New Delhi: The Congress party on Monday criticised the stand taken by the NDA Government at the Centre to not approach the International Court of Justice (ICJ) with respected to the alleged torture and killing of Kargil martyr Captain Saurabh Kalia by Pakistani forces, terming it a 'disgrace' to soldiers sacrificing their lives for the nation.
"The Supreme Court had directed Government of India to pursue martyr Saurabh Kalia's matter in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The BJP government has been in power for more than one year now and they have not done anything. Now there are reports that they have decided to not go to the ICJ. This is a disgrace to martyrs," Congress leader PL Punia told ANI.
"They are trying to shield Pakistan. This is condemnable; we demand that the Supreme Court's order be followed and the matter be raised in the ICJ," he added.
The government has reportedly stated that it was not feasible to pursue the matter in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Captain Kalia, along with five other soldiers, was taken prisoner by Pakistani troops during the Kargil war in 1999. They were held captive and allegedly tortured before their bodies were handed back to India.
This incident had caused an uproar across the nation, as the torturing of Prisoners of War (PoW) is against the Geneva Convention.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has consistently denied the charges of torture, stating that the soldiers may have died because of poor weather conditions.
