India using cluster bombs on civilians across LoC: ISPR

RAWALPINDI: The Indian army had been deliberately using cluster bombs to target civilians along the Line of Control (LoC) in violation of international laws, said the Inter-Services Public Relations on Saturday.“Indian Army uses cluster ammunition along LoC deliberately targeting civilian population. This is a violation of the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law,” the military’s media wing said in a statement.“Indian Army on night July 30th/31st targeted innocent citizens including women and children in Neelum Valley through Artillery using cluster ammunition. Resultantly two civilians including a four-year-old boy martyred while 11 got critically injured,” ISPR added.The statement further said: “Because of severe impact on non-combatants, use of cluster ammunition is prohibited under Convention on Cluster Ammunition. This blatant Indian aggression against all international norms exposes the true character of the Indian Army and their moral standing.” It urged the international community to take notice of India’s blatant violation of international laws on the use of cluster ammunition targeting innocent citizens.In a tweet, ISPR Director General Maj-Gen Asif Ghafoor said “no weapon can suppress determination of Kashmiris to get their right of self determination”. “Use of cluster bombs by Indian Army violating international conventions is condemnable. No weapon can suppress determination of Kashmiris to get their right of self determination. Kashmir runs in blood of every Pakistani. Indigenous freedom struggle of Kashmiris shall succeed, IA.” Ever since cluster munitions were first used in the 1940s, civilians have paid dearly for their unreliability and inaccuracy. These weapons, delivered in massive numbers over vast areas, have killed and injured thousands of civilians in war-torn countries, particularly in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.For many years, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has expressed its deep concern about cluster munitions. In 2000, it called on States to stop using them and to urgently negotiate a legally binding instrument to address the wide-spread human suffering caused by these weapons.In view of the suffering endured by civilians for decades each time cluster munitions were used, and the lack of an adequate response to this in other fora, Norway launched the “Oslo Process” in February 2007. The process aimed atcreating an international treaty to prohibit cluster munitions that cause “unacceptable suffering” to civilians.After global follow-up conferences in Lima, Vienna and Wellington, and regional meetings in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, the Convention on Cluster Munitions was adopted on May 30, 2008 by a Diplomatic Conference in Dublin in which more than 100 States participated.The ICRC warmly welcomes the adoption of this historic agreement prohibiting the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions. The participating States have confirmed that cluster munitions, which have caused so much loss in decades, are not only morally repugnant, but are now considered illegal.

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