The MoD said the Indian Army is engaging with the MEA and the Ministry of Home Affairs to counter the propaganda. (Photo: PTI)

India has failed to counter Pakistan propaganda on Kashmir allowing it to internationalise the issue citing human rights excesses in the state.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD), in its annual report, said that Pakistan has been successful in taking Kashmir to global platforms despite efforts to combat the propaganda.

"Pakistan's effort to portray the Kashmir issue has received a fillip following the publication of two international reports by the office of United Nations Human Rights Commission and the British Parliaments All Party Coordination Committee," the MoD report for 2018-19 said.

The report added, "Pakistan, with renewed vigour in 2018, orchestrated an international campaign on Kashmir through its sponsored proxies by trying to project law and order maintenance actions as trumped up human rights cases of excess use of force."

The MoD has said that the Indian Army is proactively engaging with the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs to counter propaganda both at international and national fora.

A recent United Nations report alleged human rights violations by the Indian forces in Kashmir and proposed the formation of an inquiry commission.

Rejecting the findings, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs called the report "fallacious, tendentious and motivated" and questioned the intent in bringing out such a report.

"It is a selective compilation of largely unverified information. It is overtly prejudiced and seeks to build a false narrative. The report violates India's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India," the MEA had said in response to the report.

The MEA also said, "Pakistan is an illegal and forcible occupation of a part of the Indian state through aggression. We have repeatedly called upon Pakistan to vacate the occupied territories. The incorrect description of Indian territory in the report is mischievous, misleading and unacceptable. There are no entities such as 'Azad Jammu and Kashmir' and 'Gilgit-Baltistan'."

In its annual report, the Ministry of Defence stated that in 2018, the Indian Army received 15 allegations of human rights violations from the National Human Rights Commission.

"Out of these, six investigations have been completed and all of them have been found false. Balance allegations are currently under investigation," the MoD said.

India has maintained that Pakistan-sponsored terrorism is the only cause of conflict in Kashmir. Pakistani forces abet infiltration of terrorists from across the Line of Control (LoC) who in turn recruit youth in the hinterland.

The MoD report says that between January 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019, 305 militants were neutralised in J&K.



