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| HM, DM treading different paths | | Stone-pelters in Kashmir | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, June 7: The BJP-led NDA Government is in complete disarray. Union Home Ministry asked J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti in November last year to grant amnesty to "first time stone-pelters" in Kashmir and Defence Ministry the other day told National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) that withdrawal of FIRs against stone-pelters would demoralize security forces and embolden militants to use civilians as human shield for their terror activities.
In fact, the Defence Ministry filed a report before the NHRC saying that "withdrawing of cases against stone-pelters by the state government will demoralise the security forces and may encourage the acts of militants to take help of civilians as their shield for terror activities". It filed the report in response to a petition filed by three children of army personnel.
The Defence Ministry in its report, inter-alia, said: "It is the duty of the state government to take strong action against stone-pelters and provocateurs to safeguard the human rights of members of the armed forces operating in Jammu & Kashmir".
This stand of the Defence Ministry before NHRC came in response to a petition filed by children of two serving and a retired army personnel - Preeti, Kajal and Prabhav - who had questioned the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP government's decision in February to withdraw FIRs against nearly 10,000 people who were earlier booked for stone-pelting.
"Do personnel of armed forces, facing grave and serious violations of human rights, not deserve the attention and empathy of the custodians of human rights? As young Indians and citizens of this great country, especially as children of army personnel, we are concerned about the state of affairs of the troops serving in disturbed areas," the petition had said. It had also demanded an urgent intervention of NHRC to hold inquiry into stone-pelting incidents and protect human rights violations against armed forces personnel.
Preeti, Kajal and Prabhav had, in addition, referred to the Shopian incident where an Army Major was booked for firing at stone-pelters but no FIR was lodged against those who threw stones at the Army convoy leading to the firing that caused deaths. They had also said in their petition that the army had been deployed in Jammu & Kashmir since the state machinery was incapable of handling the law and order situation. "The very administration which the army seeks to assist and support has failed to safeguard its human rights," their petition had said.
After perusing the report filed by the Defence Ministry, the NHRC asked the response of the Chief Secretary of Jammu & Kashmir within six weeks. |
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