Kashmir | News & Discussions.

[afriend]

IMO he is making a point that, militarisation of kashmir, had done more bad than good..!!!

 

[Icarus]

India recognises this stance of Pakistan ..... and India is cool with it ..... rather India has reconciled itself to having a perpetually hostile neighbour on its doorstep and is reacting to a situation not of its own choosing ..... but a stark reality nonetheless.

So India arms itself. So India locks down its borders. So India shuts shop as far as dialogue is concerned. So India looks within and continues to grow ..... slowly but steadily. So India engages with the world ..... increasingly as an equal.

India will not budge on kashmir dear pakistani brothers and sisters.

As an Indian I will not allow it.

And I shall teach my children not to allow it.

And they will teach their children.

We will work harder. We will generate greater wealth. We will pay a larger chunk of our earnings to our government too if need be.

We will outarm you. We will outmaneuver you. We will outnegotiate you. We will outlobby you. We will outsmart you. We will outspend you.

But we will keep Kashmir.

You and your future generations have a choice.

Give up Kashmir and join hands with us as friends.

Or continue on your present path.

Yes Kakgeta ..... our grandchildren (and their children) will get to see the results of your choice 70 years from now.

That I promise you.

Cheers, Doc

Quite a passionate speech, i understand how India must also be possessive over Kashmir but the feeling is mutual....................
Every Pakistani is equally passionate over Kashmir and everything you are willing to do, we are already doing. But personally I would like to see this issue being resolved through a plebiscite, no matter who comes out on top, that does not matter, then we can move on, if Europe can have free trade and open borders after fighting two world wars with each other, why can't India and Pakistani................

 

[duhastmish]

Quite a passionate speech, i understand how India must also be possessive over Kashmir but the feeling is mutual....................
Every Pakistani is equally passionate over Kashmir and everything you are willing to do, we are already doing. But personally I would like to see this issue being resolved through a plebiscite, no matter who comes out on top, that does not matter, then we can move on, if Europe can have free trade and open borders after fighting two world wars with each other, why can't India and Pakistani................

Because india and pakistan are on war all the time. india dont trust paksitan. and extremist groups existing and haing safe haven in pakistan.

because india dont want to have - 26/11 every week.

no free trade untill - pakistan stop helping let and other so called jehadi --terrorist groups.

since india need to strengthen its border - they are having hard time entering and terrorizing india. so in frustration they bomb pakistan itself - see whats happening around you.

violence cant be solution to this war !!!!!

 

[garibnawaz]

And thousands of Kashmiris who support him are also funded by Pakistan dahhhhhhhhhhh

And oh Mirwaiz Omar also wants Kashmiri land back, Yasin Malik also wants Kashmir land back which is occupied by India.

The millions of Kashmiris also want their land back so who are funding them???

People are voting for Abdullah's for years. They also voted Mehbooba Mufti's PDP last time.

We are Pakistanis, says Kashmiri leader Geelani

Any idea why you require a visa to visit to Pakistan?

Why was Mehbooba Mufti's visa denied by Pakistan?

GB

 

[MarkTheTruth]

Recently, the International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice disclosed that 2,700 unmarked graves with nearly 3,000 bodies across 55 villages in three districts, Bandipore, Baramullah and Kupwara of Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) have been discovered. Some of the mass graves contain 3 to 17 bodies. The Tribunal claimed that the graves could be of those missing from custody of Indian troops. The report is based on research between November 2006 and November 2009 and has been authored by prominent human rights activists of India and occupied Kashmir. Last year too, the group had found 1,000 unmarked graves in the Kashmir valley. Dr. Angana Chatterjee of the Tribunal said, “The graves might be containing the bodies of the 8,000 people who disappeared during 20 years of the armed conflict”. The history of atrocities in Indian held Kashmir is as old as the dispute itself. Similarly, the High Court Bar Association of Occupied Kashmir maintained that more than 100,000 Kashmiris had been killed by Indian troops in the last two decades, while 10,000 persons were disappeared in custody. Similarly, it said that more than 300,000 Kashmiri’s were tortured in jails and interrogation centers.

Ironically, human rights are violated on large scale in the so-called world’s largest democracy. To crush the Kashmiri Liberation movement, India has employed various techniques including black laws. Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act 1990 (TADA) and Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1990, (AFSPA) are enforced in Kashmir despite the fact that they contravenes the Indian Constitution and international law. These laws violate the basic human rights such as right to life, the right to liberty and security of the person and the right to remedy. The Armed Forces (Jammu & Kashmir) Special Powers enforced on 10 September, 1990 authorized even a non-commissioned officer to search any place, fire at any person (and kill), or arrest on the basis of suspicion. TADA gives security forces and armed forces special powers for unauthorized administrative detention without formal charges or trial for up to one year. Under POTA, any person can be put into prison for not disclosing the information that can prevent an act of terrorism.

The International humanitarian organizations such as Amnesty International condemned these draconian laws. According to Amnesty International TADA gives a license to kill. Wide powers of arrest granted under TADA, combined with the absence of fundamental legal safeguards for detainees, create a climate, which encourages abuse of power and facilitates illegal and secret detention. AFSPA violates provisions of International human rights law, including the right to life, the right to remedy and the rights to be free from arbitrary deprivation of liberty and from torture and cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Amnesty International is of the view that the POTA continue to be used to detain political opponents and members of minority populations.

Currently, 700,000 Indian army troops are deployed in occupied Kashmir to crush the Kashmiri freedom movement. The Indian occupational forces have killed more than 91,168 innocent Kashmiris, 38,450 rendered disable or crippled for life and 30,000 women have been raped and molested. More than 105,238 hoses and shops have been destroyed and 106,755 have become orphaned in Jammu and Kashmir, since 1989. According to the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons 8,000 to 10,000 Kashmiris disappeared mysteriously in Indian Held Kashmir from 1989-2008 while the Asian Centre for Human Rights put the figure at six thousand. Up till July 2006 number of innocent Kashmiris in Indian custody accounted to 3,735.

The condition of Kashmiris detained in different jails of the occupied Kashmir is worse than that of those in Abu Gharib prison in Iraq. The interrogation methods and manners used in these jails are ghastly. Lord Eric Aveybury, Chairman, British Parliamentary Human Rights Group has described Indian atrocities as, “The atrocities committed by Indian imperialists in occupied Kashmir surpass brutalities of apartheid regime in South Africa or of Nazis 50 years ago”.

Arundhati Roy, a well respected Indian writer, while speaking in New York in May 2006, said: “The biggest myth of all times is that India is a democracy. In reality, it is not. Several states in India are on the verge of civil war…. In the Kashmir valley alone, some 80,000 people have been killed. In Iraq, there are 1, 50,000 military personnel whereas in Kashmir valley there are some 7, 00,000”.

Human rights organizations are routinely denied permission to investigate in a free manner. Media-men are being attacked and arrested. Humanitarian relief is limited as external agencies are not being allowed to provide medical assistance and other relief materials. Recently, the Amnesty International has requested President Barack Obama to help end human rights abuses in IHK. Even a five member European Tribunal recently expressed dissatisfaction about the prevailing human rights situation in IHK and urged India to improve this situation.

Many cases of human rights violation stem from abuse of power under repressive laws and police/army brutality unleashed against the Kashmiri people. They are taken into custody for acts that are legitimized by international human rights standards of free speech, freedom of association and assembly, and freedom of the press. The Indian government’s failure to account for these abuses and to take rigorous action against its forces responsible for murder, rape and torture speaks volumes of its fake posture of secular and democratic state. These atrocities are true reflection of its policy of condoning human rights violations by the Indian security forces in Kashmir that needs to be addressed, the sooner the better.

Human Rights Violations in Indian Held Kashmir

 

[FreekiN]

because india dont want to have - 26/11 every week.

no free trade untill - pakistan stop helping let and other so called jehadi --terrorist groups.

We are having 26/11 every week. Thank you very much.

While India has denied a joint investigation with Pakistan, Pakistan has banned all extremist groups. Pakistan has caught the perpetrators of 26/11 and the leader of LeT. Pakistan is fighting a war in itself. And all India can do is blame Pakistan that 'its not doing enough.'

 

[ps80]

In my view this is not a new observation. I think this has always been the standpoint of the UN and the World Bank regarding the J&K issue.

Nevertheless, the more important aspect of this news article is that the WB is going ahead with providing funds for this project.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Kashmiris Call For International Probe After India Rape Cover-Up​

The report of the pro-Indian government of Kashmir claimed that the two women – a 17-year-old and her 22-year-old sister-in-law – died by drowning, and not rape and murder at the hands of Indian occupation soldiers.

The events of Dec. 15, 2009, mark another Kashmiri uprising against oppressive Indian rule. This is embarrassing for New Delhi and its allies in Washington and London, especially Pakistan cannot be blamed for this and after the move by China to stop treating Kashmiris as Indian citizens and World Bank’s decision to decline treating Kashmir as Indian territory.

Thousands of angry Kashmiris took to the streets on Dec. 15, a day after federal police investigating the deaths of two women said they "drowned" and were not raped and killed, triggering claims of a cover-up.

The deaths of Neelofar Jan, 22, and her sister-in-law, 17-year-old Asiya Jan, in May had sparked protests in the disputed Himalayan region. Locals said they had been sexually abused and killed by the security forces.

Four police officers were later arrested on charges of suppressing and destroying evidence in the case. The officers were freed in September, a move that further angered residents.

Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s former envoy to Washington and a potential replacement for the incumbent ambassador there, wrote in her column in today’s The News:

“In the month that marked 20 years of the uprising against Indian rule, occupied Kashmir once again erupted in anger. The shutters came down and life was paralyzed by a strike across the Valley on Dec 15. This time the protest was ignited by the findings of a federal police investigation into the rape and murder in May of two women in Shopian, a town 35 kilometers from Srinagar.”

Even more interesting is the reaction of pro-Indian Kashmiris who are part of the Indian "government" in the occupied region. This is how Dr. Lodhi referred to one of those Kashmiri ‘leaders’, Mehbooba Mufti:

“Mehbooba Mufti, the opposition leader in the state assembly, had this to say: "The whole charade of investigations by multiple agencies was aimed at shielding the culprits rather than bringing them to book."

She was referring to the bizarre sequence of events since May when local officials initially claimed that the girls had drowned, then retracted this in the face of mass protests and agreed they might have been murdered.”

In September after weeks of protests, India's Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI took over the case.

In a report for India's high court Monday, the federal agency concluded that the two had "drowned", ruling out rape and murder.

"International Probe"

On Tuesday, thousands of people gathered in the main square in Shopian chanting, "We want freedom" and "Sisters, we are ashamed that your killers are still free."

In both Shopian and Srinagar, shops and businesses stayed shut and public transport remained off the streets in response to a strike called by the Majlis-e-Mashawarat, a local group demanding justice for the two women.

The strike is also supported by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, head of the All Parties' Hurriyat Conference, an alliance of pro-independence groups in the region.

On Tuesday, Farooq called the CBI report politically motivated and said that he supported the Majlis-e-Mashawarat's call for an independent international probe into the deaths.

Veteran Kashmiri Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani also strongly condemned the CBI report, terming it as "an attempt to shield the men in uniform".

Tens of thousands of Muslims have been killed since simmering discontent against Indian rule turned into a full opposition in 1989.

In 1948, the United Nations adopted a resolution calling for a referendum for Kashmir to determine whether the Himalayan region should be part of India and Pakistan. But India has rejected to hold referendum in Kashmiri territory. Kashmiris see India as an "occupier state".

Kashmiris Call For International Probe After India Rape Cover-Up Pakistanpal’s Blog

 

[syedtalha]

With all due respect to your sentiments please do a reality check...We were not kicked out during 65 war...we were not kicked out when militancy was at its peak in Kashmir...We were not kicked out in Kargil...and now when India - the worlds second largest growing economy is growing like anything how on this earth you think we will be kicked out??

My advice check the cost-benefit ration of your protest and you will soon realize that it don't make sense...

you know how much it costs for one indian soldier to station in siachen and how much it costs to feed one hungry household for oneday. Now check the amount of money spent per day on stationing soldiers on siachen and the number of people dying with hunger in mainland india... u'll soon get your cost-benifit ratio right and leave for good.

 

[EjazR]

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : Kashmir insurgency, 20 years after

The contours of the tussle have changed in a fundamental manner over the years, but both the conflict ‘in’ Kashmir and the conflict ‘over’ Kashmir continue.

December 2009 marks 20 years of the insurgency in Kashmir. During this period, Kashmir has metamorphosed -- in terms of its politics, discourse, the nature of the militancy, the level of external intervention and perceptions of the potential solutions. Yet, much of India’s understanding of Kashmir remains ensnared in the limited confines of history, and thus India fails to understand the changes, declines to advance from age-old positions, and refuses to look for fresh ways to address the conflict.

What has changed since 1989? Let us compare the big picture, then and now. In 1989, India found itself on the losing side of the Cold War with hardly a friend in the international community. More so, the international community was negatively disposed towards India vis-À-vis the Kashmir issue. Pakistan was optimistic after having been part of the alliance that had defeated the Soviet Union in the Afghan war and was confident of its ability and standing in the region. The Kashmiri dissidents, Pakistan and the militants in Kashmir had managed to ‘internationalise’ their cause and garnered significant levels of sympathy for it. India was being pushed into a corner.

This is no more the case. India is increasingly referred to as an emerging power and is considered a key stabilising player in the South Asian subcontinent. The international community is no longer keen to discuss Kashmir or force a solution; it knows India will not be pushed. The stress is now on India and Pakistan finding their own answers, and not much attention is being given to the wishes of the Kashmiris themselves. Furthermore, unlike in the late-1980s, Pakistan is a much-weakened power now without many reliable strategic partners. The state is widely feared to be heading for failure due to its ingrained promotion of terrorism. Kashmir is no more a pet issue for the international community. There are more pressing issues at hand.

Pakistan has clearly foundered over Kashmir. In fact, its strategy vis-À-vis India in general has gone wrong and has backfired terribly. Many of the elements Pakistan supported in an effort to “liberate” Kashmir from India have turned against it. More significantly, Pakistan has seemingly lost the direction of its foreign policy. Contradictory statements on Kashmir abound, rendering the country’s position confusing and ambiguous. Such ambiguity points to a realisation among some people in Pakistan that it needs to think beyond Kashmir, and that it is self-defeating to continue the fight. This has important implications for the conflict.

In India, too, the discourse on Kashmir has changed drastically. The country’s mainstream discourse traditionally considered the issue as one driven and created purely by Pakistani interference. Everyone seemed oblivious to the fact that Pakistan had been given the space for this interference due to India’s traditional mishandling of Kashmir. This mainstream thinking was infused in the media discourse. Bollywood films and popular writing portrayed Kashmir as a terrorism-infested region that needs to be cleansed of Pakistani agents. It tended to draw a picture of Kashmiris as supporters of terrorism and Pakistan. This thinking is undergoing a positive transformation. Today there is a growing awareness about the nuances of the Kashmir problem, and about the follies the Indian state has committed there. There is an understanding of the pervasive sense of alienation among Kashmiris and a growing realisation that anti-India protests are not necessarily pro-Pakistan. There is the realisation that there is a real problem in Kashmir that needs a political resolution.

Over the years, Kashmiri views on Pakistan have changed. Although many people in Kashmir never wanted it to become part of Pakistan, there were some who thought they would be better off there. Moreover, given the negative light in which many Kashmiris often saw India, there was a tendency, even if not so widespread, to view Pakistan with sympathy and admiration. This is changing, thanks to the existential problems that Pakistan is facing, the atrocities that Pakistan-sponsored terrorists have committed in Kashmir, and the general perception that joining Pakistan may not be the best option for Kashmir. As a result, there are fewer Pakistan supporters in the Valley today, and even fewer of them for militants coming from Pakistan to “liberate Kashmir from Indian tyranny.”

Kashmiri politics today is multi-faceted and more vibrant than ever. Analysts and observers tend to get confused while writing about the State primarily because they struggle to appreciate the often contradictory nature of today’s political environment. The people of Kashmir are learning to speak two contrasting languages at once: one of dissidence, and the other of mainstream issues. Many analysts argued that India lost Kashmir during the protests against the Amarnath land transfer. Likewise, many argued after last year’s elections in Jammu and Kashmir (when more than 62 per cent of the people voted as compared to around 43 per cent in 2002) that the historic referendum was the last nail in the coffin of separatist politics and ‘azadi’ sentiments in the Valley. Both arguments failed to understand the complexity of the politics in Kashmir or appreciate that political affairs there have changed fundamentally.

The ‘mainstreaming of dissent’ is another phenomenon in contemporary Kashmir. Gone are the days when the separatists were an untouchable lot. Today, separatist politics and ‘azadi’ sentiments are more nuanced, more complex than before and take many forms, ranging from the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The PDP would object to being called ‘pro-azadi,’ ‘separatist’ or even ‘soft-separatist,’ yet the fact remains that it walks a very fine line. On the one hand, the self-rule proposal put forward by it asks for more than what the Constitution of India promises the State and is closer to the platform proposed by separatist leaders (such as Sajjad Lone). On the other, the PDP has a political constituency that speaks the language of both separatism and ‘azadi.’ Yet, having ruled the State for three years, the PDP is a mainstream Kashmiri political party with clear links to the Indian state. On the other side of the divide, the dissident APHC often raises governance-related issues. This crossing of traditional political boundaries by the hitherto opposed political groups indicates the complexity of Kashmir’s new politics.

The meaning of ‘azadi’ has also grown in complexity over the last 20 years, becoming more nuanced and developing more shades of meaning, which many analysts fail to recognise. It would not be wrong to say that the aspirations for freedom — the ‘azadi’ sentiment — were strong in Kashmir when the insurgency began. However, 20 years on, this sentiment is more refined today; ‘azadi’ does not always mean self-determination in popular parlance now. ‘Azadi’ today means freedom from the fear of militants and security forces, as well as dignity and self-respect, self-governance, and the absence of New Delhi’s perceived political high-handedness.

Many and multifarious pathways aimed at reconciliation have emerged. Although the India-Pakistan peace process is currently on ice, the Srinagar-New Delhi conversation is very much alive. There are dialogues taking place between Jammu and Srinagar as well as among Muzaffarabad and Srinagar and Jammu. Traders from both sides of the State have established a joint J&K Chamber of Commerce and Industries. While many of these ‘peace tracks’ need to be revived, their very existence shows the fundamental manner in which the conflict has been transformed from the time violence permeated the State.

While it is true that its contours have changed in a fundamental manner, it is also true that both the conflict in Kashmir and the conflict over Kashmir continue to exist. The stakeholders must show more determination and enthusiasm to engage each other and discover a solution. However, to do so they must first acknowledge Kashmir’s metamorphosis.

 

[Nemesis]

Excellent article. Not a suprise that it's from the Hindu.

 

[ek_indian]

^^^

Very thoughtful article.

The best statement was "anti-India protests are not necessarily pro-Pakistan".

This shows that people are more favourble to Indian state. This is why precisely there are lot of turn around in elections as well as protests against the government. Both things in same place!!

I agree there are some shortcomings but not as much as it is it is hyped. However being an Indian, we can not adopt a head-buried-in-sand approach. We need to tackle them. Kashmiri people, like any aother person, want basic requirements of life. Indian government needs to take proper action in this regard. Things are somehow going in positive direction but too slow. This itself is a shortcoming. Indian governemnt should keep communicating all the political sections of the region and reach at best mutual agreement. Our home minister has taken some steps but results are yet to be seen.

Overall a nice article. This is precisely a reason why I changed my newspaper to The Hindu.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Saturday, 26 December 2009
Muharram 08, 1431

SRINAGAR: At least 60 mourners were injured on Saturday when police used batons, firing in the air and tear gas to break up a procession by hundreds of Shia Muslims in Indian-administered Kashmir's main city, officials said.

During the first Muslim month of Muharram, Shias across the world mourn the death of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson Imam Hussein in the Iraqi city of Karbala in the year 680.

But in Kashmir, Muharram processions and public gatherings by separatists have been banned since a rebellion against Indian rule broke out in 1989.

“More than 50 people were also detained,” police officer Ali Mohammad said.

Saturday's procession in Srinagar was headed by members of Ittihadul Muslimeen Jammu Kashmir, part of the region's main separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference.

Stone-throwing Shias clashed with police in several parts of Srinagar after the procession was stopped, forcing police to fire tear gas shells, witnesses said.

The mourners were beating their chests with their fists, and chanted “La Ilaha Illalah” (There is no God but Allah).

“We strongly condemn the police brutality,” said Moulana Abbas Ansari, a leading Shia priest and chief of Ittihadul Muslimeen.

The injured included at least six photojournalists, police said.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state since an anti-India insurgency broke out two decades ago.

DAWN.COM | World | Sixty injured as Indian police stop Kashmiri Shia procession

 

[fhassan]

Ironic that the police beat them, as opposed to them beating themselves...

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

it isnt Ashura yet......thats when Shiias hit their backs. And its only extremist Shiias who actually beat themselves badly.

You are only supposed to hit softly, not use chains or ropes. It's a symbolic gesture, not a gesture of macho-ism.


but yes --- it is ironic. But it seems people of Sri Nagar are used to this nonsense.