Staff Reporter
Islamabad
President Arif Alvi on Monday termed the remarks of a former Indian army official advocating the rape of Kashmiri women as “disgraceful”.
In a tweet, the president condemned the comments made by retired Major General SP Sinha on a TV show on Hindi news channel TV9 Bharatvarsh, in India, in which he can be heard saying: “Death in return for death, rape in return for rape.”
Alvi termed the remarks as “disgraceful” and added: “Imagine the fate of women in Indian occupied Kashmir where such men wield power with total impunity.”
The president’s reaction comes a day after a clip of the former Indian army official went viral on social media with many criticising him for the hateful remarks.
According to Scroll.in, Sinha had asked for “death in return for death, and rape in return for rape” in order to “avenge the atrocities against Kashmiri Pandits during their exodus from Kashmir in 1990”.
In the clip, the moderator is seen trying to calm down the heated exchange, which involved the panellists and audience members. During the two-minute video, another panellist says he is walking out over Sinha’s remark. The former Indian army officer — who in the clip is seen sticking by his reprehensible remarks — has received strong backlash at home as well.
Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Monday also condemned the remarks, saying Indian army officials had become the “agents” of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
For years, human rights groups have accused Indian troops of intimidating and controlling the population of occupied Kashmir with physical and sexual abuse and unjustified arrests. Indian government officials deny this, calling the allegations “propaganda”.
Abuses alleged by rights groups since 1989 have included rape, sodomy, waterboarding, electric shocks to the genitals, burns and sleep deprivation. The United Nations last year called for an independent international investigation into allegations of rights violations like rape, torture and extrajudicial killings in Kashmir.
