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First Post
19 hours ago
- Politics
- First Post
'Heinous crimes with utter impunity': India flags Pakistan's sexual violence in 1971 at UNSC
India has flagged Pakistani Army's organised sexual violence against women in East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) in 1971 at a discussion at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on conflict-related sexual violence. Eldos Mathew Punnoose, the Indian Chargé d'Affaires at the Permanent Mission to the United Nations (UN), speaks at a discussion on conflict-related sexual violence at the UN Security Council on Tuesday, August 19, 2025. (Credit: Permanent Mission of India to the UN) India has flagged Pakistan's organised sexual violence against women in East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) in 1971 and over the decades in its own country at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The UNSC held an open debate on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) on Tuesday. Pramila Patten, the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, briefed the UNSC and presented the Secretary-General's annual report on conflict-related sexual violence. Eldos Mathew Punnoose, the Indian Chargé d'Affaires at the UN, flagged the 'utter impunity with which Pakistan Army perpetrated heinous crimes of gross sexual violence against hundreds of thousands of women in erstwhile East Pakistan in 1971'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Punnoose further flagged Pakistan's use of violence against women as a weapon of persecution against minorities. 'As a matter of \ful record, this deplorable pattern continues unabated and with impunity to this day. Rampant abduction, trafficking, early and forced marriages, and domestic servitude, sexual violence and forced religious conversions of thousands of vulnerable women and girls as weapons of persecution towards religious and ethnic minority communities are reported and chronicled, including in the recent OHCHR reports. These reports highlight that the while acts by Pakistan are also validated by its judiciary,' said Punnoose. Punnoose spoke about Pakistan's record after Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN, mentioned alleged sexual violence and forced disappearances in Jammu and Kashmir and accused the Indian government of being involved in these alleged instances. Punnoose further said, 'It is ironical that those who perpetrate these crimes are now masquerading as champions of justice. The duplicity and hypocrisy is self-evident. Mr. President, as I conclude, allow me to once again reaffirm India's unwavering commitment to root out sexual violence in armed conflict and support and assist survivors of such heinous crimes.' In the Bangladesh liberation movement, the Pakistani military systematically used sexual violence against women, including rape, as a weapon. Estimates suggest that Pakistani forces raped between 200,000 and 400,000 ethnic Bengali women and girls in 1971. Several thousands of women died by suicides after being assaulted. The Pakistani military also ran rape camps where women were held hostage for soldiers to assault them. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD General Tikka Khan of the Pakistani Army, infamous as the 'Butcher of Bengal', was the architect of the campaign that was formally called 'Operation Searchlight'. The campaign has been dubbed as a genocide as he and his successor, Lieutenant General AAK Niazi, clearly stated that they wanted to exterminate ethnic Bengalis, particularly non-Muslims, in East Pakistan. Conflict-related sexual violence on the rise The conflict-related sexual violence worsened last year as 25 per cent more cases were reported last year, according to the report presented at the UNSC by Patten. There were 4,600 reported cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2024, marking a 25 per cent increase from the previous year, the report found. Patten stressed that this was a 'chronic undercount' as these were only the cases that the UN could confirm. Among verified cases, sexual violence against children rose by 35 per cent, with victims being as young as one-year-old, the report found. There were 21 areas in which verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence were confirmed, with highest cases recorded in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Haiti, Somalia and South Sudan, as per the report. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD New areas in which conflict-related sexual violence was reported include DRC, Libya, and Israel-occupied Palestinian territories.
Time of India
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
'Deplorable Pattern Continues': India Slams Pak At UN Over Sexual Violence Against Women Since 1971
/ Aug 20, 2025, 08:49AM IST At the UNSC Open Debate on Conflict-related Sexual Violence, Indian diplomat Eldos Mathew Punnoose condemned the continued use of sexual violence as a weapon against vulnerable communities. He highlighted Pakistan's role in such abuses, recalling the mass sexual violence committed by the Pakistan Army in 1971 in East Pakistan. Punnoose said this disturbing pattern continues today through abductions, trafficking, forced marriages, and religious conversions of minority women and girls. Citing recent OHCHR reports, he accused Pakistan's judiciary of enabling these crimes. He labeled Pakistan's claims of promoting justice as hypocritical, calling out its duplicity on the global stage.
New Indian Express
19-06-2025
- New Indian Express
Force strained as 1,500 cops deployed for court escorts
KOCHI: The Kerala Police force, already grappling with a severe shortage of personnel, is facing an unsustainable burden as nearly 1,500 officers are deployed every day solely to escort undertrial prisoners to courts and hospitals. The practice, which was temporarily modernised during the Covid pandemic through widespread use of video conferencing, has largely reverted to 'outdated' physical escort procedures — raising concerns over resource wastage and missed opportunities for digital reform, according to senior police officials. They said an average of 80 personnel are deployed daily from each of the state's 20 police districts, many drawn from district headquarters camps, for escort and protection duties both within and outside their home districts. 'Even without accounting for rural courts, Kochi city alone has around 15 functioning courts. Escorting the accused to and from these courts every day requires at least 50 to 60 police personnel,' said an assistant sub-inspector with the Kochi City Police. In districts housing central jails, such as Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur, the numbers climb further, with 80 to 100 personnel tied up daily. These deployments include long-distance escort duties to courts in other districts and often involve multiple hearings per accused individual. 'This is not just a matter of manpower,' the officer added. 'There are also significant financial costs involved — food and travel expenses for the accused, allowances for escorting officers, vehicle fuel, and more. The burden on the police department and the state exchequer is enormous.' Despite having the infrastructure to avoid these physical escorts, the system remains underutilised. The virtual court appearance mechanism was introduced in Kerala as early as 2010, with jails equipped with dedicated video conferencing facilities. However, the discretion to mandate a virtual or physical appearance lies solely with the judiciary. Jacob Punnoose, former state police chief, stressed on the urgent need to adopt technology to ease the pressure on the force. 'In this era of digital advancement, where police stations, jails, and courts are interconnected, it is high time we modernized and reduced our reliance on outdated escort practices,' he said. Punnoose also pointed out a practical challenge: some repeat offenders treat court visits as outings. 'They use the opportunity to meet family members, interact with friends, or consult lawyers — turning what should be a formal legal procedure into a social affair.'
