August 15, 2008	Friday	Sha'aban 12, 1429

NEW YORK, Aug 14: The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called upon the Indian government to order its troops and police to refrain from using lethal force against protesters in Jammu and Kashmir unless absolutely necessary to protect life.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the HRW said the Indian security forces should abide by the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms, which required law-enforcement officials, including members of the armed forces, to apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and only in proportion to the seriousness of the offence. The UN principles allowed lethal force only when it was “strictly unavoidable in order to protect life”.

The New York-based watchdog group also called upon political parties and groups leading the protests to end their dispute peacefully and do all they could to prevent acts of violence.

“With violence escalating, the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir is again at the brink of catastrophe,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, senior Asia researcher for the HRW. “To end this cycle of tragedy, the government should order security forces to act with restraint and all parties should try to settle the dispute peacefully.”