Army Chief Orders Probe Into Internet Execution Video

[Argus Panoptes]

You're right. All extra-judicial killings must stop and the laws must be amended, military ATC should be set-up. But who do you expect to do this? Nawaz Sharif? Till then, a temporary solution is this. Otherwise the security situation would just grow worse and all the operations would have no impact.

But Sir, this incident is several years old and and was promised an investigation by Gen Kayani himself. He should answer for this.

 

[Marwat Khan Lodhi]

A son of army colonel told me that beheadings and cutting into pieces of people in swat were carried by our own army as propaganda war .....i didnt believe it .
@Last Hope, can you verify your story. I am sure you cant like me.

 

[joekrish]

If Indian army does a wrongful killing we are up in arms, but here we have Pakistan Army with scores of videos of killing people extra judicially and no outrage?

Agar hum log khud jahil pana dikhate rahainge and not reinforce our justice system by arresting and trying then others will come and kill our people in the same way as they kill our people in Waziristan and Kashmir.

No surprises there, we only see the mistakes done by others and justify ours, flaws of being a human I guess.

 

[Kloitra]

What if tht guy wasnt even a militant?as we saw in the video...first they tried to help him... when they saw his beard.... he was shot with AKs?

Do you get the difference between "Dadi wala hai" and "Wahi dadi wala hai"? There is one, and big one.

Also, did you noticed that they only panicked and called for shooting when they saw his hand moving inside the rubble, if you see the video carefully. They were giving helping hand before, but suddenly panicked.

How confidently can you claim that a dying/cornered militant would not try to pull the pin of a grenade?
The only thing you can argue is that he wasn't a militant, for which, no one can convince you. If he was a militant, then the actions of forces seem justified. Not even PA soldiers would want to risk their life in such cases and go for a kill.

 

[Last Hope]

But Sir, this incident is several years old and and was promised an investigation by Gen Kayani himself. He should answer for this.

The story I posted above, I got it from someone in the service. I believe this was the outcome of the report, cannot be sure. There is not doubt the investigation was carried about and concluded. The reports however, like usual, wouldn't be found or released. There isn't any point to it.

 

[Argus Panoptes]

The story I posted above, I got it from someone in the service. I believe this was the outcome of the report, cannot be sure. There is not doubt the investigation was carried about and concluded. The reports however, like usual, wouldn't be found or released. There isn't any point to it.

So any Major can "take the law into his hands" as he pleases? Is that a correct end to this investigation?

Justice must be done. That is the whole point. Otherwise we risk alienating our people from their own Army. And nobody will be to blame for it except us.

 

[ares]

Inquiry into Pakistan army executions video ends in silence
Associated Press

Oct 3, 2012

ISLAMABAD // The footage was startling: a group of what appeared to be Pakistani soldiers gunning down several blindfolded men in a forested area. As the clips circulated online and the United States threatened to cut aid, Pakistan's army chief promised a full investigation and punishment for those responsible.

But two years later, answers remain elusive.

The army will not say what the inquiry found, nor if anyone was punished. Some rights activists question whether an investigation took place.

Pakistan has spent nearly five years under civilian rule, an unusually long stretch for a 65-year-old country prone to military coups. But as the firing squad footage and several other prominent scandals suggest, the army remains largely unwilling to hold itself accountable to the public. This despite some pressure from more active media and judiciary and despite hopes that the military would rethink its ways after the humiliation it suffered following the unilateral US raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

The army's lack of transparency and resistance to civilian oversight could cripple Pakistan's transition to a healthy democracy, something the US has said the country needs. But the Americans cannot protest too much. Washington needs the Pakistani army's cooperation as the war in Afghanistan winds down, and it already struggles to balance a strained relationship as it presses the army to root out anti-US insurgents hiding in Pakistan.

"It's important to understand that generally the Pakistani military is very careful about not hurting its own people," especially as they fight Islamists trying to overthrow the state, said Ayesha Siddiqa, a prominent Pakistani defence analyst. Most ordinary Pakistanis feel powerless to take on the army, and when it comes to reining in the men in uniform, the still-weak civilian government "can't do anything", she said.

The two video clips that led to the supposed inquiry fuelled allegations that the military carried out numerous extrajudicial killings in the Swat Valley during a major offensive against the Pakistani Taliban in 2009. Bloodied corpses of suspected militants were found dumped on the streets for months after the army retook the valley from the Taliban. The army denied those killings.

The footage, which came to light in September 2010, is believed to have been recorded in Swat. A nearly six-minute clip shows men in Pakistani military uniforms lining up six blindfolded men in civilian clothes, then shooting them. After a voice says "finish them one by one", one apparent soldier walks over to the men and shoots them again. The other, 53-second clip shows only the executions.

On October 8, 2010, the army chief, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, announced an inquiry into the matter. He noted the investigation would consider if the footage was real, but also said: "It is not expected of a professional army to engage in excesses against the people whom it is trying to guard against the scourge of terrorism."

In the two years since, there has been little information on the inquiry.

The US, meanwhile, is legally bound to cut aid to foreign military units that violate human rights, and US officials have said the execution clips prompted a cut-off of funding to several Pakistani army units whose identities are classified.

That does not mean net funding for Pakistan goes down. The money can simply be shifted to other Pakistani units. The nuclear-armed country is of such strategic importance that US leaders say it is difficult to withhold funds. In total, Pakistan receives about US$1 billion (Dh3.6bn) in economic aid and $1bn in military assistance annually.

Ali Dayan Hasan, the head of Human Rights Watch in Pakistan, is not convinced the military investigated the incident.

Still, a more assertive judiciary and a more technologically advanced media landscape are bringing signs of change.

In August last year, an antiterror court sentenced to death a soldier who shot and killed an unarmed youth as he begged for mercy in Karachi. The incident was caught on videotape and repeatedly broadcast by TV stations, triggering enough public anger to ensure the military could not ignore it.

In January, a government-appointed commission released a report on the death of the Pakistani journalist, Saleem Shahzad, who was killed after telling friends he was threatened by the country's premier intelligence agency.

The judiciary has also increasingly demanded the army and intelligence agencies account for suspects allegedly held in secret, believed to number in the thousands. Some have even been freed due to the court's demands.

Protests by victims' relatives helped push for the release of some of the missing, said Mr Hasan.

Inquiry into Pakistan army executions video ends in silence - The National

 

[Last Hope]

So any Major can "take the law into his hands" as he pleases? Is that a correct end to this investigation?

Justice must be done. That is the whole point. Otherwise we risk alienating our people from their own Army. And nobody will be to blame for it except us.

We're going in circles here. I agree with you, but the question is WHO will handle the situation? If you're expecting Nawaz Sharif to, then you're in a huge disappointment.

 

[Sedqal]

I've heard that TTP killed some Army men (cut off their heads) and Army started brutally killing TTP + elements they thought were helping TTP. Anyway its just hearsay and people do like to exaggerate.

The story about killing a woman and hanging her breasts is pathetic. If Army did indulge in extra judicial killing they will likely make up something like that to warrant their actions. If COAS publicly claimed that an inquiry was being made then inquiry results should also be made public.

(This reminds me that there were similar rumors about Waziristan, that USA army killed the wife of a Taliban supporter and hung the - naked- dead body of his wife to a helicopter to send a warning to others. These melodramatic accounts are dime a dozen and should not be taken at face value.)

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Do you get the difference between "Dadi wala hai" and "Wahi dadi wala hai"? There is one, and big one.

Also, did you noticed that they only panicked and called for shooting when they saw his hand moving inside the rubble, if you see the video carefully. They were giving helping hand before, but suddenly panicked.

How confidently can you claim that a dying/cornered militant would not try to pull the pin of a grenade?
The only thing you can argue is that he wasn't a militant, for which, no one can convince you. If he was a militant, then the actions of forces seem justified. Not even PA soldiers would want to risk their life in such cases and go for a kill.

A guy stuck in rubble,crying for help... with enough time to pull the pin... which he doesnt... and is killed?

 

[Argus Panoptes]

We're going in circles here. I agree with you, but the question is WHO will handle the situation? If you're expecting Nawaz Sharif to, then you're in a huge disappointment.

Like I said before Sir, this investigation is Gen Kayani's responsibility. He needs to provide a satisfactory answer to the nation.

 

[Sedqal]

We're going in circles here. I agree with you, but the question is WHO will handle the situation? If you're expecting Nawaz Sharif to, then you're in a huge disappointment.

NS has absolutely nothing to do with this case, its under military law and courts have simply got no jurisdiction. If NS does try to start an inquiry on his own most here will be claiming he has some agenda and is interfering with military.

Indian trolls invaded yet another thread. Insanity is about to prevail.

 

[Kloitra]

A guy stuck in rubble,crying for help... with enough time to pull the pin... which he doesnt... and is killed?

How did he got in the rubble? There was no quake.

Whether he pulled the pin or not, the point is that he could. Why take the risk? Would you like your soldiers to take this risk while dealing with TTP? Is crying for help really any indication for innocence? All I saw in the video was that soldiers trying to help him out of the rubble. Then they identified him by his facial feature. The man's hand moved under the rubble and soldiers panicked, calling for fire.

And how posters here view the video: "Wahi dadi wala hai" indicating a specific person twisted to "Dadi wala hai" as if he was identified belonging to a particular religion.
To see even mods and TTs here use this distorted meaning is sickening.

No one cares that how the shooting only occurred after he moved his hand inside the rubble, they were calm before. Tell me one army dealing with suicide bombers regularly that would not react the same way. Which army would not start shooting at any suspicious movement.

 

[Haseebullah]

So any Major can "take the law into his hands" as he pleases? Is that a correct end to this investigation?

Justice must be done. That is the whole point. Otherwise we risk alienating our people from their own Army. And nobody will be to blame for it except us.

Let me tell you a little something. The land that the Major is standing on has no law. If that Major or his under commands get killed sadly there is only one law to bring these bastards to justice. And the Major is using that LAW.

 

[Argus Panoptes]

Let me tell you a little something. The land that the Major is standing on has no law. If that Major or his under commands get killed sadly there is only one law to bring these bastards to justice. And the Major is using that LAW.

Of course if we follow your logic, then the Taliban are using "Divine Law" to justify their actions. How is the Major's "law" any different than those terrorists? Just because he is wearing a uniform does not absolve him of wrongful actions.