90 Armymen punished for violating HR in J and K : Governor

Srinagar, Aug 14 (UNI) Jammu and Kashmir Governor Lt General (Retd) S K Sinha today said 90 Army personnel have been punished with dismissal and life imprisonment for human rights violations the state.

General Sinha said that there have been odd occasions when the Army has also been guilty of human rights violations.

''So far, during the last 18 years 34 such instances have taken place in which 90 Army personnel have been punished with dismissal and imprisonment ranging from 1 to 14 years, he said in his message on the even of Independence Day.

However, he said, most of the allegations against the Army are totally false or highly exaggerated as part of a deliberate plan of separatists and militants to vilify the Army.

''We should not allow ourselves to be misled by such propaganda'', he said.

The record of our Army in respecting human rights is far superior to that of Pakistan Army in Baluchistan and Wazirstan or of the US Army in Iraq and Afghanistan'.

This should not, however, lead to any complacency, he said and exhorted the Army to further strive to improve its record and win the hearts and minds of the people.

UNI