Centre is not delivering justice to Kargil heroes : MP

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Condemning the role of Union government to not deliver justice to Kargil heroes, Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar lambasted response of former in the Supreme Court yesterday.

Mr. Chandrasekhar said that government filed affidavit in apex court yesterday states that it could not refer the case of inhuman torture and killing of Capt. Saurabh Kalia and five other soldiers by Pakistan to International Court of Justice.

Showing inability to bring the matter in International Court of Justice  center had stated in the court that it was governed by a bilateral agreement with Islamabad, hence it could not take up the case.

Father of martyr Mr. N.K. Kalia (64) who is a retired scientist of CSIR had knocked the door of Supreme Court after he failed to get justice from the Indian government the matter was listed for hearing before the apex court yesterday.

The centre in its reply stated that it could treat the Martyr victims of war crime or Prisoners of War (POW) as it was bound by some agreement (Simla Agreement of 1972).

The petitioner filed this before the apex court bench presided by Mr. Justice R. M. Lodha and Mr. Justice Anil R. Daveon on Dec 14, 2012. Rajya Sabha member who has raised the matter in Parliament said today that union government stated in the reply that since it was bound by Simla Accord, the issue has to be resolved bilaterally between the two countries.

The affidavit submitted by the Unions of India says “It is highly unlikely that Pakistan will consent to India’s proposal to submit the case to International court of Justice by special agreement when it  has treated the allegations as absurd.”

The affidavit also says that ‘a state cannot be compelled without its consent to submit to a dispute filed by another state to international adjudication.’ The government clearly  states in the affidavit that torture inflicted upon Capt. Kalia by the Pakistan army cannot be termed as a war crime.

“Along with Capt. Saurabh Kalia’s family and thousands of Indians in and out  of uniform, I am deeply disappointed with the government’s response to this  issue”, condemning the state of Union government in the court MP said.

He added that an issue which involves the torture and murder of a soldier, who was committed to serving and defending the nation, in violation of laid down international laws for conflicts, deserves a response far better than the  one that we have seen.

“While I appreciate there are diplomatic niceties that tend to cloud judgment of what is right or wrong sometimes, I reiterate the responsibility of government to stand by its soldiers and people, which cannot be swept aside,” he added.

“To those that inflict terror on our people and soldiers, the government must adopt a ‘Never Forget, Never Forgive, and Relentlessly Pursue’ approach to ensure that these crimes are never repeated again”, Member of Parliament added.

It is worthwhile to mention here that 4th Jat Regiment’s Capt. Saurabh Kalia broke the report of incursion by Pakistani forces in Kargil region of Jammu and Kashmir on Indian soil. The other five soldiers killed after torture by enemies were Arjun Ram, Bhanwar Lal Bagaria, Bhika Ram, Moola Ram and Naresh Singh. They were  patrolling at Bajrang post in the Kaksar sector and were made captive by Pakistani troops on May 15, 1999. Their tortured and mutilated bodies were handed over to the Indian Army on June 5, 1999 as they were reportedly tortured for weeks in enemy’s camp.

Capt. Saurabh Kalia hailed from Palampur town of Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh.

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