Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane and Home Minister Amit Shah
London … News Time
A London-based law firm has filed a petition with British police demanding the arrest of the Indian army chief and interior minister over their alleged role in war crimes in occupied Kashmir. According to the Associated Press, law firm Stoke White said it had submitted extensive evidence to the Metropolitan Police’s war crimes unit, which described how General Manoj Mukund Naravane was killed. And Indian forces, led by Interior Minister Amit Shah, are responsible for the torture, abduction and killing of human rights activists, journalists and civilians. The law firm’s report is based on more than 2,000 testimonies of incidents between 2020 and 2021, in which eight unidentified senior Indian military personnel were accused of being directly involved in war crimes and violence in occupied Kashmir. India’s foreign ministry said it was not aware of the report and declined to comment, while the home ministry did not comment.
The report further said that there is strong reason to believe that Indian authorities are involved in war crimes and violence against civilians in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The request has been made to the London Police under the principle of “global jurisdiction” which gives countries the power to prosecute perpetrators of crimes against humanity anywhere in the world. The London-based international law firm said it believed its request was an opportunity to seek legal action against Indian authorities over alleged war crimes in occupied Kashmir.
Hakan Camuz, Stoke White’s director of international law, said he hoped the report would persuade British police to launch an investigation and arrest the men on their arrival in Britain. Some Indian leaders and officials also have financial assets and other connections in the UK. “We are asking the British government to do its duty and investigate these crimes and arrest them on the basis of this evidence. We want them to be held accountable,” he said. The petition was filed by the family of Zia Mustafa, a leader of the Tehreek-e-Azadi, who was extra judicially murdered in 2021, and was filed by human rights activist Muhammad Untoo. Who were tortured before being arrested last week. Kashmiris and international human rights organizations have long accused Indian soldiers of systematic abuse and extrajudicial killings and arrests.
In 2018, the UN human rights chief called for an independent international inquiry into reports of human rights abuses in Kashmir. The Indian government has denied the allegations, claiming that such claims are propaganda by separatist elements. The law firm’s investigation has revealed that the incidence of these violations and violence has increased during the Corona virus epidemic. The report also details the arrest of Khurram Pervez, one of the region’s most prominent human rights activists, by Indian counter-terrorism authorities last year. Hakam Camuz said he hoped the British police would take further legal action in connection with the crimes and atrocities in occupied Kashmir following a request for the arrest of Indian officials.
