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'Legal system in Kashmir under pressure'

Last updated on: January 14, 2011 19:56 IST

Army Chief General V K Singh said the legal system in Jammu and Kashmir was under "various pressures" that leave a question mark over the process.

"I don't know how much you are aware of the legal system in the valley. There are various pressures out there. You are aware of Miyan Qayoom Khan, who was President of the Bar Association and now he is in detention and he has been
rabidly anti-India.

"Now, with that kind of a situation, what kind of a justice we would expect and legal provisions would be followed, leaves a question mark," he told a press conference in New Delhi.

The Army Chief was responding to a question why the Army was opposing a civilian trial in the alleged fake Machil
encounter. Commenting on the inquiry in the case, he said the probe was delayed initially "because of the local courts
putting a ban on the witnesses being available to the Army and after that, there were lot of legal wrangles in trying to get
the

issue sorted out."

He said the inquiry was in progress and as per the normal procedures, the Army would like to complete its own inquiry before coming to any conclusion as to what had actually happened.

Asked if the case had put a question mark on the other encounters that had taken place in the state, Singh said, "One
incident like this can't put under cloud anti-infiltration measures and encounters that take place."

"It would be over-generalisation on the part of anybody to link this with it (Machil encounter) and say that all other infiltration measures have failed or there are people who are involved," he added.