New Delhi, December 27: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Friday said that the Indian armed forces are "extremely secular" and abides by the international human rights law. Speaking at an event organised by the National Human Right Commission (NHRC), General Bipin Rawat said that the Indian Army follows principles of "insaniyat" and "sharafat" while carrying out its operations and guarding borders. Indian Army Defends General Bipin Rawat’s Remark on Students’ Protest, Veterans and Opposition Rebuke.

"Indian Armed Forces are much disciplined and have the utmost respect for human rights laws and international human rights law," General Rawat said. "The driving ethos of the Indian armed forces is insaniyat (humanity) and sharafat (decency). They are extremely secular," he added. He also said that that the Army Headquarters had created a human rights cell in 1993, which now is being upgraded to the level of a Directorate to be headed by an Additional Director General. General Bipin Rawat to be Appointed as First Chief of Defence Staff After Tenure as Army Chief Concludes: Report.

"The Indian armed forces not only ensure protection of human rights of our own people but also of adversaries and deal with the prisoners of war as per the Geneva Conventions," General Rawat said while speaking on the topic "Preserving Human Rights in times of War and Prisoners of War". The Army Chief said that the challenge is the changing warfare tactics. "Unlike the attack by any armed forces, the terror attacks remain unaccountable in international law," he said.

Referring to the Armed Force Special Powers Act, AFSPA, the Army Chief said that the Act gives almost the same powers to the Army, which are also exercised by the Police and the CRPF in connection with search and inquiry operations. However, over the years the army itself has diluted its application in its own way under the ten commandments issued by the Chief of Army Staff, which are to be strictly adhered to by every soldier, and particularly those deployed for operations in anti-insurgency areas.

"The Supreme Court guidelines on this are also being strictly followed by soldiers, who are all given special training before their deployment in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations," he stressed. On Thursday, General Rawat's statement that "instigating large crowds to turn violent and carry out arson doesn't amount to leadership", drew a lot of criticism from across the political spectrum and civil societies. (With IANS inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 27, 2019 05:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).