Monthly Kashmir Insight December 2014

INSIGHTKASHMIR

Monthly

20th Year of Publication

December 2014

Vol: 20 No. 12

Kashmir: Restoring the Vision


OIC reaffirms support to Kashmiris’

just struggle

OIC reaffirms support to Kashmiris’

just struggle

Pak PM urges world to play role in Kashmir

settlement

Pak PM urges world to play role in Kashmir

settlement

Indian troops continue genocide of KashmirisKilling of innocent youth shows India’s ugly face in IOKIndian troops continue genocide of Kashmiris

Killing of innocent youth shows India’s ugly face in IOK

“The international community should exert pressure on India and force it to come to the negotiating table and settle the outstanding disputes with Pakistan including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan will continue to provide political, moral and diplomatic support to the cause of the Kashmiri people and it will also keep on agitating on the issue at all international fora to highlight the dispute.”

(Prime Minister, Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, at a session of the

Kashmir Council in Muzzafarabad on November 20, 2014)

Pakistan’s urge for Kashmir settlement

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Editor:

Kashmir Insight December 2014

C O N T E N T S

Editorial

Kashmir settlement - Pakistan’s top priority . . . . . . . . . . . 02

Cover Story

Indian troops continue genocide of Kashmiris . . . . . . . . . 03

Reports

OIC reaffirms support to Kashmiris’ just struggle . . . . . . 06

Pak PM urges world to play role in Kashmir settlement. . 08

Restrictions mark Ashura in occupied Kashmir . . . . . . . . 10

Article


Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Pictorial

Images speak louder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Human rights situationHR violations in IOK during November 2014Raies Ahmad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Reports

Kashmiris observe Jammu Martyrs’ Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Hurriyet leadership demands reopening of

all cases of HR abuses in IOK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Articles

Machil verdict and eluding justice

Shujaat Bukhari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Boy who cheated death

Rouf Bhat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Chronology

A chronological account of developments

on Kashmir (100) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Beauty thy name is

Music of occupied Kashmir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Literature

The two thugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Feedback

Letters to Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

M Raza Malik

Sub Editor: Benazir Khan

Art Editor: M.Haroon

From The Editor's DeskIndia is holding another round of farcical elections in occupied Kashmir now-a-days to strengthen its illegal hold on the territory. The so-called democratic process is nothing more than a military exercise aimed at hoodwinking the world community about the Kashmir dispute and making it believe that situation is normal in Kashmir.Through holding of these periodical elections, New Delhi wants to send a message to the world that Kashmir is its integral part, but the fact is that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute and such actions cannot change its disputed status. The United Nations through its resolutions has made it clear that the assembly constituted after such polls could not decide about the future disposition of Jammu and Kashmir.It is a global practice in a democratic set-up that the elections are held in a congenial environment and people with dissenting voices are given full opportunity to project their ideologies. But in Kashmir, the polls are held in presence of hundreds of thousands of Indian troops and police personnel in an atmosphere of coercion, fear and intimidation. The occupation forces use every repressive tactic to ensure maximum participation of voters in the polling process. Thousands of people, particularly Hurriyet leaders and activists, are put in jails and police stations to prevent them from reaching to the masses and present their point of view. These actions put a question mark on the credibility of the election process.Unfortunately, India has always tried to project the sham polls in occupied Kashmir as a referendum in its favour at the international level claiming that the Kashmiri people have voted for Indian democracy. However, the reality is that Kashmiris have never accepted these elections as a substitute to their UN-acknowledged right to self-determination to be ascertained through a plebiscite under the supervision of the World Body. They participate in the electoral process only to address their day-to-day problems as the contesting candidates seek votes in the name of development, construction of roads and provision of electricity and other basic facilities to their areas.India needs to realise the fact that through farce elections it would never succeed in its nefarious designs of misleading the world community about the realities of the Kashmir dispute. It must take steps towards settling the dispute in accordance with the Kashmiris’ aspirations by holding plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir under the auspices of the UN. This would not only end sufferings of the Kashmiri people but would also bring peace and prosperity in the region.

Kashmir settlement - Pakistan’s top priorityThe Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, has urged the world community to play its role in settling the Kashmir dispute according to the relevant UN resolutions and the will of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking at a session of the Kashmir Counci l in Muzaffarabad on November 20, 2014, he reaffirmed Pakistan’s continued political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris’ just struggle for securing their inalienable right to self-determination. The Prime Minister said that India was resorting to state terrorism in occupied Kashmir to suppress the just liberation struggle of the Kashmiri people and was wrongfully projecting it as terrorism. He maintained that peace and prosperity of the region were linked to peaceful resolution of the Kashmir conflict.

This is not the first time that Mohammad Nawaz Sharif has called for settlement of the lingering dispute. In fact right from coming into power, last year, he has been making sincere efforts towards achieving that goal. He even attended the oath-taking ceremony of Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in May this year with the hope that leadership in New Delhi would take the gesture positively and move towards resolving the outstanding disputes between the two countries including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir. But instead of reciprocating Pakistan Prime Minister’s endeavours, Modi-led Indian government took such steps that jeopardised the already fragile relations between the two arch-rivals. It announced to ensure complete merger of Jammu and Kashmir with India by holding debate for the abrogation of the Article 370 of Indian Constitution that

gives special status to the territory. It also asked the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan to vacate its office in Delhi. It even suspended Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan on the pretext of meetings in Indian capital b e t w e e n P a k i s t a n i H i g h Commissioner, Abdul Basit, and Kashmiri Hurriyet leaders.

On the other hand, India is not only

holding farcical elections in occupied

Kashmir to strengthen its illegal hold

on the territory but has also given its

troops a free hand to commit

genocide of the Kashmiris. The troops

killed two innocent Kashmiri youth in

Chattergam area of Badgam on

November 3 by showering bullets on

their car. It is resorting to the worst

form of state terrorism in the

occupied territory to intimidate the

Kashmiris into submission for the

past nearly seven decades but has

miserably failed in its nefarious

designs.

The assertion of Pakistan Prime

Minister is a morale booster for the

Kashmiri people in their just

liberation struggle. It also shows that

resolution of the Kashmir dispute is

the priority of the Pakistani

government and it would not engage

itself with India in the talks process at

the cost of the Kashmiris’ sacrifices.

It is unfortunate that the world

community, which has played an

important role in settling many

international disputes, has turned a

blind eye to the brutalities faced by

the Kashmiri people at the hands of

Indian forces. This has emboldened

New Delhi to carry on its brutal

actions in occupied Kashmir. The

world must play its part to mitigate

the sufferings of the Kashmiri people

by resolving the Kashmir dispute,

once and for all.

KASHMIR INSIGHT NOVEMBER 2014 2525KASHMIR INSIGHT DECEMBER 2014 0202

Editorial

Army to conduct investigations.

Later, the army admitted its

mistake in the Chattergam

incident and indicted nine

troopers including a Junior

Commissioned Officer. Several

people were injured due to the

use of brute force by the troops

and police personnel against the

protesters at different places.C o m p l e t e s h u t d o w n w a s

observed in the occupied

territory on November 5 against

the murder of two youth in

C h a t t e r g a m .

Cal l for the

shutdown was

given by the

Chairman of

A l l P a r t i e s

H u r r i y e t

C o n f e r e n c e ,

Mirwaiz Umar

F a r o o q , t h e

v e t e r a n

H u r r i y e t

leader, Syed Ali

G i l a n i , t h e

J a m m u a n d

K a s h m i r

L i b e r a t i o n

F r o n t

C h a i r m a n ,

Muhammad Yasin Malik, and

senior leader of Hurriyet

C o n f e r e n c e J a m m u a n d

Kashmir, Shabbir Ahmed Shah.The occupation authorities had

imposed curfew in Srinagar and

Badgam to prevent people from

holding demonstrations against

the Chattergam incident. The

authorities had placed Mirwaiz

Umar Farooq, Syed Ali Gilani,

and Maulana Abbas Ansari

under house arrest while other

Hurriyet leaders including

Muhammad Yas in Mal ik ,

Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Zafar

Akbar Butt, Nayeem Ahmed

Khan, Mukhtar Ahmed Waza

a n d M u h a m m a d Y o u s u f

Naqash, were put in different

jails to stop them from leading

the demonstrations. Despite

restrictions, people took to the

streets and staged massive anti-

India protests, demanding stern

action against the involved

troops. Indian forces’ personnel

resorted to baton charge and

teargas shelling at several places

injuring many people.Pro- f reedom leaders and

o r g a n i s a t i o n s s t r o n g l y

condemned the cold-blooded

murder of the youth terming it as

the worst form of Indian state

terrorism.Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement said that under the draconian law, Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Indian troops had been given free license to kill innocent people at will. He said that India had turned Kashmir into a military garrison where human rights violations were taking place every now and then.Syed Ali Gilani in a statement

said that the killing of youth was

a case of brutality and barbarism.

He expressed solidarity with the

families of the martyred youth.The illegally detained JKLF

Chairman, Muhammad Yasin

Malik, in a message from

Islamabad district jail main-

tained that the Chattergam

incident once again showed the

brutal and ugly face of Indian

forces. He said that these trigger

happy forces had committed

many such heinous crimes in the

past also with utmost impunity

because of the powers granted to

them under black laws.The incarcerated senior Hurriyet

leader, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, in

his message from Kupwara Jail

termed the killing as an open war

a g a i n s t t h e

p e o p l e o f

Kashmir.Other Hurriyet

leaders including

A g h a S y e d

H a s s a n A l -

Moosvi Al-Safvi,

Aasiya Andrabi,

Yasmeen Raja,

Mukhtar Ahmed

W a z a , Z a f a r

A k b a r B u t t ,

Nayeem Ahmed

K h a n , J a v a i d

Ahmed Mir, Syed

Bashir Andrabi,

M u h a m m a d

Azam Inqilabi,

Farooq Ahmed Dar, Muhammad

Musaddiq Aadil, Mir Shahid

Sa leem, Zamruda Habib ,

Fareeda Bahenji, Muhammad

Farooq Rehmani, Mehmood

Ahmed Saghar, Barrister Abdul

Majeed Tramboo and Professor

Nazir Ahmed Shawl and the

Kashmir High Court Bar

Association and the Jamaat-e-

Islami of the occupied territory in

their statements also condemned

the killings. They appealed to the

world human rights organisa-

tions to take notice of Indian

brutalities in the occupied

territory.Even senior lawyer and member

of Rajya Sabha (Upper house of

I n d i a n P a r l i a m e n t ) , R a m

India is using all kinds of brutal

tactics to continue its illegal hold

on Jammu and Kashmir. It has

given its troops and police

personnel unbridled powers to

suppress the Kashmiris’ just

struggle for securing their

inal ienable r ight to se l f -

determination. The Indian

forces’ personnel under black

laws like Armed Forces Special

Powers Act, Public Safety Act

and Disturbed Areas Act have

been committing the worst kind

of human rights violations - in

fact crimes against humanity -

with impunity in the occupied

territory to intimidate the

Kashmiri people into submis-

sion. Arrests, killings, extra-

judicial executions, fake encoun-

ters, use of brute force on

peaceful protesters, destruction

of property and molestation of

women by the troops and police

personnel on daily basis have

made the life of the people of

occupied Kashmir a hell.Continuing the genocide in the occupied territory, the troops recently killed two innocent youth in Badgam and a teenage boy in Kulgam district. The youth, Faisal Ahmed Butt and Meraj-ud-din Dar, were killed and two other people were injured when the troops show-ered bullets on their car in Chattergam area of Badgam on November 3, 2014. The teenager, Tariq Ahmed Butt, fell to the bullets of the troops at Chenigam in Kulgam on November 14 when they fired upon peaceful demonstrators , who were protesting against the killing of two youth by the troops in the area.The killings triggered massive

anti-India demonstrations across

the territory, forcing the Indian

KASHMIR INSIGHT KASHMIR INSIGHT 2626

Article

Indian troops continue genocide of KashmirisKilling of innocent youth shows India’s ugly face in IOK


Cover Story

NOVEMBER 2014 2525KASHMIR INSIGHT DECEMBER 2014 0303 DECEMBER 2014 0404

Cover Story

Army to conduct investigations.

Later, the army admitted its

mistake in the Chattergam

incident and indicted nine

troopers including a Junior

Commissioned Officer. Several

people were injured due to the

use of brute force by the troops

and police personnel against the

protesters at different places.C o m p l e t e s h u t d o w n w a s

observed in the occupied

territory on November 5 against

the murder of two youth in

C h a t t e r g a m .

Cal l for the

shutdown was

given by the

Chairman of

A l l P a r t i e s

H u r r i y e t

C o n f e r e n c e ,

Mirwaiz Umar

F a r o o q , t h e

v e t e r a n

H u r r i y e t

leader, Syed Ali

G i l a n i , t h e

J a m m u a n d

K a s h m i r

L i b e r a t i o n

F r o n t

C h a i r m a n ,

Muhammad Yasin Malik, and

senior leader of Hurriyet

C o n f e r e n c e J a m m u a n d

Kashmir, Shabbir Ahmed Shah.The occupation authorities had

imposed curfew in Srinagar and

Badgam to prevent people from

holding demonstrations against

the Chattergam incident. The

authorities had placed Mirwaiz

Umar Farooq, Syed Ali Gilani,

and Maulana Abbas Ansari

under house arrest while other

Hurriyet leaders including

Muhammad Yas in Mal ik ,

Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Zafar

Akbar Butt, Nayeem Ahmed

Khan, Mukhtar Ahmed Waza

a n d M u h a m m a d Y o u s u f

Naqash, were put in different

jails to stop them from leading

the demonstrations. Despite

restrictions, people took to the

streets and staged massive anti-

India protests, demanding stern

action against the involved

troops. Indian forces’ personnel

resorted to baton charge and

teargas shelling at several places

injuring many people.Pro- f reedom leaders and

o r g a n i s a t i o n s s t r o n g l y

condemned the cold-blooded

murder of the youth terming it as

the worst form of Indian state

terrorism.Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement said that under the draconian law, Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Indian troops had been given free license to kill innocent people at will. He said that India had turned Kashmir into a military garrison where human rights violations were taking place every now and then.Syed Ali Gilani in a statement

said that the killing of youth was

a case of brutality and barbarism.

He expressed solidarity with the

families of the martyred youth.The illegally detained JKLF

Chairman, Muhammad Yasin

Malik, in a message from

Islamabad district jail main-

tained that the Chattergam

incident once again showed the

brutal and ugly face of Indian

forces. He said that these trigger

happy forces had committed

many such heinous crimes in the

past also with utmost impunity

because of the powers granted to

them under black laws.The incarcerated senior Hurriyet

leader, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, in

his message from Kupwara Jail

termed the killing as an open war

a g a i n s t t h e

p e o p l e o f

Kashmir.Other Hurriyet

leaders including

A g h a S y e d

H a s s a n A l -

Moosvi Al-Safvi,

Aasiya Andrabi,

Yasmeen Raja,

Mukhtar Ahmed

W a z a , Z a f a r

A k b a r B u t t ,

Nayeem Ahmed

K h a n , J a v a i d

Ahmed Mir, Syed

Bashir Andrabi,

M u h a m m a d

Azam Inqilabi,

Farooq Ahmed Dar, Muhammad

Musaddiq Aadil, Mir Shahid

Sa leem, Zamruda Habib ,

Fareeda Bahenji, Muhammad


Ahmed Saghar, Barrister Abdul

Majeed Tramboo and Professor

Nazir Ahmed Shawl and the

Kashmir High Court Bar

Association and the Jamaat-e-

Islami of the occupied territory in

their statements also condemned

the killings. They appealed to the

world human rights organisa-

tions to take notice of Indian

brutalities in the occupied

territory.Even senior lawyer and member

of Rajya Sabha (Upper house of

I n d i a n P a r l i a m e n t ) , R a m

India is using all kinds of brutal

tactics to continue its illegal hold

on Jammu and Kashmir. It has

given its troops and police


suppress the Kashmiris’ just

struggle for securing their

inal ienable r ight to se l f -

determination. The Indian

forces’ personnel under black

laws like Armed Forces Special

Powers Act, Public Safety Act

and Disturbed Areas Act have

been committing the worst kind

of human rights violations - in

fact crimes against humanity -

with impunity in the occupied

territory to intimidate the

Kashmiri people into submis-

sion. Arrests, killings, extra-

judicial executions, fake encoun-

ters, use of brute force on

peaceful protesters, destruction

of property and molestation of

women by the troops and police

personnel on daily basis have

made the life of the people of

occupied Kashmir a hell.Continuing the genocide in the occupied territory, the troops recently killed two innocent youth in Badgam and a teenage boy in Kulgam district. The youth, Faisal Ahmed Butt and Meraj-ud-din Dar, were killed and two other people were injured when the troops show-ered bullets on their car in Chattergam area of Badgam on November 3, 2014. The teenager, Tariq Ahmed Butt, fell to the bullets of the troops at Chenigam in Kulgam on November 14 when they fired upon peaceful demonstrators , who were protesting against the killing of two youth by the troops in the area.The killings triggered massive

anti-India demonstrations across

the territory, forcing the Indian


Article



Cover Story


Cover Story

Jethmalani, during his interac-

tion with media persons in

Srinagar said that the troops

involved in the killing of youth at

Chattergam should be awarded

death sentence.Indian forces have long been pursuing a policy of genocide in occupied Kashmir and have so far murdered more than 94,000 innocent Kashmiris since 1989 when the Kashmiri people intensified their liberation struggle. These killings have rendered over 22,000 women widowed and more than 107,000 ch i ldren orphaned w h i l e o v e r 1 0 , 0 0 0 w o m e n h a v e b e e n raped or molested by the troops. However, all these cruelties have failed to crush the Kashmiris’ indigenous struggle for securing their inalienable right to self-determination.It is a reality that India is

least bothered about the

people of occupied

Kashmir and it is only

interested in the natural

resources of the territory. This is

evident from the inhuman

treatment meted out to the

Kashmiri people by the Indian

government for the past over six

decades particularly its apathy

towards their miseries during

and after the recent devastating

f l o o d s i n

o c c u p i e d

K a s h m i r

when they

w e r e n o t

only left on

the mercy of

c i r c u m-

stances but

a l s o t h e

foreign aid

w a s n o t

allowed to

reach them.Unfortunately, on one hand, New Delhi is not investigating the human rights violations committed by its forces in the occupied territory, while on the other, it continues to deny permission to international human rights organisations to visit the territory and investigate these abuses. Even if disciplinary proceedings were initiated in certain cases under public pressure, the findings were never disclosed. The perpetrators of Gaw Kadal, Chattisinghpora,

Handwara, Bijbehara, Zakoora, Tengpora and Sopore massacres and other serious human rights abuses like Kunanposhpora mass rape and Shopian double rape and murder case continue to remain scot-free.After every tragic incident, the

puppet authorities of occupied

Kashmir and the Indian Army

announce probe and constitute

inquiry commissions with the

promise of bringing the guilty to

justice. However, history shows

that these announcements are

made only to pacify the public

anger and the findings of these

commissions, especially those

constituted by the Army, are not

made public. Also due to

invoking of draconian laws, the

puppet authorities require

consent of New Delhi to prose-

cute the troops and policemen

involved in serious crimes. This

sanction is never granted in the

name of so-called national

interest and under the pretext

that if the guilty personnel were

punished it would affect the

morale of the armed forces.

Under such circumstances the

Kashmiris have lost faith in

probes and they take these

investigations as nothing but a

joke now.The world human rights organi-s a t i o n s l i k e A m n e s t y

I n t e r n a t i o n a l , H u m a n R i g h t s Watch, Asia Watch and others have been constantly demanding repeal o f b l a c k l a w s , A r m e d F o r c e s Special Powers Act and Public Safety Act, from occupied Kashmir but India is not paying heed to their pleas.The world commu-

nity must take

serious notice of Indian state

terrorism in occupied Kashmir

and impress upon it to respect

the rights of the Kashmiri people

and settle the Kashmir dispute in

accordance with their aspira-

tions.(Humayun Aziz Sandeela)

Cover Story

KASHMIR INSIGHT DECEMBER 2014 0505

security in the region and the OIC will pay closer attention to the plight of Kashmiris because this is indeed a humanitarian issue,” he further stated.

Ambassador Abdullah Al Alim, the OIC’s special envoy to Kashmir who recently visited Pakistan said that the OIC supported direct and frank negotia-tions between Pakistan and India. He said, the OIC encour-ages the two sides in the conflict to utilise all means available to them, including objective bilateral talks, and work hard to find a peaceful and lasting solution that takes into account the aspirations of the Kashmiri

people.

He further said that the OIC’s

Council of Foreign Ministers

h a d r e q u e s t e d t h e O I C

I n d e p e n d e n t P e r m a n e n t

Human Right Commission to

set up a mechanism for moni-

toring the human rights situa-

tion in occupied Kashmir.

Kashmiri Hurriyet leader,

Ghulam Muhammad Safi,

on the occasion said that

Kashmir was not a border

dispute between Pakistan

and India but the issue of

the people of Kashmir and

their lives and security. He

said that the Kashmir

dispute should be resolved

according to the wishes of

the Kashmiri people. Pakistan’s

C o n s u l G e n e r a l , A f t a b

Khokher, highlighted the key

objectives of the event and

condemned the human rights

violations being perpetrated by

Indian troops in occupied

Kashmir.

The Secretary General of the O r g a n i s a t i o n o f I s l a m i c Cooperation, Iyad Ameen Madani, on November 6, 2014, reaffirmed the OIC’s full support and solidarity to the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their just struggle for securing their inalienable right to self-determination.

I y a d A m e e n M a d a n i addressing a photo exhibition-cum-seminar entitled ‘Human rights violations committed in occupied Kashmir’ at the premises of OIC in Jeddah sa id that continuation of the Kashmir conflict was not in the interest of India or Pakistan or t h e p e o p l e o f Kashmir. He said that the OIC would use all available means to promote the cause of the Kashmiri people. He maintained that the OIC had always

called for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute through a negotiated process between Pakistan and India.

The event was organised by the Consulate General of Pakistan Jeddah in cooperation with the OIC Secretariat. High level representatives of the OIC including Secretary General’s Special Representative on Jammu and Kashmir, Abdullah Al Alim, former Special Representative of the Secretary G e n e r a l o n J a m m u a n d

Kashmir, Ezzat K. Mufti, along with Diplomatic Corps, Saudi dignitaries and representatives of Pakistani community in Jeddah attended it.

Iyad Ameen Madani said that this photo exhibition was a platform for the OIC to express its full and unwavering soli-darity with the Kashmiris. “I hope that through the help of the OIC member States and institutions we will be able to enhance assistance to the Kashmiri people,” he added.

The OIC Secretary General said that the Organisation had consistently shown its firm support to the Kashmiris in their legitimate struggle for their fundamental human rights including their inalien-able right to self-determination. “The present occasion also seeks to keep alive the efforts of those Kashmiris who sacrificed their lives for the sake of their homeland,” he added.

Iyad Ameen Madani said that Kashmir was one of the oldest unresolved internat ional disputes that had so far claimed so many precious lives of innocent people and had posed real threats to peace and security of the region and beyond.

“The OIC encourages both sides to engage in substan-tial bilateral talks to f i n d a j u s t a n d durable solution in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. I think recent incidents along the Line of C o n t r o l f u r t h e r proved the necessity to work hard to reach a settlement of the dispute for peace and


Article

OIC reaffirms support to Kashmiris’ just struggleOIC reaffirms support to Kashmiris’ just struggle

Report

NOVEMBER 2014 2525

Report

KASHMIR INSIGHT DECEMBER 2014 0606 DECEMBER 2014 0707

Over 2,300 women martyred, 10,100 molested in IOK since 1989In occupied Kashmir, 2,305 women were among 94,110 civilians martyred during the last 25 years due to the unabated acts of Indian state terrorism.

This was revealed in a report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25, 2014. The report said that Indian troops molested 10,129 women during this period. It maintained that Kashmiri women had been the worst victims of the harrowing conflict, which rendered 22,786 women widowed since 1989.

The report deplored that the troops had been routinely involved in sexual harassment of the Kashmiri women to suppress the ongoing liberation struggle. It pointed out that although men had been subjected to enforced disappearances, but women were adversely affected because of being related to the disappeared persons as mothers, wives, sisters and daughters.

The report said that women constituted a considerable number of mental patients - which was well over one hundred thousand - due to the violence perpetrated by Indian police and troops in the occupied territory.

Meanwhile, Hurriyet leaders including Zamruda Habib, Yasmeen Raja and Fareeda Behanji and a human rights group, Voice of Victims, in their media interviews and statements in Srinagar said that government of India and its armed forces were using molestation of women in the territory as a weapon of war to suppress the Kashmiris’ just struggle for securing their right to self-determination.

They reiterated their demand for an impartial probe into the cases of rape, murder and other human rights violations against women including Kunanposhpora mass rape and Shopian tragedy.

Over 100 women were gang raped by the troops at Kunanposhpora in Kupwara in February 1991 while two women, Aasiya and Neelofar, were abducted, raped and subsequently killed by Indian men in uniform in Shopian in May 2009. The perpetrators of these heinous crimes have not been brought to justice, despite the passage of several years.

security in the region and the OIC will pay closer attention to the plight of Kashmiris because this is indeed a humanitarian issue,” he further stated.

Ambassador Abdullah Al Alim, the OIC’s special envoy to Kashmir who recently visited Pakistan said that the OIC supported direct and frank negotia-tions between Pakistan and India. He said, the OIC encour-ages the two sides in the conflict to utilise all means available to them, including objective bilateral talks, and work hard to find a peaceful and lasting solution that takes into account the aspirations of the Kashmiri

people.

He further said that the OIC’s

Council of Foreign Ministers

h a d r e q u e s t e d t h e O I C

I n d e p e n d e n t P e r m a n e n t

Human Right Commission to

set up a mechanism for moni-

toring the human rights situa-

tion in occupied Kashmir.

Kashmiri Hurriyet leader,

Ghulam Muhammad Safi,

on the occasion said that

Kashmir was not a border

dispute between Pakistan

and India but the issue of

the people of Kashmir and

their lives and security. He

said that the Kashmir

dispute should be resolved

according to the wishes of

the Kashmiri people. Pakistan’s

C o n s u l G e n e r a l , A f t a b

Khokher, highlighted the key

objectives of the event and

condemned the human rights

violations being perpetrated by

Indian troops in occupied

Kashmir.

The Secretary General of the O r g a n i s a t i o n o f I s l a m i c Cooperation, Iyad Ameen Madani, on November 6, 2014, reaffirmed the OIC’s full support and solidarity to the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their just struggle for securing their inalienable right to self-determination.

I y a d A m e e n M a d a n i addressing a photo exhibition-cum-seminar entitled ‘Human rights violations committed in occupied Kashmir’ at the premises of OIC in Jeddah sa id that continuation of the Kashmir conflict was not in the interest of India or Pakistan or t h e p e o p l e o f Kashmir. He said that the OIC would use all available means to promote the cause of the Kashmiri people. He maintained that the OIC had always

called for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute through a negotiated process between Pakistan and India.

The event was organised by the Consulate General of Pakistan Jeddah in cooperation with the OIC Secretariat. High level representatives of the OIC including Secretary General’s Special Representative on Jammu and Kashmir, Abdullah Al Alim, former Special Representative of the Secretary G e n e r a l o n J a m m u a n d

Kashmir, Ezzat K. Mufti, along with Diplomatic Corps, Saudi dignitaries and representatives of Pakistani community in Jeddah attended it.

Iyad Ameen Madani said that this photo exhibition was a platform for the OIC to express its full and unwavering soli-darity with the Kashmiris. “I hope that through the help of the OIC member States and institutions we will be able to enhance assistance to the Kashmiri people,” he added.

The OIC Secretary General said that the Organisation had consistently shown its firm support to the Kashmiris in their legitimate struggle for their fundamental human rights including their inalien-able right to self-determination. “The present occasion also seeks to keep alive the efforts of those Kashmiris who sacrificed their lives for the sake of their homeland,” he added.

Iyad Ameen Madani said that Kashmir was one of the oldest unresolved internat ional disputes that had so far claimed so many precious lives of innocent people and had posed real threats to peace and security of the region and beyond.

“The OIC encourages both sides to engage in substan-tial bilateral talks to f i n d a j u s t a n d durable solution in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. I think recent incidents along the Line of C o n t r o l f u r t h e r proved the necessity to work hard to reach a settlement of the dispute for peace and


Article

OIC reaffirms support to Kashmiris’ just struggleOIC reaffirms support to Kashmiris’ just struggle

Report

NOVEMBER 2014 2525

Report


Over 2,300 women martyred, 10,100 molested in IOK since 1989In occupied Kashmir, 2,305 women were among 94,110 civilians martyred during the last 25 years due to the unabated acts of Indian state terrorism.

This was revealed in a report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25, 2014. The report said that Indian troops molested 10,129 women during this period. It maintained that Kashmiri women had been the worst victims of the harrowing conflict, which rendered 22,786 women widowed since 1989.

The report deplored that the troops had been routinely involved in sexual harassment of the Kashmiri women to suppress the ongoing liberation struggle. It pointed out that although men had been subjected to enforced disappearances, but women were adversely affected because of being related to the disappeared persons as mothers, wives, sisters and daughters.

The report said that women constituted a considerable number of mental patients - which was well over one hundred thousand - due to the violence perpetrated by Indian police and troops in the occupied territory.

Meanwhile, Hurriyet leaders including Zamruda Habib, Yasmeen Raja and Fareeda Behanji and a human rights group, Voice of Victims, in their media interviews and statements in Srinagar said that government of India and its armed forces were using molestation of women in the territory as a weapon of war to suppress the Kashmiris’ just struggle for securing their right to self-determination.

They reiterated their demand for an impartial probe into the cases of rape, murder and other human rights violations against women including Kunanposhpora mass rape and Shopian tragedy.

Over 100 women were gang raped by the troops at Kunanposhpora in Kupwara in February 1991 while two women, Aasiya and Neelofar, were abducted, raped and subsequently killed by Indian men in uniform in Shopian in May 2009. The perpetrators of these heinous crimes have not been brought to justice, despite the passage of several years.

other Hurriyet leaders including Yasmeen Raja, Javed Ahmed Mir, Syed Bashir Andrabi and Muhammad Farooq Rehmani in their statements also welcomed the stance of Nawaz Sharif on Kashmir . They sa id tha t Pakistan’s support had always been a source of inspiration for the Kashmiris.The Pakistan Prime Minister on November 21 asked the US President, Barack Obama, to impress upon India to settle the Kashmir dispute during his forthcoming visit to India.According to a statement issued by the Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, Nawaz Sharif said this when Obama telephoned him. It said that the Prime Minister and the US President discussed recent incidents of Indian troops’ firing on the Line of Control.The statement said that Nawaz Sharif told Barack Obama that the cancellation of talks and ceasefire violations by India indicated that New Delhi was averse to normalisation of relations with Islamabad. Nawaz Sharif, on November 26, talking to reporters aboard his f l ight from Is lamabad to Kathmandu (Nepal) to attend the 18th summit of South Asian

Assoc ia t ion for Regiona l Cooperation, said that Pakistan was ready to hold talks with India but it was for New Delhi to take the initiative for resumption of the dialogue process. “Now the ball is in India’s court,” he

said while referring to New Delhi’s unilateral decision to call off Foreign Secretary-level talks in August this year.He said that the decision to hold Foreign Secretary-level talks had been taken during his meeting with Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and they should not have been cancelled unilater-ally. He said that Pakistan was disappointed by the decision and now India should take the initiative for resumption of the

talks.Later on November 27, a brief meeting between Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi salvaged the SAARC summit. The two leaders shook hand at a mountain retreat outside Kathmandu and then

again before the c u r t a i n w e n t down on the c o n f e r e n c e . T e l e v i s i o n showed the two leaders smiling and exchanging a few words. U n t i l t h e handshake, the two leaders had cold-shouldered each other.S p e a k i n g t o

journalists aboard his flight from Kathmandu to Islamabad, Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan wanted ties with India on the basis of dignity, self-respect and honour and desired a mean-ingful dialogue to resolve all issues including the Kashmir dispute.He said that if India wanted to restore ties, the Kashmir issue must be discussed and that too seriously with full sincerity.

Pakis tan Pr ime Minis ter , Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, on November 20, 2014, urged the international community to come forward and play an effective role in resolving the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in line with the relevant UN resolu-tions.Speaking at a session of the K a s h m i r C o u n c i l i n Muzaffarabad, he announced in unequivocal terms that Pakistan would continue to provide political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris’ just struggle for securing their inal ienable r ight to se l f -determination and would keep on raising the Kashmir dispute at all international fora.The Prime Minister said that India was resorting to state terrorism in occupied Kashmir and was wrongfully dubbing the liberation struggle of the people of Kashmir as terrorism. “The struggle of Kashmiris is not terrorism, but the way they are being crushed is terrorism. They are asking for the right that had been assured by the UN. They should be given the right to self-determination. We, the people of

Pakistan, are with them till they achieve this right,” he stated.Nawaz Sharif deplored that India had abandoned peace talks and was resorting to aggression that torpedoed the cause of regional peace. He expressed concern over the silence of United Nations and the interna-t ional community on the Kashmir dispute and urged them to impress upon New Delhi to resume the talks process with Islamabad for settling all outstanding issues.The Prime Minister maintained that economic prosperity was

l i n k e d t o p e a c e a n d P a k i s t a n believed that the issue of K a s h m i r s h o u l d b e r e s o l v e d t h r o u g h d i a l o g u e w h i c h w a s imperative for r e g i o n a l peace. He said

that Pakistan considered the All Parties Hurriyet Conference as a true representative forum of the people of Kashmir and APHC leaders would be consulted in future negotiations with India on Kashmir.Nawaz Sharif condemned the ceasefire violations by India on the Line of Control. He said that the unprovoked firing on the LoC by the Indian forces had harmed the confidence building measures.Meanwhile, the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and other Hurriyet leaders welcomed the statement of Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, terming it encouraging for the Kashmiris engaged in a peaceful struggle to secure their right to self-determination.Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in an interview in Srinagar said that India’s stubborn attitude had been the main hurdle in settling the Kashmir dispute. I l l ega l ly de ta ined sen ior Hurriyet leader, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, in a message from jail and


Article

Pak PM urges world to play role in Kashmir settlementReaffirms Pakistan’s support to the Kashmir cause


Report

NOVEMBER 2014 2525

Report


Youth booked in India for wearing Pak cricket team t-shirtsIn India, 10 youth were booked on charges of treason for wearing Pakistan cricket team t-shirts during a religious procession in a village of Lucknow on November 7, 2014.

“An FIR on charges of treason has been registered against 10 youth at Kubersthan Police Station in Lucknow,” Superintendent of Police, Lalit Kumar Singh, told mediamen in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh.

Tension gripped Kalyan Chhapar village after the youth were seen participating in the procession on November 4 wearing Pakistan cricket team t-shirts. This was opposed by some locals, who later informed the police.

After the intervention of police, the youth removed their t-shirts. Heavy police force was deployed in the area to prevent any untoward incident.

other Hurriyet leaders including Yasmeen Raja, Javed Ahmed Mir, Syed Bashir Andrabi and Muhammad Farooq Rehmani in their statements also welcomed the stance of Nawaz Sharif on Kashmir . They sa id tha t Pakistan’s support had always been a source of inspiration for the Kashmiris.The Pakistan Prime Minister on November 21 asked the US President, Barack Obama, to impress upon India to settle the Kashmir dispute during his forthcoming visit to India.According to a statement issued by the Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, Nawaz Sharif said this when Obama telephoned him. It said that the Prime Minister and the US President discussed recent incidents of Indian troops’ firing on the Line of Control.The statement said that Nawaz Sharif told Barack Obama that the cancellation of talks and ceasefire violations by India indicated that New Delhi was averse to normalisation of relations with Islamabad. Nawaz Sharif, on November 26, talking to reporters aboard his f l ight from Is lamabad to Kathmandu (Nepal) to attend the 18th summit of South Asian

Assoc ia t ion for Regiona l Cooperation, said that Pakistan was ready to hold talks with India but it was for New Delhi to take the initiative for resumption of the dialogue process. “Now the ball is in India’s court,” he

said while referring to New Delhi’s unilateral decision to call off Foreign Secretary-level talks in August this year.He said that the decision to hold Foreign Secretary-level talks had been taken during his meeting with Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and they should not have been cancelled unilater-ally. He said that Pakistan was disappointed by the decision and now India should take the initiative for resumption of the

talks.Later on November 27, a brief meeting between Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi salvaged the SAARC summit. The two leaders shook hand at a mountain retreat outside Kathmandu and then

again before the c u r t a i n w e n t down on the c o n f e r e n c e . T e l e v i s i o n showed the two leaders smiling and exchanging a few words. U n t i l t h e handshake, the two leaders had cold-shouldered each other.S p e a k i n g t o

journalists aboard his flight from Kathmandu to Islamabad, Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan wanted ties with India on the basis of dignity, self-respect and honour and desired a mean-ingful dialogue to resolve all issues including the Kashmir dispute.He said that if India wanted to restore ties, the Kashmir issue must be discussed and that too seriously with full sincerity.

Pakis tan Pr ime Minis ter , Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, on November 20, 2014, urged the international community to come forward and play an effective role in resolving the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in line with the relevant UN resolu-tions.Speaking at a session of the K a s h m i r C o u n c i l i n Muzaffarabad, he announced in unequivocal terms that Pakistan would continue to provide political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris’ just struggle for securing their inal ienable r ight to se l f -determination and would keep on raising the Kashmir dispute at all international fora.The Prime Minister said that India was resorting to state terrorism in occupied Kashmir and was wrongfully dubbing the liberation struggle of the people of Kashmir as terrorism. “The struggle of Kashmiris is not terrorism, but the way they are being crushed is terrorism. They are asking for the right that had been assured by the UN. They should be given the right to self-determination. We, the people of

Pakistan, are with them till they achieve this right,” he stated.Nawaz Sharif deplored that India had abandoned peace talks and was resorting to aggression that torpedoed the cause of regional peace. He expressed concern over the silence of United Nations and the interna-t ional community on the Kashmir dispute and urged them to impress upon New Delhi to resume the talks process with Islamabad for settling all outstanding issues.The Prime Minister maintained that economic prosperity was

l i n k e d t o p e a c e a n d P a k i s t a n believed that the issue of K a s h m i r s h o u l d b e r e s o l v e d t h r o u g h d i a l o g u e w h i c h w a s imperative for r e g i o n a l peace. He said

that Pakistan considered the All Parties Hurriyet Conference as a true representative forum of the people of Kashmir and APHC leaders would be consulted in future negotiations with India on Kashmir.Nawaz Sharif condemned the ceasefire violations by India on the Line of Control. He said that the unprovoked firing on the LoC by the Indian forces had harmed the confidence building measures.Meanwhile, the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and other Hurriyet leaders welcomed the statement of Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, terming it encouraging for the Kashmiris engaged in a peaceful struggle to secure their right to self-determination.Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in an interview in Srinagar said that India’s stubborn attitude had been the main hurdle in settling the Kashmir dispute. I l l ega l ly de ta ined sen ior Hurriyet leader, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, in a message from jail and


Article



Report

NOVEMBER 2014 2525

Report


Youth booked in India for wearing Pak cricket team t-shirtsIn India, 10 youth were booked on charges of treason for wearing Pakistan cricket team t-shirts during a religious procession in a village of Lucknow on November 7, 2014.

“An FIR on charges of treason has been registered against 10 youth at Kubersthan Police Station in Lucknow,” Superintendent of Police, Lalit Kumar Singh, told mediamen in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh.

Tension gripped Kalyan Chhapar village after the youth were seen participating in the procession on November 4 wearing Pakistan cricket team t-shirts. This was opposed by some locals, who later informed the police.

After the intervention of police, the youth removed their t-shirts. Heavy police force was deployed in the area to prevent any untoward incident.

In occupied Kashmir, the authorities had imposed curfew and stringent restrictions in Srinagar and other major towns to prevent people from taking out Ashura processions on November 4, 2014.

The day is observed as a symbol of sacrifice and mourning, recalling the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA), the g r a n d s o n o f P r o p h e t Muhammad (peace be upon him), in the battle of Karbala on

the 10th of Muharram, more than 1350 years ago.

Defying restrictions, people came out on streets and staged anti-India demonstrations in different areas of Srinagar and Badgam against the killing of two civilians by Indian troops at Chattergam.

Indian police resorted to brute force injuring many mourners at Lal Chowk and Nowgam in Srinagar. Hurriyet leaders, Agha Syed Mujtaba and Ghulam Muhammad Nagoo, were arrested along with dozens of people on the occasion. Several S h i a o r g a n i s a t i o n s h a d announced that the main Ashura procession would be taken out

from Abi Guzar to Zadibal in Srinagar. But, the authorities had deployed Indian police and paramilitary personnel in strength in the city to prevent mourners from taking out the procession. However, despite restrictions a procession was taken out from Abi Guzar which was led by Agha Syed Muntazir Mehdi. Hundreds of people including the activists of Jammu and Kashmir Anjuman-e-Sharie Shian participated in it.

As soon as t h e procession started to m o v e f o r w a r d , the police personnel used brute f o r c e t o disperse it r esu l t ing i n t h e injuring of over two

dozen mourners. The police also arrested many people. Incidents of clashes between the mourners and Indian forces’ personnel were a lso reported f rom Batamaloo, Nowhatta, Hawal and Gojwara areas of Srinagar. Ashura processions participated by hundreds of people were also taken out from Alamgiri Bazaar, Harwan and Lal Bazaar localities of the city.

In Srinagar, traditionally main procession of 8th Muharram used to start in Srinagar from Shaheed Gunj and culminate at Dalgate after passing through different areas while the proces-sion of 10th Muharram would start from Aabi Guzar and end at

Zadibal. The occupation authori-ties had banned these proces-sions in 1990 and now only small mourning rallies are allowed in selected areas. Kashmiris have been protesting against this ban and demanding its lifting but the authorities are not paying heed to their pleas.

Ashura processions were also taken out in Badgam, Ganderbal, Awantipora, Tral, Pulwama, Kulgam, Achabal, Pahalgam, Baramulla and Islamabad areas. Similar processions were held in Leh town, Kargil town, Turtuk and Partappora in Ladakh region.

The puppet authorities had placed the All Parties Hurriyet Conference Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, under house arrest while other Hurriyet leaders including Muhammad Yasin Malik, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Zafar Akbar Butt, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Yousuf Naqash and Shabbir Ahmed Dar in jails to prevent them from addressing public meetings.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, in a statement issued in Srinagar paying glowing tributes to Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) and other martyrs of Karbala said that the people of occupied Kashmir were facing Karbala like situation. He condemned the imposition of curfew and other restrictions in Srinagar and other areas to stop people from taking out Muharram processions.

Senior APHC leader, Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi Al-Safvi, in a statement issued in Srinagar termed the ban on Muharram procession in the territory as interference in religious matters of the Muslims. He said that on one hand, the puppet authorities facilitated the conducting of Amarnath Yatra, and on the other, they did not allow the people of the territory to perform their religious obligations.

KASHMIR INSIGHT

Restrictions mark Ashura in occupied KashmirRestrictions mark Ashura in occupied Kashmir

Report

NOVEMBER 2014 2525KASHMIR INSIGHT DECEMBER 2014 1010

a Reuters report, the new

Indian NSA and counter-

insurgency strongman

Ajit Doval authorized

Indian BSF and ground

commanders in Jammu

‘no-holds-barred’ retalia-

tory powers - quite a

departure from previous

government policy. This

came in the context of a

refusal by India to allow

UN relief agencies to aid

in rescue efforts of flood victims.

“The enemy (Pakistan) has

realised,” Prime Minister Modi

said on October 9, 2014, “that

times have changed and their old

habits will not be tolerated.”

Modi’s rhetoric set off alarm bells

across the border. In response,

G e n e r a l R a h e e l S h a r i e f ,

Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff

declared, “Let there be no doubt

that any aggression against our

beloved country will get a

befitting response.”

“Lasting peace in the region,” he

said, “will only come about with

a fair and just resolution of

Kashmir issue in accor-

dance with the will of

K a s h m i r i p e o p l e , a s

enshrined in the UN

resolution.”

Further, Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif raised the

issue of Kashmir at the

United Nations and said,

“We cannot draw a veil on

the issue of Kashmir, until it

is addressed in accordance

with the wishes of the

people of Jammu and

Kashmir.”

The United Nations Military

Observer Group in India and

Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has had a

presence in Srinagar and

Rawalpindi since 1948 to

monitor ceasefire violations. In

July 2014, however, India asked

the UN Military Observer Group

to vacate the government

b u n g a l o w t h a t h a s b e e n

provided for them for the past 40

years, asserting as it has for some

time that the UN organisation

has “outlived its relevance” and

made obsolete by the Simla

Agreement of 1972, an agree-

ment between India and Pakistan

to resolve the issue of Kashmir

b i l a t e r a l l y . P a k i s t a n h a s

frequently called on the UN to

intervene whenever Ceasefire

violations have occurred, but

India has lodged no complaints

to the UN since that agreement

was made. In addition, they have

restricted the activities of UN

observers on the Indian side,

making it difficult for the true

facts to be known about these

violations. It’s been made quite

clear in debates on the issue and

addressed very clearly in the UN

Security Council resolution,

however, that bilateral agree-

ments like Simla Agreement

between India and Pakistan

cannot supersede the

r e s o l u t i o n , w h i c h

mandated the observer

mission.

More pertinent to the issue

is that the Kashmiris

themselves were not

consulted. In respect to

India’s actions regarding

U N M O G I P , t h e

s p o k e s m a n o f t h e

Hurriyet Conference led

by Syed Ali Geelani,

stated that, “Kashmiri people are

not the party to the Simla

Agreement, therefore they are

neither bound by such agree-

ments, nor has this agreement

impacted the international status

of Kashmir dispute. The UN

passed 18 resolutions regarding

Kashmir and both India and

Pakistan are signatory to these

resolutions. The order of the

government to vacate the office

premises of UNMOGIP is equal

to running away from the

reality,” he said.

The United States has expressed

concern over the hostilities

between India and

P a k i s t a n a n d h a s

recommended that both

countries resolve all

issues including the

i s s u e o f K a s h m i r

through bilateral talks.

W e a l l k n o w t h a t

bilateralism between

t h e s e n e i g h b o r i n g

countries has failed.

When bilateral dialogue

and the peace process

fails, it automatically

gives birth to trilateralism.

Trilateralism is not an insult but a

vital part of international

diplomacy. So the world powers

including the United States

should persuade both India and

Pakistan to initiate dialogue with

the Kashmiri leadership to set a

stage for the settlement of the

There is something very high

schoolish and unsophisticated

about the barbs and threats being

traded between Pakistan and

India, where fully grown men

given the responsibility to

manage nations shout at one

another like two boys in a park

squabbling over some Barbie

Doll standing on the sidelines,

who invariably has a look of

disgust on her face. Think

Kashmir. Yes, there have been

two wars between the two over

Kashmir, but too much is at

s take . The s tatesmanship

dictates that neither of these two

countries should go to war, not

nuclear war, because that might

prove devastating to both

countries. But they’ve got to beat

their chests, behaving as though

they’ve got something to prove.

Meanwhile, the cost of doing

nothing about what stands

between them continues to rise,

and it isn’t pocket change.

Someone pays for all this. The

crossfire disputes at the Ceasefire

Line are paid for in lives and

infrastructure of the people of

Kashmir caught in the middle

who live along the disputed

border.

It’s interesting that former

Pakistani foreign minister

Khurshid Kasuri has written a

book due to be released soon

called Neither Hawk, nor Dove

in which he states that he was

party to back channel discus-

sions between India and Pakistan

that took place during his term in

office between 2002 and 2007 in

which the two countries came

very close to agreement on

resolving the cr is is over

Kashmir.

As we know it now, the plan

p r o p o s e d b y P r e s i d e n t

Musharraf was as follows: i).

Identifying the geographical

r e g i o n s o f K a s h m i r ; i i ) .

Demilitarizing the whole of

J a m m u & K a s h m i r ; i i i ) .

Introducing self-governance;

and iv). Joint management

mechanism cons i s t ing o f

I n d i a n s , P a k i s t a n i s a n d

Kashmiris.

So what has happened since?

Why did this agreement fall

apart? President Musharraf who

wanted to sell it to the people of

Kashmir failed to do that. He said

later in an interview that

Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Geelani

did not endorse his four-point

formula. In other words, the

history makes it clear that if an

agreement is reached between

India and Pakistan without the

participation of the Kashmiri

leadership, it is bound to fail.

Unfortunately, that is exactly

what happened to Musharraf’s 4-

point formula.

Given the current state of crises-

based relations between India &

Pakistan, it’s very difficult if not

impossible to initiate diplomatic

efforts to diffuse tensions

without addressing the Kashmir

dispute. There was a glimmer of

hope when a meeting between

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

and Indian Prime Minister Modi

took place during the latter’s

inauguration in New Delhi. But

rational diplomacy has been a

major casualty of events since.

Violations of the Ceasefire Line

have occurred almost unabated

during this past summer, and the

Modi plan now is clearly one of

unilaterally making efforts

through elections in Kashmir to

enable the BJP to seize control of

the Assembly, abrogate Article

3 7 0 , w h i c h g i v e s s e m i -

autonomous status to Kashmir,

and fully integrate Kashmir into

India.

Still, the friction between

Pakistan and India remains

volatile. On August 18, 2014,

New Delhi canceled the foreign

secretaries’ scheduled meeting

on the pretext that Pakistani

High Commissioner met with

the leadership of All Parties

Hurriyet Conference (APHC),

although, this has been the

routine consultation between

APHC and Pakistani High

Commissioner since 1990.

It is interesting to note that such

meetings happened during the

administration of another BJP

leader, Atel Behari Vajpayee - the

mentor of Prime Minister Modi -

as well as Dr Manmohan Singh,

the Indian National Congress.

Following this cancellation, the

violence on the border immedi-

ately escalated, and according to


Article

Kashmir: Restoring the VisionModi’s Election Plan in Kashmir


Article

NOVEMBER 2014 2525

Article


Dr Ghulam Nabi FaiDr Ghulam Nabi Fai

a Reuters report, the new

Indian NSA and counter-

insurgency strongman

Ajit Doval authorized

Indian BSF and ground

commanders in Jammu

‘no-holds-barred’ retalia-

tory powers - quite a

departure from previous

government policy. This

came in the context of a

refusal by India to allow

UN relief agencies to aid

in rescue efforts of flood victims.

“The enemy (Pakistan) has

realised,” Prime Minister Modi

said on October 9, 2014, “that

times have changed and their old

habits will not be tolerated.”

Modi’s rhetoric set off alarm bells

across the border. In response,

G e n e r a l R a h e e l S h a r i e f ,

Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff

declared, “Let there be no doubt

that any aggression against our

beloved country will get a

befitting response.”

“Lasting peace in the region,” he

said, “will only come about with

a fair and just resolution of

Kashmir issue in accor-

dance with the will of

K a s h m i r i p e o p l e , a s

enshrined in the UN

resolution.”

Further, Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif raised the

issue of Kashmir at the

United Nations and said,

“We cannot draw a veil on

the issue of Kashmir, until it

is addressed in accordance

with the wishes of the

people of Jammu and

Kashmir.”

The United Nations Military

Observer Group in India and

Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has had a

presence in Srinagar and

Rawalpindi since 1948 to

monitor ceasefire violations. In

July 2014, however, India asked

the UN Military Observer Group

to vacate the government

b u n g a l o w t h a t h a s b e e n

provided for them for the past 40

years, asserting as it has for some

time that the UN organisation

has “outlived its relevance” and

made obsolete by the Simla

Agreement of 1972, an agree-

ment between India and Pakistan

to resolve the issue of Kashmir

b i l a t e r a l l y . P a k i s t a n h a s

frequently called on the UN to

intervene whenever Ceasefire

violations have occurred, but

India has lodged no complaints

to the UN since that agreement

was made. In addition, they have

restricted the activities of UN

observers on the Indian side,

making it difficult for the true

facts to be known about these

violations. It’s been made quite

clear in debates on the issue and

addressed very clearly in the UN

Security Council resolution,

however, that bilateral agree-

ments like Simla Agreement

between India and Pakistan

cannot supersede the

r e s o l u t i o n , w h i c h

mandated the observer

mission.

More pertinent to the issue

is that the Kashmiris

themselves were not

consulted. In respect to

India’s actions regarding

U N M O G I P , t h e

s p o k e s m a n o f t h e

Hurriyet Conference led

by Syed Ali Geelani,

stated that, “Kashmiri people are

not the party to the Simla

Agreement, therefore they are

neither bound by such agree-

ments, nor has this agreement

impacted the international status

of Kashmir dispute. The UN

passed 18 resolutions regarding

Kashmir and both India and

Pakistan are signatory to these

resolutions. The order of the

government to vacate the office

premises of UNMOGIP is equal

to running away from the

reality,” he said.

The United States has expressed

concern over the hostilities

between India and

P a k i s t a n a n d h a s

recommended that both

countries resolve all

issues including the

i s s u e o f K a s h m i r

through bilateral talks.

W e a l l k n o w t h a t

bilateralism between

t h e s e n e i g h b o r i n g

countries has failed.

When bilateral dialogue

and the peace process

fails, it automatically

gives birth to trilateralism.

Trilateralism is not an insult but a

vital part of international

diplomacy. So the world powers

including the United States

should persuade both India and

Pakistan to initiate dialogue with

the Kashmiri leadership to set a

stage for the settlement of the

There is something very high

schoolish and unsophisticated

about the barbs and threats being

traded between Pakistan and

India, where fully grown men

given the responsibility to

manage nations shout at one

another like two boys in a park

squabbling over some Barbie

Doll standing on the sidelines,

who invariably has a look of

disgust on her face. Think

Kashmir. Yes, there have been

two wars between the two over

Kashmir, but too much is at

s take . The s tatesmanship

dictates that neither of these two

countries should go to war, not

nuclear war, because that might

prove devastating to both

countries. But they’ve got to beat

their chests, behaving as though

they’ve got something to prove.

Meanwhile, the cost of doing

nothing about what stands

between them continues to rise,

and it isn’t pocket change.

Someone pays for all this. The

crossfire disputes at the Ceasefire

Line are paid for in lives and

infrastructure of the people of

Kashmir caught in the middle

who live along the disputed

border.

It’s interesting that former

Pakistani foreign minister

Khurshid Kasuri has written a

book due to be released soon

called Neither Hawk, nor Dove

in which he states that he was

party to back channel discus-

sions between India and Pakistan

that took place during his term in

office between 2002 and 2007 in

which the two countries came

very close to agreement on

resolving the cr is is over

Kashmir.

As we know it now, the plan

p r o p o s e d b y P r e s i d e n t

Musharraf was as follows: i).

Identifying the geographical

r e g i o n s o f K a s h m i r ; i i ) .

Demilitarizing the whole of

J a m m u & K a s h m i r ; i i i ) .

Introducing self-governance;

and iv). Joint management

mechanism cons i s t ing o f

I n d i a n s , P a k i s t a n i s a n d

Kashmiris.

So what has happened since?

Why did this agreement fall

apart? President Musharraf who

wanted to sell it to the people of

Kashmir failed to do that. He said

later in an interview that

Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Geelani

did not endorse his four-point

formula. In other words, the

history makes it clear that if an

agreement is reached between

India and Pakistan without the

participation of the Kashmiri

leadership, it is bound to fail.

Unfortunately, that is exactly

what happened to Musharraf’s 4-

point formula.

Given the current state of crises-

based relations between India &

Pakistan, it’s very difficult if not

impossible to initiate diplomatic

efforts to diffuse tensions

without addressing the Kashmir

dispute. There was a glimmer of

hope when a meeting between

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

and Indian Prime Minister Modi

took place during the latter’s

inauguration in New Delhi. But

rational diplomacy has been a

major casualty of events since.

Violations of the Ceasefire Line

have occurred almost unabated

during this past summer, and the

Modi plan now is clearly one of

unilaterally making efforts

through elections in Kashmir to

enable the BJP to seize control of

the Assembly, abrogate Article

3 7 0 , w h i c h g i v e s s e m i -

autonomous status to Kashmir,

and fully integrate Kashmir into

India.

Still, the friction between

Pakistan and India remains

volatile. On August 18, 2014,

New Delhi canceled the foreign

secretaries’ scheduled meeting

on the pretext that Pakistani

High Commissioner met with

the leadership of All Parties

Hurriyet Conference (APHC),

although, this has been the

routine consultation between

APHC and Pakistani High

Commissioner since 1990.

It is interesting to note that such

meetings happened during the

administration of another BJP

leader, Atel Behari Vajpayee - the

mentor of Prime Minister Modi -

as well as Dr Manmohan Singh,

the Indian National Congress.

Following this cancellation, the

violence on the border immedi-

ately escalated, and according to


Article



Article

NOVEMBER 2014 2525

Article


Dr Ghulam Nabi FaiDr Ghulam Nabi Fai

Kashmir dispute.

As Husain Haqqani stated in his

book Magnificent Delusions,

(2013), “Obama wrote that the

United States would tell coun-

tries of the region that ‘the old

ways of doing business are no

longer acceptable’. He acknowl-

edged that some countries - a

reference to India - had used

‘unresolved disputes to leave

open bilateral wounds for years

or decades. They must find ways

to come together.’”

Perhaps now is the time for

President Obama to act on his

vision. The United States should

realise that the time to merely try

to defuse the tension between

India and Pakistan is over. Now

is the time to address the root

cause of the tensions between

New Delhi and Islamabad - the

u n r e s o l v e d d i s p u t e o v e r

Kashmir. The vision of President

Obama that was offered by him

on September 25, 2008, to

“continue support of ongoing

Indian Pakistani efforts to

resolve Kashmir problem in

order to address the political

roots of the arms race between

India and Pakistan,” could still

come to pass, if the President gets

involved. Both sides need to put

away their bullish talk and take

into consideration the views of

Kashmir is themselves by

including them in the peace

process. The way to resolve the

issues clearly is through dialogue

and not war.

Article


the Returning Officer changed all

the results. All the available

evidence testify that MUF could

have easily won 37 seats out of 45

in the Valley of Kashmir alone.

Most of the leaders of the

Kashmiri resistance today were

either contesting elections in

1987 or were involved in the

election campaign of MUF

candidates. Syed Salahuddin,

C o m m a n d e r o f K a s h m i r i

militant organisation Hizbul

Mujahideen, was contesting

elections from Amira Kadal

constituency (the heart of the

capital) and was winning by

14,000 votes. Yet the Returning

Officer announced that he was

losing by 14, 000 votes. Yasin

M a l i k , C h a i r m a n J a m m u

Kashmir Liberation Front was

the campaign manager of

Salahuddin. Both picked up the

gun after losing the faith in the

elections in Kashmir.

Amy Waldman wrote in the New

York Times on August 24, 2002,

that “Rigged elections in

Kashmir in 1989 helped trigger

the armed uprising that India

estimates has taken more than

35,000 lives.” Since 2002, the

number of dead has risen to over

100,000.

The elections being held between

November 25 to December 20,

2014, in Indian occupied

Kashmir will be no different.

They are being held under the

Indian Constitution, in spite of

the fact that the United Nations

Security Council resolutions 91

of 1951 and

122 of 1957

have declared

that “…any

a c t i o n t h a t

A s s e m b l y

might attempt

t o t a k e t o

determine the

future shape

and affiliation

of the entire

State or any

part thereof

would not constitute a disposi-

tion of the State in accordance

with the above principle.”

Mahatma Gandhi is known for

his statement that “The will of

Kashmiris is the supreme law in

Kashmir.” Yet what overlays and

ultimately renders the will of the

people powerless is government

of India itself. The greatest flaw

in government is that it governs

rather than being a fundamental

expression of popular will.

Electoral systems transfer the

rights and powers bestowed in

people to third parties who are

not bound by

c o n t r a c t o r

apparently even

b y m o r a l

obl igat ion to

represent those

who have given

t h e m s u c h

l i c e n s e .

Democracy was

i n t e n d e d b y

purpose, if not

design, to give

power to the

people, but the fallibility of the

ambitious invariably overtakes

whatever good might have been

intended. What the forthcoming

elections will not do is place the

power where it truly belongs: in

the hands of the people.

“We profess democracy but rule

by force in Kashmir,” Jayprakash

Narayan, once said. Aside from

corruption in the electoral

process, the rule of force is

everywhere evident through the

presence of more than 700,000

Indian military and paramilitary

forces needed, apparently, to

shut down any ideas the

Kashmiris may have to take

control of their own affairs.

Election, however, is the sine qua

non of democratic process. The

basic prerequisite for an election

is that it has to be free and fair.

Elections should also be free

from violence, coercion, intimi-

dation and unlawful influence of

armed forces. Unfortunately, the

elections in Indian occupied

Kashmir do not meet this

threshold and are therefore

illegitimate as a vehicle to move

forward any talks even as a first

step towards the resolution of

Kashmir dispute.

India insists to hold façade of

election in Kashmir because it

provides her an opportunity to

respond to the criticism of the

world powers who recognise the

genuine sentiments of the people

of Kashmir.

“ W h a t e v e r t h e ( I n d i a n ) Government spokesman might have said before, or may say now, there has never been a free and fair election in the State of J a m m u a n d K a s h m i r . ” Jayaprakash Narayan, ‘India’s Conscience-Keeper.’

Hope and change the Modi way

seems to have taken in the

majority of India’s voters since he

was elected in May 2014, but his

message to the flood-ravaged

people of Kashmir has so far been

less than palatable. History has

proven that candidates in the

Himalayas are tall on promises

b u t s h o r t o n

results, and the

e l e c t i o n s a r e

invariably engi-

neered to suit the

status quo. This

time is expected to

be no different.

The hope of Prime

Minister Modi, of

course, is to put a

little Vaseline on

his party’s long-

time efforts to slip

past Article 370 by

simply flooding

the s ta te Assembly wi th

members of the BJP and

concocting changes through

legislation that will effectively

render the law null and void.

First it was the river Jehlum.

Now it’s the BJP. Perhaps the

greatest ravaging of the Kashmiri

consciousness would be putting

into place mechanisms and laws

that will further inhibit opportu-

nities for the long-held desire of

Kashmir to hold a referendum

giving it independence from

India all together.

Since the first elections were held

in 1951, they have been seen as

obvious frauds, where the

majority of seats were uncon-

tested or votes that were

somehow magically switched

from one candidate to another.

In 1951, out of 75 seats, the ruling

party with the support of the

Government of India won all 75

seats, with 73 seats returned

uncontested. What an irony that

then Indian Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru said about

these elections on October 18,

1951, that the people of Kashmir

have sent a message, “that they

were with India.” What a joke!

In 1957, the ruling party won 68

seats out of 75 and 43 were

returned unopposed. In 1962,

they won 70 out of 75 seats and 39

were unchallenged. And in 1967,

ruling party won 60 out of 75 and

55 were returned unopposed.

A l e a d i n g

Indian leader

Jayaprakash

Narayan said

on February 1,

1972, “What-

e v e r t h e

( I n d i a n )

Government

s p o k e s m a n

m i g h t h a v e

said before, or

may say now,

there has never

been a free and

fair election in

the State of

Jammu and Kashmir.”

In 1987, Muslim United Front

(MUF) was winning 83% of the

seats in the Valley of Kashmir but

KASHMIR INSIGHT

Article


Kashmir dispute.

As Husain Haqqani stated in his

book Magnificent Delusions,

(2013), “Obama wrote that the

United States would tell coun-

tries of the region that ‘the old

ways of doing business are no

longer acceptable’. He acknowl-

edged that some countries - a

reference to India - had used

‘unresolved disputes to leave

open bilateral wounds for years

or decades. They must find ways

to come together.’”

Perhaps now is the time for

President Obama to act on his

vision. The United States should

realise that the time to merely try

to defuse the tension between

India and Pakistan is over. Now

is the time to address the root

cause of the tensions between

New Delhi and Islamabad - the

u n r e s o l v e d d i s p u t e o v e r

Kashmir. The vision of President

Obama that was offered by him

on September 25, 2008, to

“continue support of ongoing

Indian Pakistani efforts to

resolve Kashmir problem in

order to address the political

roots of the arms race between

India and Pakistan,” could still

come to pass, if the President gets

involved. Both sides need to put

away their bullish talk and take

into consideration the views of

Kashmir is themselves by

including them in the peace

process. The way to resolve the

issues clearly is through dialogue

and not war.

Article


the Returning Officer changed all

the results. All the available

evidence testify that MUF could

have easily won 37 seats out of 45

in the Valley of Kashmir alone.

Most of the leaders of the

Kashmiri resistance today were

either contesting elections in

1987 or were involved in the

election campaign of MUF

candidates. Syed Salahuddin,

C o m m a n d e r o f K a s h m i r i

militant organisation Hizbul

Mujahideen, was contesting

elections from Amira Kadal

constituency (the heart of the

capital) and was winning by

14,000 votes. Yet the Returning

Officer announced that he was

losing by 14, 000 votes. Yasin

M a l i k , C h a i r m a n J a m m u

Kashmir Liberation Front was

the campaign manager of

Salahuddin. Both picked up the

gun after losing the faith in the

elections in Kashmir.

Amy Waldman wrote in the New

York Times on August 24, 2002,

that “Rigged elections in

Kashmir in 1989 helped trigger

the armed uprising that India

estimates has taken more than

35,000 lives.” Since 2002, the

number of dead has risen to over

100,000.

The elections being held between

November 25 to December 20,

2014, in Indian occupied

Kashmir will be no different.

They are being held under the

Indian Constitution, in spite of

the fact that the United Nations

Security Council resolutions 91

of 1951 and

122 of 1957

have declared

that “…any

a c t i o n t h a t

A s s e m b l y

might attempt

t o t a k e t o

determine the

future shape

and affiliation

of the entire

State or any

part thereof

would not constitute a disposi-

tion of the State in accordance

with the above principle.”

Mahatma Gandhi is known for

his statement that “The will of

Kashmiris is the supreme law in

Kashmir.” Yet what overlays and

ultimately renders the will of the

people powerless is government

of India itself. The greatest flaw

in government is that it governs

rather than being a fundamental

expression of popular will.

Electoral systems transfer the

rights and powers bestowed in

people to third parties who are

not bound by

c o n t r a c t o r

apparently even

b y m o r a l

obl igat ion to

represent those

who have given

t h e m s u c h

l i c e n s e .

Democracy was

i n t e n d e d b y

purpose, if not

design, to give

power to the

people, but the fallibility of the

ambitious invariably overtakes

whatever good might have been

intended. What the forthcoming

elections will not do is place the

power where it truly belongs: in

the hands of the people.

“We profess democracy but rule

by force in Kashmir,” Jayprakash

Narayan, once said. Aside from

corruption in the electoral

process, the rule of force is

everywhere evident through the

presence of more than 700,000

Indian military and paramilitary

forces needed, apparently, to

shut down any ideas the

Kashmiris may have to take

control of their own affairs.

Election, however, is the sine qua

non of democratic process. The

basic prerequisite for an election

is that it has to be free and fair.

Elections should also be free

from violence, coercion, intimi-

dation and unlawful influence of

armed forces. Unfortunately, the

elections in Indian occupied

Kashmir do not meet this

threshold and are therefore

illegitimate as a vehicle to move

forward any talks even as a first

step towards the resolution of

Kashmir dispute.

India insists to hold façade of

election in Kashmir because it

provides her an opportunity to

respond to the criticism of the

world powers who recognise the

genuine sentiments of the people

of Kashmir.

“ W h a t e v e r t h e ( I n d i a n ) Government spokesman might have said before, or may say now, there has never been a free and fair election in the State of J a m m u a n d K a s h m i r . ” Jayaprakash Narayan, ‘India’s Conscience-Keeper.’

Hope and change the Modi way

seems to have taken in the

majority of India’s voters since he

was elected in May 2014, but his

message to the flood-ravaged

people of Kashmir has so far been

less than palatable. History has

proven that candidates in the

Himalayas are tall on promises

b u t s h o r t o n

results, and the

e l e c t i o n s a r e

invariably engi-

neered to suit the

status quo. This

time is expected to

be no different.

The hope of Prime

Minister Modi, of

course, is to put a

little Vaseline on

his party’s long-

time efforts to slip

past Article 370 by

simply flooding

the s ta te Assembly wi th

members of the BJP and

concocting changes through

legislation that will effectively

render the law null and void.

First it was the river Jehlum.

Now it’s the BJP. Perhaps the

greatest ravaging of the Kashmiri

consciousness would be putting

into place mechanisms and laws

that will further inhibit opportu-

nities for the long-held desire of

Kashmir to hold a referendum

giving it independence from

India all together.

Since the first elections were held

in 1951, they have been seen as

obvious frauds, where the

majority of seats were uncon-

tested or votes that were

somehow magically switched

from one candidate to another.

In 1951, out of 75 seats, the ruling

party with the support of the

Government of India won all 75

seats, with 73 seats returned

uncontested. What an irony that

then Indian Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru said about

these elections on October 18,

1951, that the people of Kashmir

have sent a message, “that they

were with India.” What a joke!

In 1957, the ruling party won 68

seats out of 75 and 43 were

returned unopposed. In 1962,

they won 70 out of 75 seats and 39

were unchallenged. And in 1967,

ruling party won 60 out of 75 and

55 were returned unopposed.

A l e a d i n g

Indian leader

Jayaprakash

Narayan said

on February 1,

1972, “What-

e v e r t h e

( I n d i a n )

Government

s p o k e s m a n

m i g h t h a v e

said before, or

may say now,

there has never

been a free and

fair election in

the State of

Jammu and Kashmir.”

In 1987, Muslim United Front

(MUF) was winning 83% of the

seats in the Valley of Kashmir but

KASHMIR INSIGHT

Article


Just as Kashmiri resistance leaders again intend to boycott elections that they see as an attempt to legitimise Indian rule, win over independents, engineer splits in regional parties and get Pandits (Hindus) who fled during the revolt to register and vote, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq recognises the BJP’s ploy as cynical. “Not only are they trying to win the election through default, they are trying to split Muslims into Shias and Sunnis - and even within Sunnis a further split,” he said. “It’s dangerous.”

Syed Ali Geelani categorically denounced the BJP’s tactics and said that “Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory and it has never been a part of India. Its occupation carries no weight and is neither valid nor legitimate.”

Mohammad Yasin Malik said, “Jammu Kashmir belongs to Kashmiris and so-called elec-tions can never ‘Indianise’ the people of Kashmir.” Those who think they can conquer Kashmir through manipulated elections are “living in fool’s paradise,” he added.

Shabir Shah said that Kashmir was crying for international aid after having gone through devas ta t ing f loods . “The announcement of elections is an exercise in futility.”

With his party’s recent victories in regions that aren’t traditional BJP strongholds, such as in Maharashtra, home of Indian financial capital Mumbai, and in r e l a t i v e l y i n d u s t r i a l i s e d Haryana in northern India, Narendra Modi’s strategy can be expected to gain his party more than the 11 seats it now holds. But in the final analysis, it will not matter. Such elections do not address the open sore that bleeds with continuing violence and suffering that takes place daily in Kashmir. They do not take the

place of the referendum that has been promised them for 67 years. They cannot resolve through elections the direct popular vote that is needed to determine the will of the p e o p l e . T h e y c a n n o t e n f r a n-chise those who have a l r e a d y b e e n disenfran-c h i s e d t h r o u g h the willful refusal to grant the Kashmiris this guaranteed right to self-determination. They cannot change the hearts of those who have already seen how useless and corrupt such a process has shown itself to be.

We should know that the election plan of the Modi administration has nothing to do with building a majority consensus in Kashmir. It has also nothing to do with strengthening the peace process between India, Pakistan and the Kashmiri leadership. It is designed to legitimise its illegitimate rule in the eyes of the international community.

The fact is that the real issue in Kashmir is not about elections, and it is not about an economic package or terrorism. The real issue in Kashmir is about the political destiny of the 18 million people of Kashmir, be they in Indian occupied Kashmir, Azad Kashmir, Gilgat-Baltistan or Kashmiri expatriates.

We, therefore, put forth the following seven points that may pave the way to set a stage for a settlement of the Kashmir dispute:

i. The demilitarisation of the State of Jammu & Kashmir on

either side of the Ceasefire Line;

ii. Satisfying the democratic principles, the rule of law, peace and security for every inhabitant of all the five regions of Jammu &

Kashmir;

iii. Repealing the draconian laws, particularly ‘The Armed Forces (Jammu & Kashmir) Special Powers Act’;

iv. Allowing all political parties the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and right to unhin-dered election campaign;

v. Requiring to sign no oath of allegiance to the Indian or Pakistani Constitutions;

vi. Deputising an international and neutral agency like the United Nations to conduct, monitor and supervise the elections;

vii. Reassuring that the elected officials be given a mandate to negotiate a final settlement of the Kashmir conflict with India and Pakistan.

Let us hope that the leadership of both India and Pakistan as well as the world powers realise that resolution of the Kashmir dispute guarantees peace and stability not only in Kashmir but also in the region of South Asia - home to one-fifth of total human race.(Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai is Secretary General of World Kashmir Awareness. H e c a n b e r e a c h e d a t : [email protected])

KASHMIR INSIGHT

Article


Just as Kashmiri resistance leaders again intend to boycott elections that they see as an attempt to legitimise Indian rule, win over independents, engineer splits in regional parties and get Pandits (Hindus) who fled during the revolt to register and vote, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq recognises the BJP’s ploy as cynical. “Not only are they trying to win the election through default, they are trying to split Muslims into Shias and Sunnis - and even within Sunnis a further split,” he said. “It’s dangerous.”

Syed Ali Geelani categorically denounced the BJP’s tactics and said that “Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory and it has never been a part of India. Its occupation carries no weight and is neither valid nor legitimate.”

Mohammad Yasin Malik said, “Jammu Kashmir belongs to Kashmiris and so-called elec-tions can never ‘Indianise’ the people of Kashmir.” Those who think they can conquer Kashmir through manipulated elections are “living in fool’s paradise,” he added.

Shabir Shah said that Kashmir was crying for international aid after having gone through devas ta t ing f loods . “The announcement of elections is an exercise in futility.”

With his party’s recent victories in regions that aren’t traditional BJP strongholds, such as in Maharashtra, home of Indian financial capital Mumbai, and in r e l a t i v e l y i n d u s t r i a l i s e d Haryana in northern India, Narendra Modi’s strategy can be expected to gain his party more than the 11 seats it now holds. But in the final analysis, it will not matter. Such elections do not address the open sore that bleeds with continuing violence and suffering that takes place daily in Kashmir. They do not take the

place of the referendum that has been promised them for 67 years. They cannot resolve through elections the direct popular vote that is needed to determine the will of the p e o p l e . T h e y c a n n o t e n f r a n-chise those who have a l r e a d y b e e n disenfran-c h i s e d t h r o u g h the willful refusal to grant the Kashmiris this guaranteed right to self-determination. They cannot change the hearts of those who have already seen how useless and corrupt such a process has shown itself to be.

We should know that the election plan of the Modi administration has nothing to do with building a majority consensus in Kashmir. It has also nothing to do with strengthening the peace process between India, Pakistan and the Kashmiri leadership. It is designed to legitimise its illegitimate rule in the eyes of the international community.

The fact is that the real issue in Kashmir is not about elections, and it is not about an economic package or terrorism. The real issue in Kashmir is about the political destiny of the 18 million people of Kashmir, be they in Indian occupied Kashmir, Azad Kashmir, Gilgat-Baltistan or Kashmiri expatriates.

We, therefore, put forth the following seven points that may pave the way to set a stage for a settlement of the Kashmir dispute:

i. The demilitarisation of the State of Jammu & Kashmir on

either side of the Ceasefire Line;

ii. Satisfying the democratic principles, the rule of law, peace and security for every inhabitant of all the five regions of Jammu &

Kashmir;

iii. Repealing the draconian laws, particularly ‘The Armed Forces (Jammu & Kashmir) Special Powers Act’;

iv. Allowing all political parties the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and right to unhin-dered election campaign;

v. Requiring to sign no oath of allegiance to the Indian or Pakistani Constitutions;

vi. Deputising an international and neutral agency like the United Nations to conduct, monitor and supervise the elections;

vii. Reassuring that the elected officials be given a mandate to negotiate a final settlement of the Kashmir conflict with India and Pakistan.

Let us hope that the leadership of both India and Pakistan as well as the world powers realise that resolution of the Kashmir dispute guarantees peace and stability not only in Kashmir but also in the region of South Asia - home to one-fifth of total human race.(Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai is Secretary General of World Kashmir Awareness. H e c a n b e r e a c h e d a t : [email protected])

KASHMIR INSIGHT

Article


02-11-2014 Srinagar02-11-2014 Srinagar 04-11-2014 Srinagar04-11-2014 Srinagar02-11-2014 Srinagar02-11-2014 Srinagar

05-11-2014 Srinagar05-11-2014 Srinagar 13-11-2014 Kulgam13-11-2014 Kulgam 14-11-2014 Kulgam14-11-2014 Kulgam

15-11-2014 Srinagar15-11-2014 Srinagar 29-11-2014 Srinagar29-11-2014 Srinagar

04-11-2014 Srinagar04-11-2014 Srinagar

22-11-2014 Srinagar22-11-2014 Srinagar

November 14: Indian troops killed two youth, Muhammad A b b a s M a l l a a n d M a l i k Manzoor, during a siege and search operation at Chenigam in Kulgam. The troops shot dead a 9th class student, Tariq Ahmed Butt, and injured three civilians by firing upon the demonstrators who were protesting against the killing of the youth.The troops also killed another youth, Zahoor Ahmed Najar, at Lach Mawar in Kupwara.An 11-year-old girl, Farhat Manzoor, was killed after an Indian Army vehicle deliberately hit her at Wangam in Langate.November 15: The authorities placed Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other Hurriyet leaders including M a u l a n a A b b a s Ansari, Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi Al-Safvi, Mukhtar A h m e d W a z a , S h a h i d - u l - I s l a m , Syed Saleem Gilani, Hilal Ahmed War and Hakeem Abdul R a s h e e d u n d e r h o u s e a r r e s t t o prevent them from leading a march towards the UN Office in Srinagar against the killing of innocent civilians in Chattergam and

K u l g a m . Indian police a r r e s t e d H u r r i y e t l e a d e r s G h u l a m N a b i Z a k i and Ghulam Muhammad Nagoo along with several H u r r i y e t activists in Srinagar and

Imtiyaz Ahmed Mir from Sopore when they were conducting the march.November 18: Indian police personnel thrashed a patwari, Saleem Altaf, at Nigeen in Srinagar.The police arrested five youth from Kulgam.November 19: Indian police arrested the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim League leaders, Abdul Ahad Parra, Muhammad Akram Najar, Imran Najar, Basharat Ahmed Mir and Tariq Ahmed W a g e y f r o m H a n d w a r a , Baramulla and Kulgam areas.November 20: Indian troops killed three youth, Shiraz Ahmed Ganai, Shabbir Ahmed and Asif

Butt, during a siege and search operation in Tral.The troops killed another youth

in Pargwal area of Jammu.Indian police arrested two youth, Mushtaq Nabi Wani and Aslam Rasool Chela, from Ganderbal.November 22: Indian police arrested six persons, Sajjad Mir, Tabeeb Sheikh, Shaukat Salafi, Zahid Hamid, Muneeb Farooq Wani and Aijaz Ahmed, from Srinagar, Bandipore, Islamabad and Sopore areas.November 23: The police arrested an 82-year-old civilian, Ghulam Muhammad, and the brother of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader, Showkat Ahmed Bakhshi , during house raids in Srinagar.November 24: The police arrested JKLF leader, Showkat Ahmed Bakhshi, from Srinagar.November 26: Indian police arrested a youth, Adil Misger, from Nowhatta area of Srinagar. Adil Misger remained on the f o r e f r o n t d u r i n g r e s c u e operations in recent devastating floods in Srinagar and saved hundreds of lives.November 27: Indian troops killed seven people after an attack on an Army camp at Pindi-Kathaar in Arnia area of Jammu.The troops arrested a youth,

Abdul Qayoom, from Lam area of Rajouri district.November 28: The troops killed one more person at Pindi-Kathaar in Jammu.N o v e m b e r 2 9 : I n d i a n p o l i c e arrested the Jammu a n d K a s h m i r Liberation Front General Secretary, Ghulam Hassan Sheikh, along with a p a r t y a c t i v i s t ,

Abdul Rehman Kumhar, from Kulgam.

India has turned occupied

Kashmir into a military garrison

where its troops and police

personnel are using every brutal

tactic to suppress the Kashmiris’

just struggle against its illegal

occupation. It has imposed

draconian laws in the occupied

territory granting the forces’


commit gross human rights

violations with impunity to

intimidate the Kashmiris into

submission.At the same time, New Delhi is

holding periodical elections in

Kashmir to mislead the world

about the Kashmir dispute and

the prevailing situation of the

territory. The sham polls held

under the shadow of gun always

bring miseries to the people of

Kashmir. Whenever the polling

s c h e d u l e i s a n n o u n c e d ,

hundreds of people including

Hurriyet leaders and activists are

illegally detained in police

stations and jails to prevent them

from conducting election boycott

campaign.It is a fact that the Kashmiris have

never considered these polls as a

s u b s t i t u t e t o t h e i r U N -

recognised r ight to se l f -

determination. Instead of staging

election dramas in Kashmir,

India should take steps towards

holding of plebiscite in Jammu

and Kashmir so that the

Kashmiri people could decide

their fate by themselves.Following are the details of

human rights violations in

occupied Kashmir during the

month of November.

November 1: Indian police fired b u l l e t s o n M u h a r r a m processions and beat up many mourners in Chadoora area of Badgam.The police arrested several youth from Nowpora area of Sopore and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader, Sheikh M u h a m m a d A f z a l , f r o m Trehgam in Kupwara.November 2: The police arrested dozens of mourners after subject ing them to brute force in Srinagar.N o v e m b e r 3 : Indian troops killed two youth, Faisal Yousuf Butt and Mehraj Ahmed Dar, and injured two others, Muhammad Zahid Naqash and Muhammad Shakir Butt, after opening fire on their car at Chattergam in Badgam.The puppet authorities booked Hurriyet activist , Shakeel Ahmed Butt, under black law, Public Safety Act, for the 18th time in Srinagar. Shakeel Butt was released in May this year from Srinagar Central Jail.November 4: The occupation authorities imposed stringent curfew in Srinagar and Badgam to prevent people from staging demonstrations against the killing of the youth who were murdered by the troops in Chattergam.Indian police beat up two dozen mourners and detained several others in Srinagar.November 5: Nine youth were injured after Indian forces'

personnel fired teargas shells and pellets in Nowgam area of Srinagar against peaceful demonstra tors who were p r o t e s t i n g a g a i n s t t h e Chattergam killings.The authorities placed the All Parties Hurriyet Conference Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and APHC leader, Maulana Abbas Ansari, under house arrest in Srinagar to prevent them from leading demonstrations against the Chattergam incident.November 6: A civilian, Irshad Ahmed Wasil, and a girl, Snober Amin, were injured when Indian police fired pellets on peaceful

protests held against the arrest of youth in Baramulla town.November 7: The police arrested five youth from Nowgam area of Srinagar and one from Sopore.November 8: Two people including a 10 year-old boy, Nadeem Ahmed Chapri, were killed when a speedy vehicle of Indian Central Reserve Police Force deliberately hit them at Dalgate in Srinagar.Indian police beat up six youth in Kulgam and arrested many civilians from Nowgam area of Srinagar.November 9: The police arrested a civilian, Aijaz Ahmed Mir, from Baramulla.November 11: The police beat up half a dozen people and arrested t w e n t y - n i n e y o u t h f r o m Baramulla.


ArticleHuman rights Situation


Compiled by Raies Ahmed

Human rights Situation

November 14: Indian troops killed two youth, Muhammad A b b a s M a l l a a n d M a l i k Manzoor, during a siege and search operation at Chenigam in Kulgam. The troops shot dead a 9th class student, Tariq Ahmed Butt, and injured three civilians by firing upon the demonstrators who were protesting against the killing of the youth.The troops also killed another youth, Zahoor Ahmed Najar, at Lach Mawar in Kupwara.An 11-year-old girl, Farhat Manzoor, was killed after an Indian Army vehicle deliberately hit her at Wangam in Langate.November 15: The authorities placed Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other Hurriyet leaders including M a u l a n a A b b a s Ansari, Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi Al-Safvi, Mukhtar A h m e d W a z a , S h a h i d - u l - I s l a m , Syed Saleem Gilani, Hilal Ahmed War and Hakeem Abdul R a s h e e d u n d e r h o u s e a r r e s t t o prevent them from leading a march towards the UN Office in Srinagar against the killing of innocent civilians in Chattergam and

K u l g a m . Indian police a r r e s t e d H u r r i y e t l e a d e r s G h u l a m N a b i Z a k i and Ghulam Muhammad Nagoo along with several H u r r i y e t activists in Srinagar and

Imtiyaz Ahmed Mir from Sopore when they were conducting the march.November 18: Indian police personnel thrashed a patwari, Saleem Altaf, at Nigeen in Srinagar.The police arrested five youth from Kulgam.November 19: Indian police arrested the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim League leaders, Abdul Ahad Parra, Muhammad Akram Najar, Imran Najar, Basharat Ahmed Mir and Tariq Ahmed W a g e y f r o m H a n d w a r a , Baramulla and Kulgam areas.November 20: Indian troops killed three youth, Shiraz Ahmed Ganai, Shabbir Ahmed and Asif

Butt, during a siege and search operation in Tral.The troops killed another youth

in Pargwal area of Jammu.Indian police arrested two youth, Mushtaq Nabi Wani and Aslam Rasool Chela, from Ganderbal.November 22: Indian police arrested six persons, Sajjad Mir, Tabeeb Sheikh, Shaukat Salafi, Zahid Hamid, Muneeb Farooq Wani and Aijaz Ahmed, from Srinagar, Bandipore, Islamabad and Sopore areas.November 23: The police arrested an 82-year-old civilian, Ghulam Muhammad, and the brother of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader, Showkat Ahmed Bakhshi , during house raids in Srinagar.November 24: The police arrested JKLF leader, Showkat Ahmed Bakhshi, from Srinagar.November 26: Indian police arrested a youth, Adil Misger, from Nowhatta area of Srinagar. Adil Misger remained on the f o r e f r o n t d u r i n g r e s c u e operations in recent devastating floods in Srinagar and saved hundreds of lives.November 27: Indian troops killed seven people after an attack on an Army camp at Pindi-Kathaar in Arnia area of Jammu.The troops arrested a youth,

Abdul Qayoom, from Lam area of Rajouri district.November 28: The troops killed one more person at Pindi-Kathaar in Jammu.N o v e m b e r 2 9 : I n d i a n p o l i c e arrested the Jammu a n d K a s h m i r Liberation Front General Secretary, Ghulam Hassan Sheikh, along with a p a r t y a c t i v i s t ,

Abdul Rehman Kumhar, from Kulgam.

India has turned occupied

Kashmir into a military garrison

where its troops and police

personnel are using every brutal

tactic to suppress the Kashmiris’

just struggle against its illegal

occupation. It has imposed

draconian laws in the occupied

territory granting the forces’


commit gross human rights

violations with impunity to

intimidate the Kashmiris into

submission.At the same time, New Delhi is

holding periodical elections in

Kashmir to mislead the world

about the Kashmir dispute and

the prevailing situation of the

territory. The sham polls held

under the shadow of gun always

bring miseries to the people of

Kashmir. Whenever the polling

s c h e d u l e i s a n n o u n c e d ,

hundreds of people including

Hurriyet leaders and activists are

illegally detained in police

stations and jails to prevent them

from conducting election boycott

campaign.It is a fact that the Kashmiris have

never considered these polls as a

s u b s t i t u t e t o t h e i r U N -

recognised r ight to se l f -

determination. Instead of staging

election dramas in Kashmir,

India should take steps towards

holding of plebiscite in Jammu

and Kashmir so that the

Kashmiri people could decide

their fate by themselves.Following are the details of

human rights violations in

occupied Kashmir during the

month of November.

November 1: Indian police fired b u l l e t s o n M u h a r r a m processions and beat up many mourners in Chadoora area of Badgam.The police arrested several youth from Nowpora area of Sopore and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader, Sheikh M u h a m m a d A f z a l , f r o m Trehgam in Kupwara.November 2: The police arrested dozens of mourners after subject ing them to brute force in Srinagar.N o v e m b e r 3 : Indian troops killed two youth, Faisal Yousuf Butt and Mehraj Ahmed Dar, and injured two others, Muhammad Zahid Naqash and Muhammad Shakir Butt, after opening fire on their car at Chattergam in Badgam.The puppet authorities booked Hurriyet activist , Shakeel Ahmed Butt, under black law, Public Safety Act, for the 18th time in Srinagar. Shakeel Butt was released in May this year from Srinagar Central Jail.November 4: The occupation authorities imposed stringent curfew in Srinagar and Badgam to prevent people from staging demonstrations against the killing of the youth who were murdered by the troops in Chattergam.Indian police beat up two dozen mourners and detained several others in Srinagar.November 5: Nine youth were injured after Indian forces'

personnel fired teargas shells and pellets in Nowgam area of Srinagar against peaceful demonstra tors who were p r o t e s t i n g a g a i n s t t h e Chattergam killings.The authorities placed the All Parties Hurriyet Conference Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and APHC leader, Maulana Abbas Ansari, under house arrest in Srinagar to prevent them from leading demonstrations against the Chattergam incident.November 6: A civilian, Irshad Ahmed Wasil, and a girl, Snober Amin, were injured when Indian police fired pellets on peaceful

protests held against the arrest of youth in Baramulla town.November 7: The police arrested five youth from Nowgam area of Srinagar and one from Sopore.November 8: Two people including a 10 year-old boy, Nadeem Ahmed Chapri, were killed when a speedy vehicle of Indian Central Reserve Police Force deliberately hit them at Dalgate in Srinagar.Indian police beat up six youth in Kulgam and arrested many civilians from Nowgam area of Srinagar.November 9: The police arrested a civilian, Aijaz Ahmed Mir, from Baramulla.November 11: The police beat up half a dozen people and arrested t w e n t y - n i n e y o u t h f r o m Baramulla.


ArticleHuman rights Situation


Compiled by Raies Ahmed

Human rights Situation

Shahid Saleem, addressing a

function in Jammu said that the

people of Jammu and Kashmir

had been rendering supreme

sacrifices since 1947 in their

struggle to get rid of Indian

bondage.

Meanwhile, the netizens on

various social networking sites

while remembering the Jammu

massacre posted pictures and

website links wherein the

sacrifices of the Jammu Martyrs

were eulogised.

Speakers at a

f u n c t i o n

organised by

A P H C - A J K

c h a p t e r i n

I s l a m a b a d

s a i d t h a t

under a deep-

r o o t e d

conspiracy,

s y s t e m a t i c

genocide was

carried out to

wipe out Muslim population

from Jammu region. The

speakers included the President

of Azad Jammu and Kashmir,

Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob

Khan, the APHC-AJK Convener

Syed Yousuf Naseem, Chaudhry

Lateef Akbar, Muhammad


Ahmed Saghar, Ghulam Nabi

Nowshehri, Rafiq Dar, Abdul

Majeed Malik, Athar Wani, Nisar

Mirza, Syed Ali Raza Bukhari,

Sheikh Tajammul-ul-Islam and

Sardar Abid.

Lauding the sacrifices offered by the Muslims of Jammu, they said that despite this large-scale slaughter, people of the region h a d a l w a y s s h o w n t h e i r unflinching faith in the liberation struggle and supported the Kashmir cause.

Reiterating the Kashmiris’ pledge to continue their struggle, the speakers said that all out efforts would be made to translate the dream of freedom into reality.

A resolution passed on the occasion demanded opening of all routes on the Line of Control (LoC) for flow of relief goods from Azad Jammu and Kashmir to the flood victims in occupied Kashmir, release of all illegally detained Kashmiris and repeal of draconian laws from the occu-pied territory. It appreciated P a k i s t a n P r i m e M i n s t e r , Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, and Army Chief, General Raheel Sharif, for their bold stance on Kashmir.

Kashmiris on both sides of the

Line of Control observed the

J a m m u M a r t y r s ’ D a y o n

November 6, 2014, to reiterate

the pledge to continue their

struggle till the achievement of

their inalienable right to self-

determination.

The day dawned with special

prayers at Fajr in all mosques for

early liberation of occupied

Kashmir from Indian yoke,

success of Kashmir freedom

m o v e m e n t a n d p r o g r e s s ,

prosperity and stability of

Pakistan and Azad Jammu and

Kashmir. Fateha Khawani was

offered at various places for the

Kashmiri martyrs.

Hundreds of thousands of

Kashmiris were killed in the first

week of November in 1947 by the

forces of Maharaja Hari Singh,

Indian Army and Hindu extrem-

ists in different parts of Jammu

r e g i o n w h i l e t h e y w e r e

migrating to Pakistan.

To commemorate the day,

different functions were held in

both parts of Kashmir and

Pakistan. The speakers paid

glowing tributes to the Jammu

Martyrs. They said that the

unparalleled sacrifices rendered

b y t h e

K a s h m i r i

people for the

Kashmir cause

would not be

allowed to go

waste.

The All Parties

H u r r i y e t

C o n f e r e n c e

C h a i r m a n ,

Mirwaiz Umar

Farooq, and

other Hurriyet

leaders in their separate state-

ments eulogised the sacrifices of

the martyrs of Jammu.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who was

under house arrest, said that the

memories of the massacre and

genocide would continue to

haunt the Kashmiri people for

ages to come. He said that the

sacrifices of Jammu martyrs were

an important asset of the

freedom struggle.

The veteran Hurriyet leader,

Syed Ali Gilani, in a statement

issued in Srinagar paying

homage to the Jammu Martyrs of

1947 said that the communal

forces responsible for the Jammu

massacre were hell bent to

c h a n g e t h e

demography

of the occu-

pied territory.

He said that

the massacre

w a s p e r p e-

t r a t e d b y

c o m m u n a l

H i n d u s i n

collaboration

with fanatics

of Rashtriya

Swayamsevak

Sangh (RSS) and Shiv Sena. He

said that the carnage was a

stigma on the face of a country

like India, which claimed to be

the largest democracy of the

world.

Hurriyet leaders including Muhammad Yas in Mal ik , Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi Al-Safvi, Aasiya Andrabi, Yasmeen Raja, Mukhtar Ahmed Waza, Javed Ahmad Mir, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Yousuf Naqash, Zamruda Habib , F a r e e d a B a h e n j i a n d Muhammad Farooq Rehmani in their separate statements and messages paying tributes to the Jammu Martyrs said that the mass killing of Muslims in Jammu in November 1947 was aimed at changing the demo-graphic complexion of the occupied territory. They termed the massacre as a tragedy and the blackest chapter in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. They said that the Kashmiri people would continue the mission of their martyrs till complete success.

APHC leader and Senior Vice

Chairman of Jammu and

Kashmir Peoples Movement, Mir


Article

Kashmiris observe Jammu Martyrs’ DayReaffirm resolve to continue liberation struggle


Report

NOVEMBER 2014 2525

Report


Children worst victims of Indian state terrorism in IOK107,491 orphaned, 776 killed since January 1989

In occupied Kashmir, unabated Indian state terrorism has rendered 107,491 children orphaned during the last twenty-five years.A report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of the Universal Children’s Day on November 20, 2014, revealed that 776 children were among the 94,110 civilians killed by Indian troops from January 1, 1989, till November 20, this year.

Hurriyet leaders including Zamruda Habib, Yasmeen Raja and Fareeda Bahenji, and a local human rights forum, Voice of Victims, in their media interviews and statements in Srinagar said that the Kashmiri children had been the worst victims of Indian state terrorism. They urged the international community to impress upon India to stop death and destruction in the occupied territory and give the Kashmiris their inalienable right to self-determination.


Shahid Saleem, addressing a

function in Jammu said that the

people of Jammu and Kashmir

had been rendering supreme

sacrifices since 1947 in their

struggle to get rid of Indian

bondage.

Meanwhile, the netizens on

various social networking sites

while remembering the Jammu

massacre posted pictures and

website links wherein the

sacrifices of the Jammu Martyrs

were eulogised.

Speakers at a

f u n c t i o n

organised by

A P H C - A J K

c h a p t e r i n

I s l a m a b a d

s a i d t h a t

under a deep-

r o o t e d

conspiracy,

s y s t e m a t i c

genocide was

carried out to

wipe out Muslim population

from Jammu region. The

speakers included the President

of Azad Jammu and Kashmir,

Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob

Khan, the APHC-AJK Convener

Syed Yousuf Naseem, Chaudhry

Lateef Akbar, Muhammad


Ahmed Saghar, Ghulam Nabi

Nowshehri, Rafiq Dar, Abdul

Majeed Malik, Athar Wani, Nisar

Mirza, Syed Ali Raza Bukhari,

Sheikh Tajammul-ul-Islam and

Sardar Abid.

Lauding the sacrifices offered by the Muslims of Jammu, they said that despite this large-scale slaughter, people of the region h a d a l w a y s s h o w n t h e i r unflinching faith in the liberation struggle and supported the Kashmir cause.

Reiterating the Kashmiris’ pledge to continue their struggle, the speakers said that all out efforts would be made to translate the dream of freedom into reality.

A resolution passed on the occasion demanded opening of all routes on the Line of Control (LoC) for flow of relief goods from Azad Jammu and Kashmir to the flood victims in occupied Kashmir, release of all illegally detained Kashmiris and repeal of draconian laws from the occu-pied territory. It appreciated P a k i s t a n P r i m e M i n s t e r , Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, and Army Chief, General Raheel Sharif, for their bold stance on Kashmir.

Kashmiris on both sides of the

Line of Control observed the

J a m m u M a r t y r s ’ D a y o n

November 6, 2014, to reiterate

the pledge to continue their

struggle till the achievement of


determination.

The day dawned with special

prayers at Fajr in all mosques for

early liberation of occupied

Kashmir from Indian yoke,

success of Kashmir freedom

m o v e m e n t a n d p r o g r e s s ,

prosperity and stability of

Pakistan and Azad Jammu and

Kashmir. Fateha Khawani was

offered at various places for the

Kashmiri martyrs.

Hundreds of thousands of

Kashmiris were killed in the first

week of November in 1947 by the

forces of Maharaja Hari Singh,

Indian Army and Hindu extrem-

ists in different parts of Jammu

r e g i o n w h i l e t h e y w e r e

migrating to Pakistan.

To commemorate the day,

different functions were held in

both parts of Kashmir and

Pakistan. The speakers paid

glowing tributes to the Jammu

Martyrs. They said that the

unparalleled sacrifices rendered

b y t h e

K a s h m i r i

people for the

Kashmir cause

would not be

allowed to go

waste.

The All Parties

H u r r i y e t

C o n f e r e n c e

C h a i r m a n ,

Mirwaiz Umar

Farooq, and

other Hurriyet

leaders in their separate state-

ments eulogised the sacrifices of

the martyrs of Jammu.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who was

under house arrest, said that the

memories of the massacre and

genocide would continue to

haunt the Kashmiri people for

ages to come. He said that the

sacrifices of Jammu martyrs were

an important asset of the

freedom struggle.

The veteran Hurriyet leader,

Syed Ali Gilani, in a statement

issued in Srinagar paying

homage to the Jammu Martyrs of

1947 said that the communal

forces responsible for the Jammu

massacre were hell bent to

c h a n g e t h e

demography

of the occu-

pied territory.

He said that

the massacre

w a s p e r p e-

t r a t e d b y

c o m m u n a l

H i n d u s i n

collaboration

with fanatics

of Rashtriya

Swayamsevak

Sangh (RSS) and Shiv Sena. He

said that the carnage was a

stigma on the face of a country

like India, which claimed to be

the largest democracy of the

world.

Hurriyet leaders including Muhammad Yas in Mal ik , Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi Al-Safvi, Aasiya Andrabi, Yasmeen Raja, Mukhtar Ahmed Waza, Javed Ahmad Mir, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Yousuf Naqash, Zamruda Habib , F a r e e d a B a h e n j i a n d Muhammad Farooq Rehmani in their separate statements and messages paying tributes to the Jammu Martyrs said that the mass killing of Muslims in Jammu in November 1947 was aimed at changing the demo-graphic complexion of the occupied territory. They termed the massacre as a tragedy and the blackest chapter in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. They said that the Kashmiri people would continue the mission of their martyrs till complete success.

APHC leader and Senior Vice

Chairman of Jammu and

Kashmir Peoples Movement, Mir


Article



Report

NOVEMBER 2014 2525

Report



In occupied Kashmir, unabated Indian state terrorism has rendered 107,491 children orphaned during the last twenty-five years.A report released by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of the Universal Children’s Day on November 20, 2014, revealed that 776 children were among the 94,110 civilians killed by Indian troops from January 1, 1989, till November 20, this year.

Hurriyet leaders including Zamruda Habib, Yasmeen Raja and Fareeda Bahenji, and a local human rights forum, Voice of Victims, in their media interviews and statements in Srinagar said that the Kashmiri children had been the worst victims of Indian state terrorism. They urged the international community to impress upon India to stop death and destruction in the occupied territory and give the Kashmiris their inalienable right to self-determination.


decision as an election stunt. In

his message from Kupwara Jail,

he said that if the case would

have been investigated in an

impartial manner as the people

demanded, the lives of 125

innocent youth killed by Indian

forces in 2010 could have been

saved.

Other Hurriyet leaders including

Muhammad Yasin Malik, Aasiya

A n d r a b i , Y a s m e e n R a j a ,

Zamruda Habib , Fareeda

Bahenji, Zafar Akbar Butt, Javed

Ahmed Mir, Mukhtar Ahmed

Waza, Syed Bashir Andrabi and

Muhammad Farooq Rehmani in

t h e i r s t a t e-

ments termed

the decision as

p o l i t i c a l l y

m o t i v a t e d .

T h e y

demanded that

t h e g u i l t y

troopers must

be prosecuted

under relevant

laws.

On the other

hand, the world

human rights

w a t c h d o g ,

A m n e s t y

International

reacting to Indian Army court’s

decision said that the verdict

should be followed by justice for

many other cases of human

rights violations in occupied

K a s h m i r . S h a i l e s h R a i ,

P r o g r a m m e s D i r e c t o r a t

Amnesty International India, in a

statement in New Delhi said that

too often military authorities

dismissed the complaints they

received about human rights

violations. He said that Indian

government had told the UN

bodies that nine out of ten

complaints about human rights

violations by armed forces’

personnel were found to be false,

but refused to disclose more

details.

He said that the Pathribal case -

where troops charged by the CBI

with murder were let off by the

army - was also a reminder that

the military justice system did

not always lead to justice. “For

justice to be the rule and not the

exception, all cases of human

rights violations should be

investigated and prosecuted by

independent civilian authori-

ties,” the Amnesty added.

Meanwhile, the families of the

victims of Machil fake encounter

demanded death sentence to the

killer troops.

Firdous Ahmed Lone, brother of

one of the martyred youth, Riyaz

Ahmed, in a media interview in

Srinagar said, “Life imprison-

ment is too little punishment for

the murderers of our brothers

and the guilty must be hanged.”

In Nadihal alone 10 people have

been killed in fake encounters in

the past 25 years, he stated.

“Fake encounters have become

an industry for army. The troops

with the help of their collabora-

tors lure youth for jobs, take them

to the Line of Control, and kill

them in fake encounters for

awards and promotions. Even

non-locals are not spared by the

Indian Army,” he added.

Firdous Ahmed Lone said that a

number of fake encounters

occurred after the killing of his

brother and two others uncov-

ered the ugly truth of the stage-

managed killings. He said that

over the last four years, Indian

Army and its collaborators tried

to dissuade the families from

seeking justice. “Army threat-

ened us after we turned down the

blood money

t h e y h a d

o f f e r e d . W e

were threat-

ened in our

h o m e s , i n

c o u r t s .

However, we

didn’t give up.

We didn’t get

jus t i ce a f te r

f o u r y e a r s

struggle but we

have won half

of the battle,”

L o n e m a i n-

tained.

S h o w k a t

Ahmed Khan, brother of another

killed youth, Shehzad Ahmed,

also expressed dissatisfaction

over the verdict. He said that the

Indian Army had been very soft

to its men, who killed the three

young men for monetary

benefits.

“If army had to deliver justice,

they should have awarded death

sentence to the guilty. The death

sentence to the guilty could have

served as a deterrent. It would

have made the troops to think

100 times before shooting any

innocent Kashmiri,” he added.

In occupied Kashmir, Hurriyet leadership has demanded reopening of all the cases of human rights violations perpe-trated by Indian troops during the past over twenty-five years.

The demand came following a decision of a court of Indian Army, sentencing seven troopers including a Commanding Officer and a Major to life imprisonment for their involve-

ment in the killing of three innocent Kashmiri youth in a fake encounter in Machil area of Kupwara district in 2010. The convicted troops included Colonel DK Pathania, Major Upender Singh, Subedar Satbir Singh, Havildar Bir Singh, Sepoy Chadraban and Sepoy Narinder Singh.

Terming the Indian Army court’s verdict as election stunt by Bharatiya Janata Party and its welcome by pro-India Kashmiri political parties as shameful, Hurriyet leaders said that those responsible for Chattisinghpora, Wandhama, Sopore, Kupwara, Handwara, Bijbehara and Gaw

Kadal massacres as well as in the killing of Aasiya, Neelofar, Tabinda Ghani, Tufail Mattoo, Wamiq Farooq, Zahid Farooq and many other innocent Kashmiris should also be brought to justice.

The Indian Army had to take the decision after it had become increasingly difficult for it to defend its involved troops in the wake of severe criticism from

international human rights organisations.

On April 30, 2010, the Indian Army said that it had killed three men in Machil and claimed that they were foreign militants. The victims were later identified as Shahzad Ahmed Khan, Riyaz Ahmed Lone and Muhammad Shafi Lone, all residents of Nadihal area of Baramulla district. They were lured by the army for job as porters and later killed in a staged encounter. The killings had triggered massive anti-India demonstrations across the territory and subsequent mass uprising in 2010 during which more than 120 innocent

Kashmiris mostly youth fell to the bullets of the occupation forces.

The court martial proceedings against the troops in Machil fake encounter began in January 2014 and ended in September. All the troops and officers involved were found guilty of conspiracy, murder and falsely describing the killed men as terrorists.

The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, while reacting to the army court’s decision, in a statement in Srinagar demanded reopening of the cases of thou-sands of human rights violations committed by the troops and police personnel during the past over two decades. He said that if the Indian government was sincere to uphold human rights in occupied Kashmir then it should reopen all cases of rights abuses to take the guilty troops to the task. He also questioned the timing of the verdict, saying that it seemed to be a politically motivated move.

The veteran Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani, in a statement in Srinagar said that Indian Army court’s decision of awarding life sentence to the troops involved in Machil fake encounter was BJP’s ploy to show its soft face ahead of the so-called Assembly elections in the territory. “BJP is in fray and it is trying to show its soft face to the people of Jammu and Kashmir particularly to the people of the Kashmir Valley,” he pointed out.

Syed Ali Gilani said that there w a s n o j u s t i f i c a t i o n i n welcoming the verdict, as there were thousands of such cases where justice had not been done yet.

The illegally detained senior

leader of Hurriyet Conference

Jammu and Kashmir, Shabbir

Ahmed Shah, described the


Article

Hurriyet leadership demands reopening of all cases of HR abuses in IOK


Report

NOVEMBER 2014 2525

Report


decision as an election stunt. In

his message from Kupwara Jail,

he said that if the case would

have been investigated in an

impartial manner as the people

demanded, the lives of 125

innocent youth killed by Indian

forces in 2010 could have been

saved.

Other Hurriyet leaders including

Muhammad Yasin Malik, Aasiya

A n d r a b i , Y a s m e e n R a j a ,

Zamruda Habib , Fareeda

Bahenji, Zafar Akbar Butt, Javed

Ahmed Mir, Mukhtar Ahmed

Waza, Syed Bashir Andrabi and

Muhammad Farooq Rehmani in

t h e i r s t a t e-

ments termed

the decision as

p o l i t i c a l l y

m o t i v a t e d .

T h e y

demanded that

t h e g u i l t y

troopers must

be prosecuted

under relevant

laws.

On the other

hand, the world

human rights

w a t c h d o g ,

A m n e s t y

International

reacting to Indian Army court’s

decision said that the verdict

should be followed by justice for

many other cases of human

rights violations in occupied

K a s h m i r . S h a i l e s h R a i ,

P r o g r a m m e s D i r e c t o r a t

Amnesty International India, in a

statement in New Delhi said that

too often military authorities

dismissed the complaints they

received about human rights

violations. He said that Indian

government had told the UN

bodies that nine out of ten

complaints about human rights

violations by armed forces’

personnel were found to be false,

but refused to disclose more

details.

He said that the Pathribal case -

where troops charged by the CBI

with murder were let off by the

army - was also a reminder that

the military justice system did

not always lead to justice. “For

justice to be the rule and not the

exception, all cases of human

rights violations should be

investigated and prosecuted by

independent civilian authori-

ties,” the Amnesty added.

Meanwhile, the families of the

victims of Machil fake encounter

demanded death sentence to the

killer troops.

Firdous Ahmed Lone, brother of

one of the martyred youth, Riyaz

Ahmed, in a media interview in

Srinagar said, “Life imprison-

ment is too little punishment for

the murderers of our brothers

and the guilty must be hanged.”

In Nadihal alone 10 people have

been killed in fake encounters in

the past 25 years, he stated.

“Fake encounters have become

an industry for army. The troops

with the help of their collabora-

tors lure youth for jobs, take them

to the Line of Control, and kill

them in fake encounters for

awards and promotions. Even

non-locals are not spared by the

Indian Army,” he added.

Firdous Ahmed Lone said that a

number of fake encounters

occurred after the killing of his

brother and two others uncov-

ered the ugly truth of the stage-

managed killings. He said that

over the last four years, Indian

Army and its collaborators tried

to dissuade the families from

seeking justice. “Army threat-

ened us after we turned down the

blood money

t h e y h a d

o f f e r e d . W e

were threat-

ened in our

h o m e s , i n

c o u r t s .

However, we

didn’t give up.

We didn’t get

jus t i ce a f te r

f o u r y e a r s

struggle but we

have won half

of the battle,”

L o n e m a i n-

tained.

S h o w k a t

Ahmed Khan, brother of another

killed youth, Shehzad Ahmed,

also expressed dissatisfaction

over the verdict. He said that the

Indian Army had been very soft

to its men, who killed the three

young men for monetary

benefits.

“If army had to deliver justice,

they should have awarded death

sentence to the guilty. The death

sentence to the guilty could have

served as a deterrent. It would

have made the troops to think

100 times before shooting any

innocent Kashmiri,” he added.

In occupied Kashmir, Hurriyet leadership has demanded reopening of all the cases of human rights violations perpe-trated by Indian troops during the past over twenty-five years.

The demand came following a decision of a court of Indian Army, sentencing seven troopers including a Commanding Officer and a Major to life imprisonment for their involve-

ment in the killing of three innocent Kashmiri youth in a fake encounter in Machil area of Kupwara district in 2010. The convicted troops included Colonel DK Pathania, Major Upender Singh, Subedar Satbir Singh, Havildar Bir Singh, Sepoy Chadraban and Sepoy Narinder Singh.

Terming the Indian Army court’s verdict as election stunt by Bharatiya Janata Party and its welcome by pro-India Kashmiri political parties as shameful, Hurriyet leaders said that those responsible for Chattisinghpora, Wandhama, Sopore, Kupwara, Handwara, Bijbehara and Gaw

Kadal massacres as well as in the killing of Aasiya, Neelofar, Tabinda Ghani, Tufail Mattoo, Wamiq Farooq, Zahid Farooq and many other innocent Kashmiris should also be brought to justice.

The Indian Army had to take the decision after it had become increasingly difficult for it to defend its involved troops in the wake of severe criticism from

international human rights organisations.

On April 30, 2010, the Indian Army said that it had killed three men in Machil and claimed that they were foreign militants. The victims were later identified as Shahzad Ahmed Khan, Riyaz Ahmed Lone and Muhammad Shafi Lone, all residents of Nadihal area of Baramulla district. They were lured by the army for job as porters and later killed in a staged encounter. The killings had triggered massive anti-India demonstrations across the territory and subsequent mass uprising in 2010 during which more than 120 innocent

Kashmiris mostly youth fell to the bullets of the occupation forces.

The court martial proceedings against the troops in Machil fake encounter began in January 2014 and ended in September. All the troops and officers involved were found guilty of conspiracy, murder and falsely describing the killed men as terrorists.

The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, while reacting to the army court’s decision, in a statement in Srinagar demanded reopening of the cases of thou-sands of human rights violations committed by the troops and police personnel during the past over two decades. He said that if the Indian government was sincere to uphold human rights in occupied Kashmir then it should reopen all cases of rights abuses to take the guilty troops to the task. He also questioned the timing of the verdict, saying that it seemed to be a politically motivated move.

The veteran Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani, in a statement in Srinagar said that Indian Army court’s decision of awarding life sentence to the troops involved in Machil fake encounter was BJP’s ploy to show its soft face ahead of the so-called Assembly elections in the territory. “BJP is in fray and it is trying to show its soft face to the people of Jammu and Kashmir particularly to the people of the Kashmir Valley,” he pointed out.

Syed Ali Gilani said that there w a s n o j u s t i f i c a t i o n i n welcoming the verdict, as there were thousands of such cases where justice had not been done yet.

The illegally detained senior

leader of Hurriyet Conference

Jammu and Kashmir, Shabbir

Ahmed Shah, described the


Article



Report

NOVEMBER 2014 2525

Report


chief” and those involved were given a minor punishment.

Army’s refusal to coop-erate with the civilian courts or to transparently conduct the trials in its courts have caused a major dent to people’s confidence. Pathribal is a classic case in this long list. Five civilians were picked up in March 2000, soon after militants massacred 35 Sikhs in Chattisinghpora in South Kashmir coinciding with the then US President Bill Clinton’s visit to India. They were later branded as terrorists and their charred bodies were buried in a remote area. Central B u r e a u o f I n v e s t i g a t i o n conducted a thorough probe and held five officers of Army including a Brigadier responsible for killing them in fake encoun-ter. The case went to Supreme Court where CBI insisted on trial

in a civilian court. Army put its foot down and decided to take it to its own court. The Army court absolved all of them. When a local lawyers’ body approached a lower court to seek the proceed-ings in the Army court it was denied.

H u m a n r i g h t s d e f e n d e r Khurram Parvez believes that Machil verdict does not match with the commitment of justice. “The Indian army court-martial verdict is not a beginning or a water-shed moment for Jammu and Kashmir, but an illustrative

case of the manner in which political consider-ations and interests of the Indian Army overrule larger principles of justice and accountability” he said.

According to human r i g h t s o r g a n i s a t i o n Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, the Army has so far held 58 court martials but

punishment has been given in only two cases and others dismissed as minor ones.

With a baggage of not doing much to deliver justice, this verdict has come at a time when Army was found involved in two more such incidents past week. AFSPA is being seen as a major source of strength for Army to have this immunity. Machil verdict has surely opened a new window but it needs to be extended to other cases that have mauled the justice.

When an Army court martial handed over life imprisonment to five of its men including a Colonel for staging a fake encounter to three Kashmiri youth in 2010, it evoked a mixed response. Families of the three civilians, who were picked up from a North Kashmir village, branded as “terrorists” and bumped off in Machil, close to Line of Control, did welcome the verdict but they wanted more. “Death for the killers”.

Ten days before this verdict, the Army had to face a huge embar-rassment as its soldiers fired upon a moving car and killed two teenagers on the outskirts of capital Srinagar. Lt Gen Hooda, its top commander in Northern region, had to accept it as a mistake and own the responsibil-ity. Even on November 14, it came under criticism for alleg-edly killing a civilian in a gun battle with militants in South Kashmir. Same day a local MLA Abdur Rashid Sheikh in North Kashmir’s Handwara town made serious allegations against two Army men for killing a civilian while being in civies. Army denied involvement but cases stand registered.

Amidst this din the “positive” verdict in Machil encounter could not make much impact. Even if the court martial awarding lifer to five guilty men is a significant develop-ment, since Army has been in denial mode for last over two decades, but the confidence that it could deliver justice is still eluding. There is a reason for that. Whatever wrongs done by Army and para-

military forces such as Border Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force have made while fighting the militants have been brazenly covered up under the much-trumpeted “national cause”. Kashmiris have grudge

against India’s national media as well which they believe have fallen in the trap of “national-ism” thus covering up the erring soldiers.

For Army, the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), that gives immu-nity to its men, has come in handy to protect them. Past week, the former Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram termed AFSPA as “obnoxious” saying “it had no place in a modern, civilized country”. He as home minister is believed to have moved amendments in the law

but for Defence Ministry’s opposition could not achieve his goal. On AFSPA’s continuation, noted journalist Kuldip Nayar opined in Deccan Herald that it needs re-look. “Powers to kill on suspicion is too sweeping for a democratic country,” he wrote.

Notwithstanding the fact that Lt Gen Hooda’s public acknowl-edgement in case of death of two teenagers and the Machil verdict are a departure from its conduct in last over 20 years, but a lot more needs to be done to restore the confidence among the people. According to an RTI reply by Jammu and Kashmir Home Department on February 23, 2012, sanction is still pending in 70 cases. These are cases of alleged custodial killings and fake encounters in which Army men have been found involved in preliminary investigations. Once the state police or the govern-ment is convinced that an Army m a n i s f o u n d g u i l t y i t approaches Defence Ministry for formal sanction to prosecute them, but in most of the cases it has been denied. Similarly the BSF has escaped with minor punishments. BSF courts have surely proceeded against its men and according to a reply under RTI it has punished more than 40

of its men in various cases of killing and rape since 1990. The punishments range from five years rigorous imprison-ment to dismissal of, or reduction in service. But in a case like that of Sopore where on January 6, 1993 over 40 people were mowed down by BSF after a militant attack, it has been termed as a “mis-


Article

Machil verdict and eluding justiceMachil verdict and eluding justice

Article

NOVEMBER 2014 2525

Article


Shujaat BukhariShujaat Bukhari

Sydney protesters urge Modi to take steps for Kashmir settlementA group of protesters in Sydney, Australia, on

November 16, 2014, called upon Indian Prime Minister,

Narendra Modi, to take steps towards resolving the

Kashmir dispute in accordance with the Kashmiris’

aspirations.

People from the Kashmir Council of Australia staged a

protest outside New South Wales Parliament in Sydney

ahead of Narendra Modi’s arrival for making a public

address at Sydney's Olympic Park, following his trip to

attend the G20 summit in Brisbane. The demonstrators

said that Narendra Modi had his priorities wrong.

“We want a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute

so that both nations - India and Pakistan - can progress,”

the Council's founder, Mumtaz Mian, said while talking to mediamen on the occasion.

He urged the NSW Premier, Mike Baird, to raise the issue of poverty with the Indian Prime Minister, saying

that Narendra Modi should be investing in education and health, not on nuclear weapons or space explora-

tion.

“He (Modi) is promoting a space race now, sending rockets to the moon and other planets. He is also

spending on nuclear weapons. Basically they are building mass murder machines with money that should

be diverted to fight against poverty and disease,” Mumtaz Mian said.

“There are millions of people in India living below the poverty line who cannot even afford two meals a

day,” he added.

chief” and those involved were given a minor punishment.

Army’s refusal to coop-erate with the civilian courts or to transparently conduct the trials in its courts have caused a major dent to people’s confidence. Pathribal is a classic case in this long list. Five civilians were picked up in March 2000, soon after militants massacred 35 Sikhs in Chattisinghpora in South Kashmir coinciding with the then US President Bill Clinton’s visit to India. They were later branded as terrorists and their charred bodies were buried in a remote area. Central B u r e a u o f I n v e s t i g a t i o n conducted a thorough probe and held five officers of Army including a Brigadier responsible for killing them in fake encoun-ter. The case went to Supreme Court where CBI insisted on trial

in a civilian court. Army put its foot down and decided to take it to its own court. The Army court absolved all of them. When a local lawyers’ body approached a lower court to seek the proceed-ings in the Army court it was denied.

H u m a n r i g h t s d e f e n d e r Khurram Parvez believes that Machil verdict does not match with the commitment of justice. “The Indian army court-martial verdict is not a beginning or a water-shed moment for Jammu and Kashmir, but an illustrative

case of the manner in which political consider-ations and interests of the Indian Army overrule larger principles of justice and accountability” he said.

According to human r i g h t s o r g a n i s a t i o n Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, the Army has so far held 58 court martials but

punishment has been given in only two cases and others dismissed as minor ones.

With a baggage of not doing much to deliver justice, this verdict has come at a time when Army was found involved in two more such incidents past week. AFSPA is being seen as a major source of strength for Army to have this immunity. Machil verdict has surely opened a new window but it needs to be extended to other cases that have mauled the justice.

When an Army court martial handed over life imprisonment to five of its men including a Colonel for staging a fake encounter to three Kashmiri youth in 2010, it evoked a mixed response. Families of the three civilians, who were picked up from a North Kashmir village, branded as “terrorists” and bumped off in Machil, close to Line of Control, did welcome the verdict but they wanted more. “Death for the killers”.

Ten days before this verdict, the Army had to face a huge embar-rassment as its soldiers fired upon a moving car and killed two teenagers on the outskirts of capital Srinagar. Lt Gen Hooda, its top commander in Northern region, had to accept it as a mistake and own the responsibil-ity. Even on November 14, it came under criticism for alleg-edly killing a civilian in a gun battle with militants in South Kashmir. Same day a local MLA Abdur Rashid Sheikh in North Kashmir’s Handwara town made serious allegations against two Army men for killing a civilian while being in civies. Army denied involvement but cases stand registered.

Amidst this din the “positive” verdict in Machil encounter could not make much impact. Even if the court martial awarding lifer to five guilty men is a significant develop-ment, since Army has been in denial mode for last over two decades, but the confidence that it could deliver justice is still eluding. There is a reason for that. Whatever wrongs done by Army and para-

military forces such as Border Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force have made while fighting the militants have been brazenly covered up under the much-trumpeted “national cause”. Kashmiris have grudge

against India’s national media as well which they believe have fallen in the trap of “national-ism” thus covering up the erring soldiers.

For Army, the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), that gives immu-nity to its men, has come in handy to protect them. Past week, the former Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram termed AFSPA as “obnoxious” saying “it had no place in a modern, civilized country”. He as home minister is believed to have moved amendments in the law

but for Defence Ministry’s opposition could not achieve his goal. On AFSPA’s continuation, noted journalist Kuldip Nayar opined in Deccan Herald that it needs re-look. “Powers to kill on suspicion is too sweeping for a democratic country,” he wrote.

Notwithstanding the fact that Lt Gen Hooda’s public acknowl-edgement in case of death of two teenagers and the Machil verdict are a departure from its conduct in last over 20 years, but a lot more needs to be done to restore the confidence among the people. According to an RTI reply by Jammu and Kashmir Home Department on February 23, 2012, sanction is still pending in 70 cases. These are cases of alleged custodial killings and fake encounters in which Army men have been found involved in preliminary investigations. Once the state police or the govern-ment is convinced that an Army m a n i s f o u n d g u i l t y i t approaches Defence Ministry for formal sanction to prosecute them, but in most of the cases it has been denied. Similarly the BSF has escaped with minor punishments. BSF courts have surely proceeded against its men and according to a reply under RTI it has punished more than 40

of its men in various cases of killing and rape since 1990. The punishments range from five years rigorous imprison-ment to dismissal of, or reduction in service. But in a case like that of Sopore where on January 6, 1993 over 40 people were mowed down by BSF after a militant attack, it has been termed as a “mis-


Article

Machil verdict and eluding justiceMachil verdict and eluding justice

Article

NOVEMBER 2014 2525

Article


Shujaat BukhariShujaat Bukhari

Sydney protesters urge Modi to take steps for Kashmir settlementA group of protesters in Sydney, Australia, on

November 16, 2014, called upon Indian Prime Minister,

Narendra Modi, to take steps towards resolving the

Kashmir dispute in accordance with the Kashmiris’

aspirations.

People from the Kashmir Council of Australia staged a

protest outside New South Wales Parliament in Sydney

ahead of Narendra Modi’s arrival for making a public

address at Sydney's Olympic Park, following his trip to

attend the G20 summit in Brisbane. The demonstrators

said that Narendra Modi had his priorities wrong.

“We want a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute

so that both nations - India and Pakistan - can progress,”

the Council's founder, Mumtaz Mian, said while talking to mediamen on the occasion.

He urged the NSW Premier, Mike Baird, to raise the issue of poverty with the Indian Prime Minister, saying

that Narendra Modi should be investing in education and health, not on nuclear weapons or space explora-

tion.

“He (Modi) is promoting a space race now, sending rockets to the moon and other planets. He is also

spending on nuclear weapons. Basically they are building mass murder machines with money that should

be diverted to fight against poverty and disease,” Mumtaz Mian said.

“There are millions of people in India living below the poverty line who cannot even afford two meals a

day,” he added.

checking. It was later

known that they were

troopers of Indian

Army's 53 RR unit. A

tipper was plying ahead

of their car near a

checkpoint when Army

men waived at the

driver to stop.

Faisal's car was behind

the t ipper and he

decided to overtake. But

his car brushed against

the tipper. Another group of

Army men standing few metres

ahead waived at Faisal to stop.

Already nervous, he applied

handbrake but the car skidded

off the road.

The screeching tyres caught

attention of the Army men who,

without any provocation, pulled

the trigger and fired the first shot

which hit Faisal's arm. He lost

control of car and rammed into

an electric pole on the roadside.

All of a sudden, a volley of

bullets pierced through the doors

and windows. Nobody cried.

There were no pleas, no justifica-

tions. The only sound they could

hear was of their breathing and

bullets.

When firing stopped, Faisal and

Mehraj were dead in a pool of

blood with bullets bored into

their bodies. Shakir and Zahid

were unconscious and bleeding.

On the seat besides Faisal was

Basim; stunned, motionless, pale

but unscathed. A green-eyed boy

known for his wittiness among

his relatives and neighbours, he

slowly pulled down the glass

and got out of the car through the

window.

He rolled his body over the road

four to five times and dropped

into the low-lying paddy fields.

With their guns pointed at the

car, the Army men began

retreating, perhaps out of fear of

the boy coming out of the

window. Seeing no

response, the Army

men fired several shots

at him. Luckily, Basim

e s c a p e d f r o m t h e

mouth of death. In real

terms, he had cheated

death.

Basim tried to run

through the fields but

he had no energy left in

his body. Nevertheless,

he managed to reach a

house at the end of paddy fields

where he drank a glass of water.

His thoughts were with his

friends. After about 30 minutes,

he came to see if his friends are

still there. But he could only see a

large crowd of people at the spot.

It soon dawned on him that the

world he knows would no more

be same to him.

After a night of mourning, he

joined the funeral prayers of

Faisal and Mehraj next morning.

(Dispatch was compiled from a

conversation with Basim, the boy

who emerged unscathed in firing

by Army's 53 RR unit which left

two boys dead and two more

injured in Chattergam locality of

Srinagar on November 3.)

On November 3rd morning,

Faisal Yousuf met his friend,

Zahid, at some distance from

their homes in Nowgam locality

on the outskirts of Srinagar. The

two exchanged customary

greetings and were soon joined

by other friends. As the conver-

sation warmed up, Faisal made

jokes of Zahid's driving skills.

Everybody, including Zahid,

laughed theirs hearts out.

“You know he once bumped his

car into a girl on

highway and he dares

t o c a l l h i m s e l f a

driver,” Faisal told

Zahid.

“My family doesn't let

me drive for this

reason only,” Zahid

responded with a

smile, to which Faisal

added, “How shall

t h e y , ” s p a r k i n g

a n o t h e r s p e l l o f

l a u g h t e r . A f t e r

cracking jokes, they

shared their plans for the day.

The conversation ended and

everybody left for their homes.

In the afternoon of the fateful

day, Shakir called his friend,

Mehraj-ud-Din, and asked to join

him on a drive. Mehraj was

returning home from work.

Shakir was accompanied by

Zahid and they decided to wait

for him till he had his meals. To

kill time, they hopped into

Zahid's Alto car and turned on

the music. Mehraj soon joined

them.

As they embarked on the trip,

Mehraj saw his best friends,

Showkat and Ehsaan, and

insisted them to join in, but they

refused and instead went to Lal

Chowk for shopping. The trio -

Shakir, Zahid and Mehraj - were

about to hit the road when Zahid

got a call from Faisal. He wanted

to join them too. Faisal was

calling from a nearby playfield

and asked them to receive him

there.

Shakir, Faisal, Zahid and Mehraj,

the four teenage boys who were traveling in the car that met a t r a g i c f a t e o n M o n d a y (November 3) evening in Chattergam, lived in the same locality since childhood. They knew each other inside out. What they didn't know was the fate that was awaiting them in coming hours.

After meeting Faisal, all of them

agreed not to take Zahid's car.

Knowing his poor driving skills,

Zahid's parents would regularly

call him to return home when-

ever he was out on a drive. To

avoid regular interruptions, they

decided to take along a Maruti

800 car that belonged to Faisal's

father.

It was around 4:30pm and the

day was about to end.

Faisal got the keys of his father's

car from home while his friends

waited outside the gate of a local

graveyard, where two of them -

Faisal and Mehraj – were buried,

later, in a single grave.

Basim Amin, the fifth boy who

escaped unscathed in the

shooting, is thinly

b u i l t w i t h f a i r

complexion. He

likes to rear pigeons

and was, as always,

looking for the

birds in the sky. He

was on his usual

s t r o l l o n t h e

h i g h w a y i n

Nowgam when a

h o n k i n g c a r

stopped near him.

Inside the car were

F a i s a l , M e h r a j ,

Zahid and Shakir.

Faisal who was driving the car

offered Basim a drive to Suthsoo,

a locality some four kilometre

away from their location.

Basim agreed and joined the party. As a special gesture, Faisal offered Basim the seat beside him in the front.

Faisal sped up his car. On way to

Suthsoo, they listened to music

and gossiped. Faisal again teased

Zahid for his driving skills.

Nobody stopped them for

frisking.

On their return, in Chattergam,

uniformed men in twos and

threes were stopping vehicles for


Article

Boy who cheated death: An eyewitness account of Chattergam killingsBoy who cheated death: An eyewitness account of Chattergam killings

Article

NOVEMBER 2014 2525

Article


Rouf Bhat Rouf Bhat

Indian VP acknowledges HR abuses by troops in IOKThe Indian Vice President, Hamid Ansari, on November 21, 2014,

acknowledged the human rights violations perpetrated by Indian

troops and police in occupied Kashmir.

Delivering the '8th Tarkunde Memorial Lecture' in New Delhi, he said

that the situation was serious in occupied Kashmir, Northeast and

Naxal belt from where complaints were received about misuse of

draconian laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). He

said that religious minorities continued to be targeted despite consti-

tutional guarantees and that the pattern of systematic mobilisation of

hate and divisive politics was discernible in many cases pursued with

impunity.

He said that some of the most serious human rights violations by the police and troops included extra-

judicial killings, custodial deaths, torture, arbitrary detention and widespread corruption at all levels of

government, leading to denial of justice. He maintained that this was particularly acute in areas of conflict,

such as Jammu and Kashmir, Northeast and the Naxal belt where serious complaints about the misuse of

laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Disturbed Areas Act or Public Safety Act continued to be made.

checking. It was later

known that they were

troopers of Indian

Army's 53 RR unit. A

tipper was plying ahead

of their car near a

checkpoint when Army

men waived at the

driver to stop.

Faisal's car was behind

the t ipper and he

decided to overtake. But

his car brushed against

the tipper. Another group of

Army men standing few metres

ahead waived at Faisal to stop.

Already nervous, he applied

handbrake but the car skidded

off the road.

The screeching tyres caught

attention of the Army men who,

without any provocation, pulled

the trigger and fired the first shot

which hit Faisal's arm. He lost

control of car and rammed into

an electric pole on the roadside.

All of a sudden, a volley of

bullets pierced through the doors

and windows. Nobody cried.

There were no pleas, no justifica-

tions. The only sound they could

hear was of their breathing and

bullets.

When firing stopped, Faisal and

Mehraj were dead in a pool of

blood with bullets bored into

their bodies. Shakir and Zahid

were unconscious and bleeding.

On the seat besides Faisal was

Basim; stunned, motionless, pale

but unscathed. A green-eyed boy

known for his wittiness among

his relatives and neighbours, he

slowly pulled down the glass

and got out of the car through the

window.

He rolled his body over the road

four to five times and dropped

into the low-lying paddy fields.

With their guns pointed at the

car, the Army men began

retreating, perhaps out of fear of

the boy coming out of the

window. Seeing no

response, the Army

men fired several shots

at him. Luckily, Basim

e s c a p e d f r o m t h e

mouth of death. In real

terms, he had cheated

death.

Basim tried to run

through the fields but

he had no energy left in

his body. Nevertheless,

he managed to reach a

house at the end of paddy fields

where he drank a glass of water.

His thoughts were with his

friends. After about 30 minutes,

he came to see if his friends are

still there. But he could only see a

large crowd of people at the spot.

It soon dawned on him that the

world he knows would no more

be same to him.

After a night of mourning, he

joined the funeral prayers of

Faisal and Mehraj next morning.

(Dispatch was compiled from a

conversation with Basim, the boy

who emerged unscathed in firing

by Army's 53 RR unit which left

two boys dead and two more

injured in Chattergam locality of

Srinagar on November 3.)

On November 3rd morning,

Faisal Yousuf met his friend,

Zahid, at some distance from

their homes in Nowgam locality

on the outskirts of Srinagar. The

two exchanged customary

greetings and were soon joined

by other friends. As the conver-

sation warmed up, Faisal made

jokes of Zahid's driving skills.

Everybody, including Zahid,

laughed theirs hearts out.

“You know he once bumped his

car into a girl on

highway and he dares

t o c a l l h i m s e l f a

driver,” Faisal told

Zahid.

“My family doesn't let

me drive for this

reason only,” Zahid

responded with a

smile, to which Faisal

added, “How shall

t h e y , ” s p a r k i n g

a n o t h e r s p e l l o f

l a u g h t e r . A f t e r

cracking jokes, they

shared their plans for the day.

The conversation ended and

everybody left for their homes.

In the afternoon of the fateful

day, Shakir called his friend,

Mehraj-ud-Din, and asked to join

him on a drive. Mehraj was

returning home from work.

Shakir was accompanied by

Zahid and they decided to wait

for him till he had his meals. To

kill time, they hopped into

Zahid's Alto car and turned on

the music. Mehraj soon joined

them.

As they embarked on the trip,

Mehraj saw his best friends,

Showkat and Ehsaan, and

insisted them to join in, but they

refused and instead went to Lal

Chowk for shopping. The trio -

Shakir, Zahid and Mehraj - were

about to hit the road when Zahid

got a call from Faisal. He wanted

to join them too. Faisal was

calling from a nearby playfield

and asked them to receive him

there.

Shakir, Faisal, Zahid and Mehraj,

the four teenage boys who were traveling in the car that met a t r a g i c f a t e o n M o n d a y (November 3) evening in Chattergam, lived in the same locality since childhood. They knew each other inside out. What they didn't know was the fate that was awaiting them in coming hours.

After meeting Faisal, all of them

agreed not to take Zahid's car.

Knowing his poor driving skills,

Zahid's parents would regularly

call him to return home when-

ever he was out on a drive. To

avoid regular interruptions, they

decided to take along a Maruti

800 car that belonged to Faisal's

father.

It was around 4:30pm and the

day was about to end.

Faisal got the keys of his father's

car from home while his friends

waited outside the gate of a local

graveyard, where two of them -

Faisal and Mehraj – were buried,

later, in a single grave.

Basim Amin, the fifth boy who

escaped unscathed in the

shooting, is thinly

b u i l t w i t h f a i r

complexion. He

likes to rear pigeons

and was, as always,

looking for the

birds in the sky. He

was on his usual

s t r o l l o n t h e

h i g h w a y i n

Nowgam when a

h o n k i n g c a r

stopped near him.

Inside the car were

F a i s a l , M e h r a j ,

Zahid and Shakir.

Faisal who was driving the car

offered Basim a drive to Suthsoo,

a locality some four kilometre

away from their location.

Basim agreed and joined the party. As a special gesture, Faisal offered Basim the seat beside him in the front.

Faisal sped up his car. On way to

Suthsoo, they listened to music

and gossiped. Faisal again teased

Zahid for his driving skills.

Nobody stopped them for

frisking.

On their return, in Chattergam,

uniformed men in twos and

threes were stopping vehicles for


Article

Boy who cheated death: An eyewitness account of Chattergam killingsBoy who cheated death: An eyewitness account of Chattergam killings

Article

NOVEMBER 2014 2525

Article


Rouf Bhat Rouf Bhat

Indian VP acknowledges HR abuses by troops in IOKThe Indian Vice President, Hamid Ansari, on November 21, 2014,

acknowledged the human rights violations perpetrated by Indian

troops and police in occupied Kashmir.

Delivering the '8th Tarkunde Memorial Lecture' in New Delhi, he said

that the situation was serious in occupied Kashmir, Northeast and

Naxal belt from where complaints were received about misuse of

draconian laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). He

said that religious minorities continued to be targeted despite consti-

tutional guarantees and that the pattern of systematic mobilisation of

hate and divisive politics was discernible in many cases pursued with

impunity.

He said that some of the most serious human rights violations by the police and troops included extra-

judicial killings, custodial deaths, torture, arbitrary detention and widespread corruption at all levels of

government, leading to denial of justice. He maintained that this was particularly acute in areas of conflict,

such as Jammu and Kashmir, Northeast and the Naxal belt where serious complaints about the misuse of

laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Disturbed Areas Act or Public Safety Act continued to be made.

2013May 15: The Chairman of

International Council for Human

Rights-Kashmir Project, Barrister

A b d u l M a j e e d T r a m b o o ,

a d d r e s s i n g a r o u n d t a b l e

discussion in Brussels on the

International Day of Families

titled 'Plight of divided families

in Kashmir' says that the

observance of the day makes

people remember the plight of

divided families in Jammu and

Kashmir. He says that these

families are facing for more than

65 years the impediments that

hinder them from meeting their

relatives across the Line of

Control.Member of Indian Parliament

from Hyderabad, Asad-ud-Din

Awaisi, addressing a function in

Srinagar urges India to initiate

d i a l o g u e w i t h t h e n e w

government in Pakistan to

resolve the Kashmir dispute. He

says that he will continue to raise

at various fora the issues like

injustice faced by the Kashmiris.May 16: In occupied Kashmir,

t h e M a r t y r d o m W e e k

commences to commemorate the

martyrdom anniversaries of

prominent liberation leaders,

Mirwaiz Molvi Muhammad

Farooq and Khawaja Abdul

Ghani Lone. People attend in

large numbers

the functions of

the recitation of

Holy Quran held

a t t h e

headquarters of

A l l P a r t i e s

H u r r i y e t

Conference and

Awami Action

Committee in

Sr inagar and

offer prayers for

the depar ted

s o u l s o f M i r w a i z M o l v i

Muhammad Farooq, Khawaja

Abdul Ghani Lone and other

martyrs. Unidentified gunmen

had shot at Molvi Muhammad

Farooq in Srinagar martyring

him on the spot on May 21, 1990.

On the same day seventy

mourners were killed when

Indian troops opened fire on his

funeral procession in Hawal area

of Srinagar. Twelve years later,

on the same day in 2002, Khawaja

Abdul Ghani Lone was martyred

by unknown attackers when he

was returning

f r o m

addressing a

gathering at

M a z a r - e -

Shuhada in

Srinagar.May 17: The Al l Part ies H u r r i y e t C o n f e r e n c e C h a i r m a n , M i r w a i z

Umar Farooq, leads a mammoth rally in Srinagar in connection with the Martyrdom Week. Addressing on the occasion, he re i te ra tes the Kashmir i s ' commitment to continue the liberation movement till the mission of Kashmiri martyrs is accomplished. He also pays glowing tributes to Mirwaiz Molvi Muhammad Farooq,

Khawaja Abdul Ghani Lone and the martyrs of Hawal. People raise high-pitched anti-India and pro-freedom slogans during the rally.The London-based world human rights watchdog, Amnesty International, in a statement urges the puppet Chief Minister of occupied Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, to issue an order directing the authorities to stop the practice of 'revolving door detentions' and not use black law, Public Safety Act, to repeatedly detain the same individual on similar grounds. The Amnesty International says that the PSA detention records maintained by the Home Ministry of the occupied territory must be publicly accessible, especially to spouses and close family members and legal representatives assigned and agreed by the detained persons.

KASHMIR INSIGHT

Chronology


A chronological account of developments on Kashmir (100)KMS Research Desk

Compiled by: Showkat AliTo be continued...

The music of occupied Kashmir reflects the rich musical heritage and cultural legacy of the territory. Traditionally the music composed by ethnic Kashmiris has a wide range of musical influences in composition. Due to Kashmir's close proximity to Central Asia, Eastern Asia and Southern Asia, a unique blend of music has evolved encompassing the music of the three regions. But, overall, Kashmir Valley music is closer to Central Asian music, while music from Jammu is similar to that of North India and Ladakhi music is similar to the music of Tibet.ChakriChakri is one of the most popular types of folk music played in occupied Kashmir. It is played with musical instruments like the harmonium, the rubab, the sarangi and the nout. Chakri was also used in telling fairy tales or famous love stories.Rouf or WanwunRouf is a traditional dance form usually performed by girls on certain important occasions like E i d , m a r r i a g e a n d o t h e r functions. Rouf includes dancing and singing simultaneously. No musical instrument is required for this. Four to six girls arrange themselves in two or three rows. Each row of girls then moves one step forward and then back in swaying motion while singing the Rouf song or Wanwun.Rouf is a very important element of the wedding ceremonies in Kashmiri Pandit and Kashmiri Muslim traditions. Rouf is usually called Wanwun when performed at marriages.LadishahLadishah is one of the most vital parts of the Kashmiri music tradition. It is a sarcastic form of singing. The songs are sung

r e s o n a t i n g the present s o c i a l a n d p o l i t i c a l c o n d i t i o n s a n d a r e u t t e r l y h u m o r o u s . The singers move from v i l l a g e t o v i l l a g e performing g e n e r a l l y during the harvesting period. The songs are composed on the spot on issues relating to that village, be it cultural, social or political. The songs reflect the truth and that sometimes makes the song a bit hard to digest, but they are totally entertaining.Sufiana KalamSufiana Kalam is the classical music of Kashmir that uses its own ragas (known as maqam) and is accompanied by a hundred-stringed instrument called the santoor along with the Kashmiri saz, wasool, tabala, setar and harmonium. Sufiana Kalam has been popular in Kashmir since arriving from Iran in the 15th century and has been the music of choice for Kashmiri Sufi mystics.ClassicalClassical music and musical instruments find mention in the earliest texts like the Nilmat Purana and Rajatarangini by Kalhana. The most popular classical folk instrument is the santoor (Shat-tantri-veena), a hundred-string percussion instrument.The most notable santoor player from Kashmir is Pandit Bhajan Sopori. Bhajan Sopori has also given santoor recitals in Iran, from where this instrument has

or ig inated . However , the Kashmiri santoor looks and sounds different from the original Persian santoor.Henzae and Wanwun:Henzae and Wanwun is a music form sung by Kashmiri Pandits on religious and cultural festivals and in weddings.Music of Ladakh region:One of the main features of a Ladakh marriage is the recitation of lengthy narratives by singers in unusual costumes. Traditional music of Ladakh region includes the instruments surna and daman (shenai and drum). The music of Ladakhi Buddhist monastic festivals like Tibetan music often involves religious chanting in Tibetan or Sanskrit as an integral part of the religion. These chants are complex and often recitations of sacred texts.Religious mask dances are an important part of Ladakh's cultural life. Hemis monastery, a leading centre of the Drukpa tradition of Buddhism, holds an annual masked dance festival, as d o a l l m a j o r L a d a k h i m o n a s t e r i e s . T h e d a n c e s typically narrate a story of the fight between good and evil, ending with the eventual victory of the former.The Ladakh Festival is held every year from September 1 to 15.

Music of occupied Kashmir


Beauty thy name is

the other.

The deal was f i n a l l y closed and the Pampur m a n c a m e away with the sack full of pepper-corn while the other one was happy w i t h h i s w a l l e t o f saffron. The f o r m e r retired to a grove of trees and began to examine the contents of his sack. There were round berries of peppercorn genuine enough at the top but beneath that layer there was sheep dung. The worst suspicions of the thug were confirmed, for by an irony of circumstances he had met a fellow of the same trade upon whom he had foisted paddy husk - covered with a thin layer of saffron. “I shall renew my acquaintance with him,” he said in the spirit of, “I shall meet you soon.”

Before long the two tradesmen met at another fair but spoke not a word about their previous transaction. They came to be known as Toh thug and Mengan thug after toh for paddy husk and mengan for sheep dung that each tried to pass on to the other. In course of time they developed friendship and some affection, for they were fellow townsmen. But being men of the same trade they could not overcome their mutual jealousy and spirit of rivalry.

One day, Toh thug called on his friend and found him in bed down with fever. The visits were repeated, for Toh thug saw it as his duty to ask after the health of his friend. There was, however,

no improvement. Every time he touched the wrist of Mengan thug, he found his heart beating fast. “My end has come,” said Mengan thug, “for I have never been so ill, nor for such a long time.”

“Don't worry, friend, you will soon get well,” consoled the other.

“I know better. The hakim has not been able to diagnose the malady. It is the angel of death that has taken his seat in my pulse. I have fallen on evil days besides and have not a pice left for my treatment. What can save me then?”

“Be cheerful, friend, you should not burden your heart with unnecessary anxieties. If you are really hard up why don't you ask me to lend you a helping hand?”

The upshot was that Toh thug passed on to his friend a sum of about two hundred rupees as a loan which the latter gratefully received. But Mengan thug did not get well. His fever continued to rage though his face did not indicate any remarkable trace of emaciation. One fine morning a message came to Toh thug that his friend had passed away. The former was really sorry though it occurred to him that he (the deceased) had met the death

deserved by all swindlers. His o w n d e e d s a p p e a r e d t o him innocuous in comparison. It also appeared to him that he had lost the amount offered as loan to his ailing friend. That Mengan thug had not s h o w n a n y traces of grave illness on his

face, however, struck him as odd.

“For aught I know, it may be a trick to defraud me of my money .... No, he could not have been so bad, peace be to his soul....”

He went to the house of his friend where they were about to dispose of the dead body. To ensure against any tricks Toh thug used unusually hot water to give the body a wash but not a muscle twitched on the naked b o d y o f M e n g a n t h u g . Ultimately the dead body of the thug was buried and Toh thug was left mourning.

In a couple of days Toh thug was bewildered to learn that the body of Mengan thug had disappeared from the grave. “I know the rascal was pretending all this to defraud me,” he said, “He has hurled dust into my eyes and made away with my money. I'm beaten, I must own. Think of it! The feverish pulse and then the stiff carcass.”

He learnt that Mengan thug had developed a feverish condition with the help of an onion to fake death. “I am immature and raw,” he said as he carried a note to place in the house of his friend. “You've beaten me outright,” the note said.

In a week's time he got back his money.

There was once a thug who was a master in the art of creating illusions - the basis of the trade of a thug - and he plied his trade with reasonable efficiency and success. Perhaps the most paying line of the business would be to sell brass for gold, but in such a transaction people secure the advice of a reliable goldsmith. The thug called himself a tradesman. If anybody asked him, “What do you deal in?”

“Whatever holds the promise of a meager profit,” he would reply, thus reserving to himself the right of dealing in any commodity he liked - f r o m o i l s e e d s t o ‘pashmina’, from saffron to sandalwood.

Once the thug joined the fair at the far off shrine of the saint of Bomai. The thug dressed as a peasant and carrying a medium-sized wallet besides his blanket had wended his way there. Another peasant carrying a bigger sack took his seat near him.

“How do you do?” the latter greeted the former.

“God's a mercy,” replied the other.

“My good friend, where do you come from to this holiest of the shrines?” asked the former.

“I come from the distant maraz.”

“I could guess as much from your talk and the look of weari-ness from your face.”

“Yes, I had to foot a pretty long distance. And you yourself?”

“I belong to the blessed Kamraz, the region of droughts, poverty and lawlessness. How much land do you own?”

“Not much by your standards. Actually I come from Pampur

where I own a few marlas of saffron-growing land. I have managed to collect a little of this precious stuff in this wallet. What is your sack bulging with?”

“The arid of the village where I work yields little. So I usually go to Rawalpindi in winter and earn a little to spread over the whole year round. This year I was working with a merchant who paid me in kind. I have earned this sack full of peppercorns for six months, which I shall now exchange for cash or kind. Are you interested?”

“I have myself to dispose of my wallet full of saffron and I intended to carry home in return dried fish, dried caltrops, sesame and other produce of your region. But it occurs to me that if I happen to get a suitable customer for my saffron I may as well settle

a bargain to relieve you of your heavy load.”

“As you please. But why seek another customer? Why not exchange our precious commodities without getting in a middleman?”

“It is well for you to regard my saffron no more precious than your peppercorns, but I am no fool to be taken in thus. Let us settle a price.”

“ I h a v e n o t m u c h experience in evaluating commodities. If you don't fancy my heavy sack full of peppercorns in return for your light wallet of saffron, you may as well look for a great queen to purchase your precious commod-ity.”

This sort of conversation was carried on for a pretty long time, each one of them playing his r o l e p e r f e c t l y a n d

camouflaging the intonation and uttering the words peculiar to the region adopted by him. There was a good deal of haggling on the part of the Pampur man who lifted the sack of peppercorns to judge its weight. The other man fumbled the outside of the wallet of saffron. “Do you doubt the genuineness of what I carry?” asked he as he put his fingers in to draw a pinch of saffron.

“Look,” he continued, “hast ever seen genuine saffron as this?” And he trotted out like a prac-ticed dealer the Persian adage mushk aan ast ki kbud biboyad na ki atoar bigoyed (fragrance will out and needs no eulogies from the perfumer).

“Aye, aye! but the wise have cautioned us not to relax against any gundum numa jaw farosh that may be prowling,” retaliated


Article

The two thugsThe two thugs

NOVEMBER 2014 2525

Literature


Literature

the other.

The deal was f i n a l l y closed and the Pampur m a n c a m e away with the sack full of pepper-corn while the other one was happy w i t h h i s w a l l e t o f saffron. The f o r m e r retired to a grove of trees and began to examine the contents of his sack. There were round berries of peppercorn genuine enough at the top but beneath that layer there was sheep dung. The worst suspicions of the thug were confirmed, for by an irony of circumstances he had met a fellow of the same trade upon whom he had foisted paddy husk - covered with a thin layer of saffron. “I shall renew my acquaintance with him,” he said in the spirit of, “I shall meet you soon.”

Before long the two tradesmen met at another fair but spoke not a word about their previous transaction. They came to be known as Toh thug and Mengan thug after toh for paddy husk and mengan for sheep dung that each tried to pass on to the other. In course of time they developed friendship and some affection, for they were fellow townsmen. But being men of the same trade they could not overcome their mutual jealousy and spirit of rivalry.

One day, Toh thug called on his friend and found him in bed down with fever. The visits were repeated, for Toh thug saw it as his duty to ask after the health of his friend. There was, however,

no improvement. Every time he touched the wrist of Mengan thug, he found his heart beating fast. “My end has come,” said Mengan thug, “for I have never been so ill, nor for such a long time.”

“Don't worry, friend, you will soon get well,” consoled the other.

“I know better. The hakim has not been able to diagnose the malady. It is the angel of death that has taken his seat in my pulse. I have fallen on evil days besides and have not a pice left for my treatment. What can save me then?”

“Be cheerful, friend, you should not burden your heart with unnecessary anxieties. If you are really hard up why don't you ask me to lend you a helping hand?”

The upshot was that Toh thug passed on to his friend a sum of about two hundred rupees as a loan which the latter gratefully received. But Mengan thug did not get well. His fever continued to rage though his face did not indicate any remarkable trace of emaciation. One fine morning a message came to Toh thug that his friend had passed away. The former was really sorry though it occurred to him that he (the deceased) had met the death

deserved by all swindlers. His o w n d e e d s a p p e a r e d t o him innocuous in comparison. It also appeared to him that he had lost the amount offered as loan to his ailing friend. That Mengan thug had not s h o w n a n y traces of grave illness on his

face, however, struck him as odd.

“For aught I know, it may be a trick to defraud me of my money .... No, he could not have been so bad, peace be to his soul....”

He went to the house of his friend where they were about to dispose of the dead body. To ensure against any tricks Toh thug used unusually hot water to give the body a wash but not a muscle twitched on the naked b o d y o f M e n g a n t h u g . Ultimately the dead body of the thug was buried and Toh thug was left mourning.

In a couple of days Toh thug was bewildered to learn that the body of Mengan thug had disappeared from the grave. “I know the rascal was pretending all this to defraud me,” he said, “He has hurled dust into my eyes and made away with my money. I'm beaten, I must own. Think of it! The feverish pulse and then the stiff carcass.”

He learnt that Mengan thug had developed a feverish condition with the help of an onion to fake death. “I am immature and raw,” he said as he carried a note to place in the house of his friend. “You've beaten me outright,” the note said.

In a week's time he got back his money.

There was once a thug who was a master in the art of creating illusions - the basis of the trade of a thug - and he plied his trade with reasonable efficiency and success. Perhaps the most paying line of the business would be to sell brass for gold, but in such a transaction people secure the advice of a reliable goldsmith. The thug called himself a tradesman. If anybody asked him, “What do you deal in?”

“Whatever holds the promise of a meager profit,” he would reply, thus reserving to himself the right of dealing in any commodity he liked - f r o m o i l s e e d s t o ‘pashmina’, from saffron to sandalwood.

Once the thug joined the fair at the far off shrine of the saint of Bomai. The thug dressed as a peasant and carrying a medium-sized wallet besides his blanket had wended his way there. Another peasant carrying a bigger sack took his seat near him.

“How do you do?” the latter greeted the former.

“God's a mercy,” replied the other.

“My good friend, where do you come from to this holiest of the shrines?” asked the former.

“I come from the distant maraz.”

“I could guess as much from your talk and the look of weari-ness from your face.”

“Yes, I had to foot a pretty long distance. And you yourself?”

“I belong to the blessed Kamraz, the region of droughts, poverty and lawlessness. How much land do you own?”

“Not much by your standards. Actually I come from Pampur

where I own a few marlas of saffron-growing land. I have managed to collect a little of this precious stuff in this wallet. What is your sack bulging with?”

“The arid of the village where I work yields little. So I usually go to Rawalpindi in winter and earn a little to spread over the whole year round. This year I was working with a merchant who paid me in kind. I have earned this sack full of peppercorns for six months, which I shall now exchange for cash or kind. Are you interested?”

“I have myself to dispose of my wallet full of saffron and I intended to carry home in return dried fish, dried caltrops, sesame and other produce of your region. But it occurs to me that if I happen to get a suitable customer for my saffron I may as well settle

a bargain to relieve you of your heavy load.”

“As you please. But why seek another customer? Why not exchange our precious commodities without getting in a middleman?”

“It is well for you to regard my saffron no more precious than your peppercorns, but I am no fool to be taken in thus. Let us settle a price.”

“ I h a v e n o t m u c h experience in evaluating commodities. If you don't fancy my heavy sack full of peppercorns in return for your light wallet of saffron, you may as well look for a great queen to purchase your precious commod-ity.”

This sort of conversation was carried on for a pretty long time, each one of them playing his r o l e p e r f e c t l y a n d

camouflaging the intonation and uttering the words peculiar to the region adopted by him. There was a good deal of haggling on the part of the Pampur man who lifted the sack of peppercorns to judge its weight. The other man fumbled the outside of the wallet of saffron. “Do you doubt the genuineness of what I carry?” asked he as he put his fingers in to draw a pinch of saffron.

“Look,” he continued, “hast ever seen genuine saffron as this?” And he trotted out like a prac-ticed dealer the Persian adage mushk aan ast ki kbud biboyad na ki atoar bigoyed (fragrance will out and needs no eulogies from the perfumer).

“Aye, aye! but the wise have cautioned us not to relax against any gundum numa jaw farosh that may be prowling,” retaliated


Article

The two thugsThe two thugs

NOVEMBER 2014 2525

Literature


Literature

Jammu carnage

Dear editor, hundreds of

thousands of Kashmiris were

killed in the first week of

November in 1947 by the forces

of Maharaja Hari Singh, Indian

Army and Hindu extremists in

different parts of Jammu region

while they were migrating to

Pakistan. To commemorate their

sacrifices, the Kashmiris on both

sides of the Line of Control and

the world over observe the

J a m m u M a r t y r s D a y o n

November 6 every year.

Jammu carnage is a black chapter

in the history of Jammu and

Kashmir. It could be termed as

the least known genocide in the

occupied territory. The massacre

was carried out with such a

precision that it was difficult to

find its traces. Lacs of Muslims

were killed in the military

precision orchestrated by

Government of India, Dogra

Maharaja Hari Singh and the

t e r r o r i s t s o f R a s h t r i y a

Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). It

was such an operation that

words cannot explain it. The

action was aimed at changing the

demographic composition of the

region by eliminating the

Muslim population. Such was

the intensity of the bloodbath

t h a t 1 2 3 v i l l a g e s w e r e

depopulated completely. The

Jammu tragedy exposed the real

face of India.

The brave people of Kashmir are

still rendering sacrifices to secure


d e t e r m i n a t i o n a n d a r e

determined to continue their

struggle till they achieve their

cherished goal.

Sartaj Ali

Srinagar

Remembering martyrs

Dear editor, every year people of

Kashmir commemorate the

anniversary of Jammu Martyrs to

reaffirm their unflinching

resolve to carry on their struggle

for securing their right to self-

determination. Given the daily

acts of human rights violations

perpetrated by Indian troops as

the international human rights

watchdogs have recent ly

censured in their reports, there

are no two opinions on how

worse are the prevailing state of

affairs in occupied Kashmir. The

innocent people are arbitrarily

picked up, tortured and fired

upon when they come out on the

roads to protest and even their

houses are raided. The number of

those martyred by Indian forces

since 1989 is over 100,000. The

discovery of unmarked mass

g r a v e s a t s e v e r a l p l a c e s

containing mutilated bodies

once again shows the kind of

a t roc i t i es tha t a re be ing

committed by the occupation

forces with impunity under the

protection of draconian laws

imposed in the territory.

Rehan Qureshi

Islamabad

Flashpoint

The Kashmir dispute has become

a nuclear flashpoint in South

Asia. It not only poses a serious

threat to the peace in the region

but also remains the main hurdle

in normalisation of ties between

Pakistan and India. Under such

c ircumstances , the world

community must take steps

towards settling the lingering

dispute in accordance with the

Kashmiris' aspirations.

Ali Mujtaba

Karachi

Peaceful resolution

Dear editor, this refers to

Pakistan's demand to India to

peacefully resolve the Kashmir

dispute through negotiations.

Prime Minister, Mohammad

Nawaz Sharif, is a strong

supporter of resolution of the

dispute as per the aspirations of

the people of Kashmir, as he has

made it clear time and again that

Pakistan is committed to

continue its support to the

Kashmiris' struggle for securing

their right to self-determination

pledged to them by the United

Nations.

However, India's intransigent

attitude had always remained a

stumbling block in achieving this

objective. New Delhi must

understand that settlement of the

longstanding dispute will open

up vast opportunities of socio-

economic development in the

region. Therefore, it should

immediately halt its state

terrorism in occupied Kashmir

and start a constructive dialogue

process with Pakistan to resolve

the Kashmir conflict, once and

for all.

Saleem Ahmed


Feedback

Letters to the EditorLetters to the Editor

(January 1989 to November 30, 2014)

Source: Kashmir Media Service (www.kmsnews.org)

Atrocities by Indian troops

Total killings 94,119

Custodial killings 7,024

Civilians arrested 127,129

Structures destroyed/damaged 106,022

Women widowed 22,786

Women gangraped/molested 10,129

Children orphaned 107,491

Including custodial killings

“We had given our pledge to the people of Kashmir, and subsequently to the United Nations; we stood by it and we stand by it today. Let the people of Kashmir decide.”

(Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s statement in

Indian Parliament on February 12, 1951.)

Do you stand by it today!

All Parties Hurriyet Conference Azad Jammu And KashmirP. O. Box No. 2617, GPO Islamabad.Ph: 0092-51-4861457, Fax: 0092-51-4861458 (Islamabad) 0092-5822-32344 (Muzaffarabad)Email: [email protected]

Monthly Kashmir Insight December 2014

Documents

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