London: India on March 27 slammed the global Human Rights watch body Amnesty International for its failure to condemn terrorism in the case of the Nadimarg massacre in Jammu and Kashmir in which 24 Kashmiri Pandits were killed.

"We would have hoped that Amnesty would, at least in a case as black and white as the Nadimarg massacre, summon the strength to issue an explicit condemnation of terrorism. What we see, instead, is a curious attempt to obfuscate by first dwelling on the fact that the terrorists wore Army fatigues and then trying to establish some bizarre form of moral equivalence between the actions of terrorists, the plight of victims and the responsibilities of government authorities," said Navdeep Suri, spokesperson at Indian High Commission.

"The governments of Britain, France, the US and several other countries had no hesitation in condemning this outrageous act of terrorism and Amnesty's reluctance to do the same is certainly mystifying," he pointed out.

In a release on March 24, the group said it "condemned the unlawful killing by unidentified gunmen of 24 civilians in Nadimarg Village in Jammu and Kashmir".

"All sides must safeguard the lives of civilians in Jammu and Kashmir," it said, adding, "international humanitarian Law prohibits deliberate attacks on civilians and those not taking direct part in hostilities. It is as yet unclear who is responsible, but we wholeheartedly condemn this attack."

Referring to the press release, Suri said, "It only further erodes its (Amnesty's) credibility. Over the last few months, we have observed a pattern of reporting that can only be interpreted as a deliberate attempt to project events in a manner that suits Amnesty's own version of reality."

PTI