Kashmir | News & Discussions.

[Ali.009]

Survey conducted by join collaboration of RAW and CIA? Such people conducting these surverys should be thrown into jail

 

[Prometheus]

Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir government has revoked the detention orders of 25 Pakistani militants lodged in different jails of India to facilitate their return to their country.

The state government acted late Thursday night on the advice of the Home Ministry, which asked that the militants be released.

"Their detention orders under the Public Safety Act (a law that allows the government to keep people in jail without trial for two years) have been revoked and they would be sent to Wagah in Punjab for their return to Pakistan," an official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

The process for their release was initiated about two months ago after their detention came under sharp criticism from human rights groups.

The militants were also given consular access at Amritsar, government sources told reporter.

"This is nothing new. It has happened in the past, too," a source said.

All 25 Pakistani militants, who would be handed over to Pakistan authorities at Wagah Friday, were arrested over the years from Jammu and Kashmir.

Some of them were involved in acts of terror, the sources said, but did not specify the exact nature of crime committed by them.

Some of them were lodged in jails outside Jammu and Kashmir for security reasonsJ&K govt to set free 25 Pakistani militants

 

[sparklingway]

Survey conducted by join collaboration of RAW and CIA? Such people conducting these surverys should be thrown into jail

People responding with single sentence all-encompassing statements labeling everything as propaganda should not have the right to post.

 

[srsrsr]

Will the people of India accept an Independent Kashmir?

>>>>>Yes, very much. My interactions with general public/students/educated folks clearly show that people are tired of this Kashmir problem and its becoming drain in country resources.
a) People want to focus on the growth issues rather than Kashmir.
b) Given the constant 'moral' & 'terrorist' support from Pakistan (pls dont debate on this, as this is the Indian view of things)many dont think 'Kashmiris' are as much 'Indian' as Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi etc
c) Most folks, only know the current issue of terrorism, and are unware of the root causes or the history of the issue. As time passes by, we see Kashmir getting more alienated from rest of country

Will the GoI accept an Independent Kashmir?

>>>a big NO. If and only if a party which truly cares about country, its people and its progress would agree for a Ind Kashmir, with risk of loosing the power. But we all know that no such party exists and all are so crooked to retain their seats for 5 years.

 

[sab]

Anything that must be done must according to the wishes of Kashmiri people.If they want Independence then that should not be a problem to Pakistan.

Actually that will be a problem for India, Pakistan both. A land-locked country not self-sufficient would be a liability for the neighbours. You can have moral support for independence of Kasmir now but when you see that tax from your hard-earned money is going to feed people of land which is not yours...your opinion may not be the same.....

 

[srsrsr]

No independent Kashmir. If this happens India will push them around and then Pakistan will have to defend them and this whole trouble will start again.

Why would India do that? Frankly, India isn't as much obsessed with Kashmir, as I see Pakistan is.

 

[footmarks]

That uninhabited and barren chunk of land does nothing to make Kashmiri independence feasible or unfeasible - it wasn't some access to the ocean or the worlds largest gas reserves that were present there.

The question is - how can pak "gift" the land to China which does not belong to Pak?
Like, how would you respond if India decide to Gift some "barren & uninhabited" part of our side of Kashmir to Israel, for example? considering that you dont subscribe to the fact that Kashmir belong to India ?

 

[billi]

Despite of all that only 2% of kashmiri's is willing to join pakistan
and If u are more concerned about the rape and crime against the muslim women in Kashmir Where have u hidden ur A$$ when American army raped 100's of Iraqi muslim women

indian army does not do all these rape shape. It is all done by terrorists and LeT and the mullahs that come from pak. It is a proven fact.

 

[rajput12]

yes we should do away with article 370
we should do the same as Chinese are doing in china i.e settling Hun Chinese in non Hun dominated areas we should start with bringing the Kashmiri pundits back to change the demography and scale it up to at least 50:50

 

[Imran Khan]

peace talks with open mind

 

[Speaker]

yes we should do away with article 370
we should do the same as Chinese are doing in china i.e settling Hun Chinese in non Hun dominated areas we should start with bringing the Kashmiri pundits back to change the demography and scale it up to at least 50:50

Article 370 is not the reason Kashmiri Pandits are discriminated against - it is the terrorists. In fact Kashmiri Muslims consider them as rightful owners of their land as well. Omar Abdullah promises to make efforts to re-settle Kashmiri Pandits in the valley. All these things do seem encouraging. But it is not the same as repealing article 370. To do that, we need to first make the locals feel part of mainstream India - politically, socially and economically and then think about it.

 

[footmarks]

the best way to fight insurgency in Kashmir ... Allow the Kashmiris to exercise their right to self-determination as agreed to in the UNSC resolutions.

Ya, just like pak govt did by "gifting" part of Kashmir to China.

 

[dabong1]

A survey which a British academic says is the first systematic attempt to establish the opinions of Kashmiris has produced "striking results".

Robert Bradnock interviewed more than 3,700 people in Indian- and Pakistani-administered Kashmir to assess their views on various issues.

One of the key questions put to respondents was how they saw the future of the territory.

Nearly half of those interviewed said they wanted independence.

Another question asked for their views over the continuing insurgency.

Dr Bradnock - an associate fellow at the Chatham House think-tank in London - says that the survey has produced startling conclusions, especially in relation to the future of the territory.
No 'simple fixes'

It revealed that on average 44% of people in Pakistani-administered Kashmir favoured independence, compared with 43% in Indian-administered Kashmir.

"However while this is the most popular option overall, it fails to carry an overall majority on either side.

"In fact on the Indian side of the Line of Control [LoC] - which separates the two regions - opinions are heavily polarised," Dr Bradnock told the BBC.
Journalists take cover during a clash in Srinagar (file photo) The Kashmir insurgency has raged for 20 years

The survey found that the "overwhelming majority" of people want a solution to the dispute, even though there are no "simple fixes".

Dr Bradnock said that in the Kashmir valley - the mainly Muslim area at the centre of the insurgency - support for independence is between 74% and 95%.

But in the predominantly Hindu Jammu division to the south, support is under 1%.

Other findings include:

* 80% of Kashmiris on both sides of the LoC say that the dispute is important to them personally
* Concern over human rights abuses stands at 43% on the Indian side and 19% on the Pakistani side
* Concern over unemployment is strong across the territory - 66% on the Pakistani side and 87% on the Indian side
* Few are optimistic over peace talks - only 27% on the Pakistani side and 57% on the Indian side thought they would succeed.

Dr Bradnock said that it was "clear" that a plebiscite on the future of Kashmir - along the lines envisaged in UN resolutions of 1948-49 - is "extremely unlikely to offer a solution today".

"The results of the polls show that that there is no single proposition for the future of Kashmir which could be put to the population... and get majority support," he said.

"The poll offers no simple fixes but offers signposts - through which the political process, engaging India, Pakistan and wider Kashmiri representation - could move it towards resolution."

BBC News - 'First' Kashmir survey produces 'startling' results

 

[dabong1]

SRINAGAR - The human-rights body Amnesty International (AI) has yet to release its report on the outcome of its unprecedented visit last week to disputed Indian-administered Kashmir, but already there are doubts over its ability to come up with fair and accurate findings.

A two-member AI delegation - composed of Indian nationals - arrived in Kashmir on May 18 for a six-day fact-finding visit. It is expected to release its findings within the next six months.

Hardline separatist groups in Kashmir have described the AI visit as insignificant, saying the AI team, being both Indians, could not be considered neutral observers.

"Both the team members were Indian nationals. Therefore, it is
very natural that their observations and judgments would be clouded by their national interests," said separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who heads the hardline faction of Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference, a conglomerate of Kashmiri separatist groups.

Still, Geelani met with the visiting team to give his own assessment of the human-rights situation in Kashmir, home to nine million people, a majority of them Muslims.

"Kashmiri people are the victims of state terrorism. Every day we see people getting killed, tortured and sentenced to death. Women are raped and murdered while school going boys are not even spared," Geelani told Inter Press Service (IPS).

"Human-rights groups like Amnesty International should put pressure on India to stop unleashing atrocities on Kashmiris and give them the right to self-determination."

Bikram J Batra, head of the two-member AI team, said separatist leaders like Geelani should not "prejudge" their visit. "Let them wait for our assessment and see what comes out of it," he told IPS at the conclusion of their visit. "We are here as the representatives of AI and not as citizens of India."

Batra added that the state holds significance for the New York-based human-rights lobby, "which is why we have been striving to visit Kashmir".

Until last week, India's federal government had never allowed any international human-rights group, let alone AI, to visit Kashmir and assess the human-rights situation in the strife-torn region, where armed rebellion against India has been going on since 1989.

In the past two years, street protests have gradually replaced the armed struggle against Indian rule in Kashmir, prompting the government to finally allow the much-awaited visit from AI. However, gunfire incidents involving militants and Indian troops are still reported from some parts of Kashmir.

Stone pelting has also emerged as a form of revolt against the government.

Separatist as well as local human-rights groups in Kashmir had been repeatedly demanding that international human-rights groups be allowed to visit Kashmir to look into the issue of human-rights violations in the disputed territory involving India and Pakistan.

AI had time and again voiced its concern on the spate of human-rights violations in Kashmir, which had been widely blamed on the Indian security forces as well as militants operating in Kashmir.

Notwithstanding Batra's assurances of a fair and objective assessment of the situation in Kashmir, Sheikh Showkat Hussian of Kashmir University said AI should have sent a team belonging neither to India nor Pakistan.

"There is a likelihood that citizens of either of these countries will interpret the facts the way they wish before making them public," Hussain, who teaches international law and human rights, told IPS.

The AI team met with local human-rights groups and pro-India political leaders, including the chief minister Omar Abdullah and opposition leader Mehbooba Mufti.

They also sat down with Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference, as well as the wife of Shabir Ahmad Shah, a prominent separatist leader currently under detention.

"I briefed the AI team about Shabir's repeated detention, which is the worst form of political vendetta," Shah's wife Bilqees Shah told IPS after meeting with the AI team. "Despite his various ailments, he has been booked in jail under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for as many as seven times in the last two years."

Under the PSA, which came into force in Kashmir in 1978, a person can be detained for two years without any trial when the government deems him a threat to public security.

With street protests and stone pelting emerging as the newest forms of revolt against Indian administration, many young boys have been sent to prison under the PSA for throwing stones at security forces.

"We are particularly focusing on preventive and arbitrary detentions not only of political leaders but also of ordinary civilians like those said to be guilty of stone pelting," AI's Batra said.

Unlike Geelani, Hurriyat's Farooq welcomed AI's visit, saying he expected it to report accurately on what it had observed in Kashmir.

"We hope that the team would report the real situation to the international community and impress on it the need to build pressure on India to bridle the atrocities of its security forces against hapless Kashmiris," Mirwaiz told IPS.

Kashmiri separatists have demanded the scrapping of the special powers enjoyed - and abused, according to Kashmiri separatists - by Indian troops under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, withdrawal of troops from civilian areas and release of political prisoners before talks can be held among the three stakeholders - India, Pakistan and the Kashmir - to resolve the dispute over the region.

Kashmiri separatist leaders recently rejected a fresh offer of talks by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying the government had not accepted their conditions for a dialogue.

Since the end of British rule over the Indian subcontinent in 1947 and the region's partition into the two sovereign states, namely, India and Pakistan, Kashmir has been the subject of a bitter territorial dispute between the two South Asian neighbors.

Presently, a third of the region is administered by Pakistan and the rest by India. The armed struggle among Kashmiris on the Indian side has resulted in more than 50,000 deaths, based on official estimates.

The government of India maintains that the rebellion is backed and funded by Pakistan, which the latter denies.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/LE28Df02.htm

 

[dabong1]

Do you know how many Punchhi and Kashmiri refugees live in Jammu

"only a trickle"