 

Notably, the statement of Nirmala Sitharaman comes a day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced support for the UN human rights chief's call for an independent international investigation into the human rights situation in Kashmir.

While rejecting a UN report on human rights violation in Kashmir, Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "It was a report which was prepared sitting somewhere else. The assessment is totally without basis. The Indian Army shows maximum restraint in conducting operations including in Jammu and Kashmir."

Talking to the reporters, the Defence Minister also added that the security forces are keeping an eye on new recruitment of youths in Kashmir by terror outfits. She said, "We are also focusing who is behind motivating them to join the terror outfits."

Referring to the US sanctions on Russia, the Defence Minister said, “S-400 Triumf air defence missile deal with Russia will go ahead despite the US sanctions on military transactions with Moscow.”

She further asserted that India's defence relationship with Russia has endured several decades and Government has conveyed about it to a US Congressional delegation which visited India recently. The minister also said that the negotiations with Russia for the S-400 missile deal have almost come to conclusion. The Defence Minister said it may take two-and-a-half to four years to implement the S-400 missile deal after it is signed.

Interestingly, New Delhi wants to procure the long-range missile systems to tighten its air defence mechanism, particularly along the nearly 4,000-km-long India-China border.

BACKGROUND:

India on June 13 this year slammed United Nations for a report in which it has called for a probe into alleged human rights violations in Kashmir by both India and Pakistan and questioned the intentions of the organization.

The External Affairs Ministry in a statement said, "India rejects the report. It is fallacious, tendentious and motivated. We question the intent in bringing out such a report.” “It is a selective compilation of largely unverified information. It is overtly prejudiced and seeks to build a false narrative,” the statement said.

UN report on Kashmir: