Is this how Indian Army treats the terrorists?

Indian Army has often earned the ire of Human right activists for the many operations that it carries out in Kashmir, and has been accused of violating Human rights on plethora of occasions. Infact, in 2019, UN human rights report had expressed concern over excessive use of force in the Kashmir valley.

One of the recent videos that have emerged from the valley will definitely shock those who are dilettante about the situation in Kashmir. The valley has been the bone of contention between two south Asian countries– India and Pakistan, since they became independent in 1947. Pakistan is accused of using proxy forces to wage an asymmetrical war against India. Terrorist groups in the valley are mostly composed of –foreign terrorists, who infiltrate into India via the border, and then there are local terrorists, who pick up arms against the state after being radicalized by anti-India entities within Kashmir.

This video was circulating on social media after a recent military CASO ( cordon and search operation ), at Charsoo village of Jammu and Kashmir union territory. Indian Army had encircled a house which had a terrorist, Zahid Hassan Gadhanji, hiding inside it. The family members of the terrorist were given an opportunity to urge the terrorist to surrender.

Video of family members of a terrorist, Zahid Hassan Gadhanji, urging him to surrender.

But despite the chance given to him, he opened fire at Indian Army, and was killed in the encounter that followed. Zahid Hassan was a member of Hizbul Mujahideen, a terrorist outfit which is funded by ISI, the spy agency of Pakistan.

This is not the first time that a terrorist was given ample amount of time to surrender. During almost every operation in which a local terrorist is involved, Indian Army requests the terrorist’s family to urge the terrorist to surrender. Another example would be a high profile encounter in September 2019, which involved 3 terrorists, who had captured a hostage inside a house.

Kashmir has witnessed a whittling down of violence in the valley since the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. Indian Army’s efforts at maintaining peace in the valley have also been lauded by the locals. The valley is slowly returning to normalcy after 2 decades of chaos.

Article by Levina

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