Pakistan calls Major Leetul Gogoi's reward for tying Kashmiri man to jeep 'act of cowardice, inhumanity'
Awarding Major Leetul Gogoi, who used a Kashmiri youth as a human shield, is condemnable and an act of cowardice and inhumanity, said Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria.
In Short
- Gogoi has been given a clean chit by the Indian Army's Court of Inquiry, say
- Pakistan accuses Indian forces of being involved in acts of 'grave violence against civilians'.
- Pakistan has urged the international community, mainly the UN, to take cognisance of the act.
Pakistan today condemned Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat for felicitating Major Leetul Gogoi, who had tied a Kashmiri man to his jeep and paraded him as a human shield in several villages, with a Commendation Card.
"Awarding Major Leetul Gogoi, who brazenly used a Kashmiri youth as a human shield, is condemnable. It is a crime and an insult to humanity," Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said.
"The Commendation Card for Major Gogoi of 53 Rashtriya Rifles was given for his "sustained efforts" in counter-insurgency operations," the Indian Army had said.
Gogoi, who has also been reportedly given a clean chit by the Army's Court of Inquiry (COI), was felicitated by the Indian Army for "saving several lives" by his act of using a Kashmiri youth as a shield.
NOT THE FIRST TIME: PAKISTAN
Zakaria further said that it was not the first time that the Indian forces had displayed such an act of "cowardice and inhumanity".
Accusing the Indian forces of being involved in acts of "grave violence against civilians", Zakaria also urged the international community, particularly the United Nations, to take cognisance of the act.
A video, shot on April 9 during the Srinagar by-poll held amid violence, showed a man, later identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar, tied to an Indian Army jeep's bonnet in Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir, to ward off stone pelters.
The Jammu and Kashmir police, however, filed a case against Gogoi, which is still on.
(With Inputs from IANS)
Also read | Nothing found against Major Leetul Gogoi in court of inquiry, say Army sources