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Army not responsible for Poonch massacre

Militants, and not army personnel, were responsible for the August 3 massacre in Jammu's Poonch district, an investigation has revealed.

The incident had left 19 people, including women and children, of three families dead at Sailan village in Surankot tehsil.

The inquiry, conducted by the National Panthers Party, claimed that the lone eyewitness, 14-year-old-year-old Shabir, who placed the blame on the army, was lying without ''any temptation or fear.''

Another inquiry by the J&K Human Rights Commission is currently on.

The Panthers report said Shabir had gone out into the fields on the fateful night to ease himself when he saw about 12 people, in black robes with faces covered, walk into the house of a militant, Imtiaz. He heard gunshots for about 15 minutes and saw the attackers leaving the place. The next day when he was asked about the killers, he said he had not been able to identify them. However, when produced before the chief minister and the defence minister, he blamed the army.

According to the report, Imtiaz, heading the local unit of the dreaded pro-Pakistan militant outfit Lashkar-i-Toiba, killed Zakir, who had broken away from the outfit and was planning to surrender, in broad daylight on August 3. That night Zakir's men barged into Imtiaz's house and gunned down his family.

Statements given by other villagers were also not in conformity with the facts, the inquiry team said in its report.

In the light of its findings, the NPP has demanded a thorough investigation into the incident.

UNI

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