By IANS,
New Delhi : The Indian Army Wednesday described as “erroneous and speculative” a media report that Indian soldiers had tortured and decapitated Pakistani troops.
The army said in a statement that it was a “highly professional force and does not indulge in unsoldierly acts as alleged” in the newspaper story.
“The very fact that Pakistan has not raised any such issue in bilateral interactions since 1998 bears testimony to the allegations being misleading,” it said.
It said it was incorrect to say that there was no agreed mechanism to regulate conflicts along the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
It said that “existing hotlines were effective in reducing the tensions along the LoC recently”.
A front-page story in a newspaper Wednesday reported classified Pakistani protests to the UN that accused Indian troops of torture and decapitation of at least 12 Pakistani soldiers in cross-LoC raids since 1998.
The report and the army denial follow tensions along the LoC after a Pakistani soldier was killed Jan 6 by the Indian Army and Pakistani troops killed two Indian soldiers two days later.
One of the Indian soldiers was beheaded and the head carried away. The other soldier’s body was reportedly mutilated.
The Director General Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two countries have since agreed to stick to the 2003 ceasefire along the LoC.