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Sheikh Abdul Aziz Killed - Violence Flares in Kashmir

Of course not, he is referring to me... Unfortunately when I keep things civil, my thread gets deleted while some get leeway in posting personal attacks.

IPF
definitely, i'm referring to you, i'm glad you cracked that case. as for your deleted post, i'm not sure what it was about, but I'm willing to bet $10 it wasn't civil.

Why are we digressing and anyways you never proved you have a super computer. Let us keep this discussion for some other day.
actually, i don't need to prove that pakistan has a supercomputer. you still haven't proved whether your hydrogen bomb's second stage worked or not.

but as you said, let's keep this one for another day. My apologies to the mods for "grossly" going off topic.
 
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definitely, i'm referring to you, i'm glad you cracked that case
Thankx

as for your deleted post, i'm not sure what it was about, but I'm willing to bet $10 it wasn't civil.

Look who is talking!!!!, Did you see my post?!!!!

actually, i don't need to prove that pakistan has a supercomputer.

Because you don't have it.

you still haven't proved whether your hydrogen bomb's second stage worked or not.

Come to IGCAR

but as you said, let's keep this one for another day

Finally we agree on something!
 
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Because you don't have it.

Having or not a super computer does not mean that Pakistan cannot complete the cold based tests. While i happened to meet someone close to one of the projects going on in Pakistan and i asked him what difference does it make if you don't have a super computer and his reply was that while it matters to a certain degree, what we do is to arrange a specific configuration of that time P-4 in a way it acts close to Supercomputer category and we can conduct our cold based tests. So nothing big of an issue here.
 
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Having or not a super computer does not mean that Pakistan cannot complete the cold based tests

Agreed, but the question is the degree of validation, using super computers vaidates theoritical results to a greater degree, however nothing close to a physical test. My argument was that Pakistan can miniaturise the warhead, it would never be sure as to the validation of the design, better computing facilities means better validation. So given an option between spending your resources on designing warheads for cruise missilie and ballistic missiles, I d bet my money on BM's as I have validation based on physical tests.

what we do is to arrange a specific configuration of that time P-4 in a way it acts close to Supercomputer category and we can conduct our cold based tests. So nothing big of an issue here.

Actually you can do it as a student project connecting hostel computers. The point is that building a grid is not a big issue, however you need institutions and deep research to for capacity buildng for time share programming, robust architectures and grid programming. The greatest challenge however is to develop sftware archietctures that make maximum use of time share algoritham.

Icecold, let us keep this discussion for someother day, I do enjoy debating with you, however let us not digress and lets focus on Kashmir

Cheers
IPF
 
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Tens of thousands march in Indian Kashmir protest
Sat, Aug 16 12:37 PM

SRINAGAR, India (AP) _ Tens of thousands of Muslims marched in India's part of Kashmir on Saturday in honor of a prominent separatist leader killed in a recent wave of violence that has rocked the volatile Himalayan region. The streets were a sea of black protest flags and Islamic green flags as demonstrators filled Srinagar, the region's main city, and headed south to the hometown of Sheikh Abdul Aziz.

Aziz, the leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, was shot Monday by police firing into a crowd of protesters. On Saturday, security forces kept their distance from the demonstrators to avoid provoking another deadly clash.

The protesters chanted "We want freedom" and Long live Pakistan" while they marched to Aziz's hometown of Pampur, about nine miles (15 kilometers) south of Srinagar. "This is a march for freedom, a march for honor, and a march against occupation," said Manzoor Ahmed, who waved a green flag from atop a bus that was stranded in the crowd of protesters.


Separatist leaders were expected to address the huge crowd Saturday afternoon in Pampur. The march comes a day after the India's Independence Day holiday, which Kashmir observed as a "black day" by burning Indian flags and effigies of Indian soldiers.

More than six weeks of unrest in Indian-administered Kashmir has pitted the region's Muslim majority against its Hindu minority and left at least 34 people dead, many of them protesters shot during violent clashes with police and soldiers. Villages have been attacked, police stations torched and, in at least one town, security forces were ordered to shoot on sight any protesters violating the curfew.

The crisis began in June with a dispute over land near a Hindu shrine. The Hindu minority was angered when the state government reversed a decision to give 99 acres (40 hectares) of land to a Hindu trust to build facilities for pilgrims near the shrine.

Muslims had complained that the gift of land was actually a settlement plan meant to alter the religious balance in the region. The spiraling unrest has unleashed pent-up tensions between Kashmir's Muslims and Hindus and threatened to snap the bonds between India and its only Muslim-majority state.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called Friday for an end to the protests and violence, saying "all issues can be resolved only through dialogue and peaceful means." Singh's call was promptly dismissed by a key Kashmiri separatist leader, Mirwaiz Omer Farooq, who said the protests symbolize the "total rejection of India's rule in Kashmir.

" There is a long history of separatist movements in Kashmir, which has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1948. Most were peaceful until 1989, when a bloody Islamic insurgency began.

The insurgents want to see India's part of the region merged with Pakistan or given independence. The rebellion has so far killed an estimated 68,000 people.

India accuses Pakistan of aiding the insurgents a charge Pakistan denies. India and Pakistan gained independence when the departing British colonizers split the subcontinent in 1947, sparking one of the most violent upheavals of the 20th century and creating a rivalry that has led to three wars, two of them over Kashmir.


Tens of thousands march in Indian Kashmir protest - Yahoo! India News




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We have nothing to regret now will ever in future. The only disturbing thing is the involvement of Pakistan in spreading terrorism in the region.

Now what do you have to say about this article about Indian State Sponsored Terrorism in Nepal.

Daily News

ENTILATOR:The strange results came up when the Nepalese voted for the Maoists to succeed in elections held for the constituent assembly. People acted in pursuit of the medicine to embrace the vices as and when these exceed their limits, even the poison becomes the healer. As the results started pouring, even Parchanda, Baburam & Sood, went for the ENT Specialists to suggest what they hear is the outcome of hallucination because of the towering figures falling like an autumn leaves before the ferocious, barbarous and savage men of the Maoists who had nothing to their credit except unrelenting misdemeanor or the smoke of gun disgorging out of the muzzle after hunting the poor, exhausted, shilpit people of their country. The victory of Maoists appeared to be a comical episode which had the sufferings, pains and agony of people, resting in its belly. What else one does except finding solace in committing suicide rather than playing hide and seek with life & death. With this very anomaly they gave a walk over to the Maoists having guns in their hands to emanate alone on the victory stand to ajar a ventilator to keek in to the world but with removed anklets made in India.

INDIA'S INTRIGUE IN THE FORMATION OF GOVERNMENT

As soon as the results of elections got matured the Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood got activated and started realizing the Maoists who surfaced as the largest winning party of Nepal, that it was alone India's blessings, showered in the past which brought them to a victory stand otherwise who they were except vultures roaming aloof as discarded figures from a civilized society while spraying bullets to shed blood all around to write on each wall… Maoists We Are! It was India who trained, educated, provided monetary and weapon support to the top slot of the Maoists to wrestle with the monarchy. On 27th May a secret meeting was held between Girija Parsad Koirala, Parchanda and Sood.

Under the mediation of the Indian Ambassador, the Maoist leader affirmed the proposal of introducing ceremonial president by rewarding Girija Parsad to that position. But on 28th May after endorsement of republic from the CA along with the support of NC & UML, on 29th May, the Maoists deviated from their stance to accept Girija as the ceremonial president. Now Maoists claimed both the seats of president as well as of prime minister. After several rounds of talks between the three parties i.e. N.C., U.M.L. and Maoists and also an active role played by the Indian Ambassador who held separate meetings with Parchanda, Baburam and Girija, the Maoists agreed to vacate the seat of ceremonial president either in favour of an independent leader from the civil society or the leader of any political party, not heading the same. This plan was initiated by the Maoists to sideline Girija.

Where the Maoists have been trying to develop an alliance with the U.M.L., and M.J.F. one can distinctly find the Indian interest focusing on the alliance of Maoists & the M.J.F. America also wanted to have the presidentship of NC as per the decision taken on 28th May, the ceremonial president will be the supreme commander of the Nepal Army.

Legal experts are not satisfied from the procedures of declaring the country a republic. According to them the decision was taken on behest of India without taking in to confidence or having the nomination of 26 CA members. One case has been registered at the Supreme Court regarding the issue. Considering the fact, Rakesh Sood called on the Chief Justice at the Supreme Court and requested to dismiss the case. This is an example of India's intriguing in all the spheres of Nepal to upkeep her hegemony.

Indians are gradually backing Baburam Bhattarai for the post of the Prime Minister. India is continuously pampering Baburam group to overshadow Parchanda who is compelled to follow the instructions of Baburam as dictated by India.

Indian even deceived King Gyanendra who thought that Girija would be his saviour but he played a double standard as he was provoked of becoming the first president of Nepal. Power hungry Girija came in to the bait of Indian plan and could not save the institutional monarchy on which the king bestowed his trust but failed. India is trying hard to develop relations with the leadership of the Maoists since its emergence as the largest party winning the CA elections.

India is clicking her contacts with in the Maoists – Parchanda, Baburam, CP Gajurel, among others. Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood is frequently meeting Maoist leaders. Likewise Sitaram Yachury, Sd Muni has been assigned the task by India to remain in contacts with the Maoists. There is no surprise as the Indians hold decisive role in the Nepalese politics. Besides, the Indian plan is to establish two pillar systems i.e. ceremonial president and the executive prime minister.

India has suggested providing the post of the chairman of the constituent assembly to U.M.L. because India is doubtful on the Maoists intention and is not willing to take risk providing all executive powers to the Maoists. Indian and the American proposal are to amend the constitution by removing the clause of two-third majority to expel the prime minister by replacing it with a simple majority. Following the Indian design, NC and UML have put up the demand of amendment in the constitution, to which MJF and TMDP have also accepted the proposal.

Ultimately, on 28th May, the CA meeting declared Nepal a federal loktantrik republic by removing the king. This declaration was made in haste and without adhering to the democratic norms, while India standing at the back. Due to the Indian pressure, the Maoists had agreed to accord very nominal power to the president assuming as head of state and remaining as the supreme commander of the Nepal Army.

That apart, already some militant groups have emerged for carrying out destructive activities. Apart from armed groups in tarai, the Ranvir Sena (Army) has appeared which has carried out several bomb blasts in Kathmandu including around the BICC hall, the CA venue. The Ranvir Sena is in support of the Hindu Kingdom. There are rifts emerging in the Maoists as the Mohan Vaidya faction is not satisfied from the attitude of Parchanda and Baburam politics that are becoming the part of Indian intrigue while following her instructions religiously.

Abolishing monarchy was common interest of India and Maoists. The whole political rigmarole depicts India's strong domination in the political parties and the king was helpless against the India's design. Similar type of situation was developed in Sikkim prior to annexation of Sikkim by India in the 1970. Though India has succeeded in using the major political parties in removing the king in a very humiliatingly, but in coming days India has to face challenges from different factions in the Maoists.

The next wish of India is to develop the entire tarai as one province with the right of total autonomy. Whether the Maoists fulfill this interest of India or not, but in future one can read the wind as the rift between the Maoists and India is too imminent. The Maoists want to establish one party communist system whereas India likes to keep Nepal under her grip by developing entire tarai as a province. India aims, if one madhesh one province is fulfilled, the next parliament will be dominated by the tarai people and they will be able to form the government which will look after the interest of India. India believes tarai people will be more loyal to India than other political parties.

Where India through RAW has succeeded in eliminating King Birendra and all his family members on 1st June, 2001, as many analysts believe but luckily King Gyanedra and his son were survived. The RAW plan of totally eliminating the Royal members was failed and King Gyanedra was ascent to the throne by continuing the monarchial rule. However the RAW plan was not changed, thus RAW officials on one hand provoked the King to capture the power, on the other reached out to political leaders to establish join front against the monarchy. The party leaders were always kept in the security barracks in New Delhi whenever they visited India for meeting. Once Girija Parsad Koirila was on a visit to China when he received a call from New Delhi, without coming to Nepal directly he rushed to India. The political leaders of Nepal exactly knew if the crutches of India are removed they would fall from the heights so always acted like slaves before the RAW agents.

Developing Nepal as platform to mobilize anti-China activities is the common interest of India and the US. Currently, demonstrations of free-Tibet activists are taking place under the sponsorship of India and the U.S. The ultimate interest of Indo-U.S. is to trouble China by mobilizing separatist movement in China's bordering provinces including Tibet and India is supporting this mission while utilizing Nepalese soil for her nefarious designs.

Now the president and the vice president have taken oath as both hail from the tarai area but there was a stark difference in their manner of swearing in, one divorcing the values, culture and language of Nepal but the other respecting the will of the people and rejecting the Hindi language to be spoon fed by the RAW to reflect Nepal as one of the states of India.

CONTROVERSIAL FIGURES OF RAW

It is for the first time the RAW is experiencing a volcano of hatredness & wrath from the people of Nepal, having exposed so badly. India is repenting on her shenanigans of turning Nepal in to republic. There are thousands of Nepalese which are flooding the streets to protest against Indian hegemony and designs of expansionism. Because of the activism displayed by the controversial figures of Raw, like Rakesh Sood, Alok Joshi & Vivek Johari who all along gave the impression that Nepal is one of the states of India.

There are many reasons of uproar in the country for demonstrating anti-Indian sentiments. People are angered by the Indian Ambassador's brazen interference in the domestic affairs of Nepal. RAW & IB, wanted to carry out geographical dissection of tarai to split from rest of Nepal. In the line of intrigue on behest Indian stooges like Home Minister Situala was compelled to accord right of citizenship to 3.5 million Biharis settled by India, in tarai area. These new settlers became guarantor for the victory of MJF & NSP in tarai districts thus marking presence of Indian hegemony and representation of RAW to act like king-makers in the Constituent Assembly. The true Nepali people have come to understand the chicanery of RAW who is adamant to make Nepalese a minority race in their home-land.

Political leaders of Nepal leave no stone unturned to please their master –India instead of gaining popularity amongst the subjects of Nepal. The act of taking oath in Hindi language by the Vice President would always remain a black scar in the history of Nepal, instead of displaying sense of repentance said afterward, why not Hindi should be the language of Nepal! The political leaders know very well that their loyalties for India bear no fruit and they are being befooled by the RAW, but yet it has become their habit to twig the tail and seek blessings from the one who takes them nothing but a laughing stock.

SHUTTING THE WINDOW

Who is there to respect the values of Nepal, guard its culture, traditions, language and lay his life to secure every inch of motherland! Who will check the corrupt politicians and make them answerable for their evil acts! Who will arrest the grief, sufferings & sorrows of the people! Who will free the wind-mills and the water from the captor like India! Who will let the world know Nepal is the sovereign state and needs no foreign advice!

Who will check the feet of Indians & the boots of RAW that move freely on the land of Nepal like powerful pigs! Who else will cease the sullen wind from India, intruding to pollute the atmosphere, none other than love; beauty and loyalty of people will spread in all the dimensions of Nepal to shut the window!

By Prem Raj
Email: premlaliguras@hotmail.com
 
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I was not aware of that. There was a LOT of speculation that those attempts were done by Musharraf himself to gain more credibility. I would request if you have some links if at all this was published, whether there indeed was some purging done in the ISI.
Sure.

One source is Bennet Jones book, Pakistan: eye of the storm, where he talks of Musharraf initiating a purge, both in the Army leadership (with the more hardline General Mahmood Ahmad and Lieutenant General Mohammed Aziz Khan being cut out of the decision making process) and in lower ranks.

Other references to this ISI 'purge' have occurred in various articles by analysts over the years, as Musharraf attempted to consolidate the ISI and Army behind his policy of supporting the WoT and changing track in Afghanistan and Kashmir.

One reference I dug out:

Pakistan's ISI also had a major purge ordered by President Musharraf in 2002 after 911 when Pakistan changed its policy toward the Taliban. It is not clear how complete this purge was, given the long history of a very large number ISI operatives who were embedded with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda elements for a long time.

Haq's Musings: ISI Rogues, Real or Imagined?
Here are some quote from an article by Ram Sengupta, the tone and interpretation of some events and issues has an 'Indian slant' to them, but the references to the 'purge' match up with others I have read. The article was also written before the Kashmir policy was changed, hence the view that Pakistan would continue apace with its policies in Kashmir, which we now know it did not.

And note how wrong Gen. Hamid Gul was that Musharraf would not change Pakistan's Kashmir policy:
On October 7, hours before American B52s began their bombing runs over Afghanistan, Musharraf effectively neutralised his trusted coup buddies, ISI chief General Mahmood Ahmad and Lieutenant General Mohammed Aziz Khan.

Ahmad chose retirement after a junior, Lieutenant General Ehsan-ul-Haq, corps commander of Peshawar, was named the new ISI director general.

Ahmad, then corps commander, Rawalpindi, had ordered his troops to secure Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's house and Pakistan Television on that fateful day in October 1999. He was in the US during 9/11, and after his return to Pakistan, he led two delegations to Afghanistan, ostensibly to convince the Taliban to hand over Osama bin Laden. Both failed. In fact, during the second mission, ulemas who went with him to meet Mullah Omar publicly lauded the Taliban's policies and abused America.

Aziz, corps commander of Lahore, was promoted to general and named chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee. This is a largely ceremonial post, and denies him access to the crucial meetings of the corp commanders

Another radical, Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General M H Usmani, also chose retirement after Lieutenant General Muhammad Yusuf, then chief of general staff, was made a full general and named vice-chief of the army staff. In October 1999, Usmani defied then prime minister Sharif's orders and ensured that Musharraf's plane was allowed to land safely at Karachi's international airport.

Musharraf also replaced the commanders of five of the nine corps in Pakistan with loyalists.

The newcomers are all known to be moderates, or as moderate as one can get in the Pakistan army. And they are all grateful to Musharraf for the out of turn promotions. Their leader's pledge to share part of the massive American aid flowing into the country with them ensured that they have a personal stake in his survival.

'When Musharraf ordered a major reshuffle in the Pakistan army on October 7, he was fundamentally assuaging growing concern both in the country's national security circles and abroad,' said The News, Pakistan.

The general-president then backed this up by with a crusade against fundamentalists opposed to his rule, in the process earning brownie points from Washington.

Ram Sengupta: Musharraf defies odds

Here is another article, more recent, that refers to the 'purge'. This one is slightly more mixed in how it analyzes Gen. Kiyani though, interpreting events around him with a more skeptical eye and alleging he is not 'apolitical'. It also alleges that perhaps some of those 'purged' have come back into the ISI, but this is the first I have heard of it, and no reason has been given as to why Gen. Kiyani would stir up NATO in this way, if the allegations are true:

He has been part of the inner coterie among the principal staff officers advising the president on Kashmir and the India-Pakistan peace process. He was with President Musharraf during his visit to Agra in July 2002.

As a major general, he was the DG Military Operations (January 2001-September 2003) when India launched Operation Parakram, a mass mobilisation of troops along the border to launch an attack in revenge for the terrorist attack on Parliament House on December 13, 2001, in New Delhi.

The dexterity and expertise with which he handled the Pakistani troop movements -- from the western borders to eastern frontier -- to counter the Indian mobilisation on the borders brought him closer to Musharraf.

It was a tough call to make, especially after Musharraf had committed his support to the US-led global war on terrorism, which meant assistance to the US operations in Afghanistan against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Kiyani was also instrumental in organising a 10-day war game exercise called Sabaat Kadam at National Defence College to assess Indian deployment, disposition, capabilities and intentions.

In September 2003, he was promoted as Lt General and appointed to head the most critical command, the Rawalpindi Corps (X).

As commander X Corps he made a breakthrough in penetrating terrorist cells, which had planned the assassination attempts on President Musharraf.

In his autobiography, Musharraf complemented Kiyani by pointing out that problems caused by inter-agency rivalries 'disappeared when I appointed Kiyani in charge of investigations.'

Kiyani's investigations resulted in a secret military tribunal convicting 11 men of planning and carrying out the attack.

Some of these men were from the Pakistan Air Force and at least one of them was a Special Service Group commando who had been part of Musharraf's security detail.


Kiyani was conferred the Hilal-i-Imtiaz award by President Musharraf for the investigations.

As DG ISI (October 2004-October 2007), Kiyani played an important role in unravelling the London terrorist plot in 2006.

It was the ISI tipoff that led the British and the US police to foil the plot. Kiyani, it is reported, worked in tandem with Western intelligence agencies to do the follow-up investigations.

As the spy chief, he was also deeply involved in keeping a tab on the growing presence of Al Qaeda and the Taliban elements in the tribal areas and the North West Frontier Province.

Kiyani is credited with the arrest of a top Al Qaeda operative Abu Faraj al-Libbi and hunting down Amjad Farooqui, one of the key suspects in the assassination attempts on President Musharraf
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Print Article - General Kiyani's appointment has US nod

Some of the criticisms in the article, of Gen. Kiyani, can occupy an entire thread of their own, but I think the above suitably illustrates the efforts taken by Musharraf and other senior Army leaders to ensure that the ISI and Army in general remained disciplined and followed policies put in place after the Afghan invasion.

I agree, things under Musharraf were much better.
But LeT has its base in Pakistan, and when it was banned under US pressure, they merely changed their name to dawaa ul something. India has been asking Pakistan for a long time now to ban them as well, but Pakistan refuses to do so. This implies that Pakistan is only serious against terrorism when US tell it to. That maybe it wants to still keep its Kashmir terrorism card while being against Al-Qaeda or Taliban. It doesnt want to dismantly the Kashmir terrorist infrastructure.
I do not think that it is politically feasible for any power center in Pakistan to act militarily against the Kashmir cause, least of all a perceived "US lackey" following "US dictation in the WoT".

Musharaf I believe did a lot to remove the more 'proactive support' of the military for the Kashmir groups, but it would be political suicide to try and act against them as is being done in FATA against the TTP (even these operations are extremely unpopular). The actions in FATA do indirectly affect the Kashmir situation, in that some of the Taliban groups also work and train with some Kashmiri groups, so in a sense there is military action being taken.

However, the only way it would be politically feasible for any Pakistani government to act against such groups with force and openly is if a government could show progress in resolving Kashmir in some way, and there has been little to no progress on that count, despite how far Musharraf went with his 'out of the box' proposals, including dropping the demand for UN resolutions.

The problems started cropping after the civlian government came on board. Either the ISI or someone else in the ranks thinks that the civilian government does not have the control Musharraf did, or something else. But the problem remains that as soon as the civilian government took power, things started going down. I am particularly inclined to think that the ISI does not consider itself to be below the elected government, while under Musharraf it did as it was told. I believe the problem is that the civilian government does not have the control or credibility infront of the Army or the ISI.

You could try and analyze this in many ways - given the respite in military operations, as the new government took charge and initiated peace deals, the space created may have allowed for Kashmiri militants to start moving back to Kashmir.

I think it is important to realize that in some cases recently the firing along the LoC has in fact been militants firing at Indian positions, which has triggered firing by the Indian and Pakistani sides. A couple of months ago 3 Pakistani soldiers were martyred by unknown individuals who attacked them from woods the soldiers were patrolling through.

So while it may seem that the civilian governments coming to power is what caused this, it isn't necessarily also true that the military or some in the military have just gone nuts on Kashmir since then. If you look at the polices pursued by the civilian government, especially of peace deals and having to undo some of the steps taken by Musharraf for political expediency (since they campaigned and won on an anti-Musharraf platform), those policies have strong implications for the security situation in the region, and understanding their repercussions explains why things are going awry currently.

Even in Afghanistan, the current increase in attacks in some parts is being linked specifically to the 'peace deals', a policy chosen by the new civilian government, not the military. But at the same time those peace deals had to be tried again, since Pakistanis did not believe Musharraf tried dialog sincerely.

Therefore I believe it is more useful analyzing the impact of polices adopted by the new government, instead of clutching at conspiracy theories that the ISI is now off its 'Musharraf leash' and working to destabilize the region as an institution.
 
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Pakistan’ returns to the Valley

Rashid Ahmad , Hindustan Times
Email Author
Srinagar, August 17, 2008

Over 100,000 people. One show of outrage. No violence. But there was something that hadn’t been there for a long time: pro-Pakistan slogans.

The protestors in Pampore, with green flags in their hands, were first swirling in circles, starting a slow-pitch slogan at the beat of their hand-claps. Then the pitch gradually rose with the hand-clapping becoming quicker.

The flags resembled the Pakistani national flag. Any confusion ended when a young man climbed the telecom tower hoisting a flag shouting pro-Pakistan slogans.

Moments later, separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani, from the podium amplified those utterings: “Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan” The response was a roar. This was followed by another youth clambering up the tower. This time there was no doubt: it was the Pakistani flag. Thundering applause followed.

“More than love for Pakistan, it is anger against India that makes people raise pro-Pakistan slogans,” explains Tahir Mohiuddin, editor of the Urdu weekly Chattan. “Pro-Pakistani slogans are mostly raised near CRPF and army bunkers and positions. That reveals the state of mind of the slogan shouters”.

Speaking at the mammoth Pampore rally, Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq announced that “the march across the LOC” would be undertaken against all odds. “We are holding a joint meeting [of both factions of the Hurriyat] on Sunday where future strategy would be discussed. We will then fix the date for the Muzaffarabad march too,” he added.

The rally ended peacefully. Was Pampore the lull before the storm?

‘Pakistan’ returns to the Valley- Hindustan Times
 
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'No highway blockade, it's only propaganda'
17 Aug 2008, 0243 hrs IST,TNN


NEW DELHI: With separatists raising the "economic blockade" of Kashmir as a rallying point, the Centre on Saturday categorically stated that the highway from Jammu was absolutely free of obstructions and that the disturbances in the Valley were actually hurdles to free movement of goods and traffic.

The Centre said that the Valley protestors were being "influenced by misleading propaganda". The government said that it was the calls for bandhs and strikes in the Valley that were affecting traffic.

"The situation is being exploited to raise demands and slogans for opening the cross-LoC route for trade and movement of goods," it said.

Besides, while referring to its plan to have cross-LoC trade with Pakistan, the government said: "India is ready to commence cross-LoC trade, but awaits Pakistani willingness to implement the agreement reached in April 2005."

Contrary to the impression created by separatists, the hurdles to trade were primarily raised by Pakistan.

The Centre's response came in the wake of the need to counter the impression that an economic blockade was strangling the Valley and was part of a scheme devised by those in Jammu protesting against the withdrawal of land alloted to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board.

Separatists have said that Jammu protests on the Srinagar-Jammu highway have blocked supplies to the Valley.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration also countered the claim of separatists by releasing fresh data showing the smooth flow of goods and traffic on the highway. The state said 475 "load" carriers carrying essential commodities and fruits from the Valley crossed the Jawahar Tunnel during the last 24 hours.

"A total of 297 load carriers with essential commodities reached Srinagar on Saturday," said the state government. These included 68 trucks loaded with rice, three trucks with fresh fruit, two trucks with flour, 11 carrying sheep and six carrying chicken.
The Centre, on the other hand while clarifying the position on initial disruptions which were there for three-four days, said: "Not only have these disruptions been cleared, but it has also been categorically stated that free movement along the national highway will be ensured."

Government, while reiterating India's commitment to begin trade across the LoC at the earliest, said a team of senior officers also visited Jammu and Kashmir last month to study the status and infrastructure requirements on both the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakot routes. Further action to put in place the required infrastructure was already underway.

Seeking to dispel a view that commencement of cross-LoC trade is getting delayed due to India, the Union home ministry in its statement issued here on Saturday said an effort was being made by some elements to try and project that there have been such delays on part of the Indian government.

"The facts are otherwise, and government has been assiduously pursuing the matter as would be seen from the position brought out earlier and has, in fact, suggested further cross-LoC Confidence Building Measures which will continue to be pursued with Pakistan," it said.

'No highway blockade, it's only propaganda'-India-The Times of India
 
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Soft state gets softer


Some time in the mid-60s, when I was a pre-teen school going boy, Minoo Masani wrote a front page article in The Statesman on Independence Day. It was titled "Darkest hour before dawn". I don't remember the words, but cannot forget its gloomy prognosis for India only 20 years after Independence. It is often said that India was granted freedom at an astrologically inopportune time, something that Rajendra Prasad pointed out but the agnostic Jawaharlal Nehru disdainfully brushed aside. Although I wonder how in the absence of a janampatri of India, astrologers could reach such a conclusion, there may actually be something to this widely held belief. The month of August rarely brings good tidings for the country.

The anniversary of Independence Day that has just gone by was overshadowed by fire-spewing separatist chants in the Kashmir Valley that threatened to return the State to the gory conditions of the early 1990s. New Delhi's inability (or ineptitude) to control the situation has led to a frightful hiatus between the Valley and the rest of Jammu and Kashmir. Egged on by a mindless, secular-fundamentalist media, India-baiters are having a field day, waving Pakistani flags on the streets of Srinagar, marching with portraits of MA Jinnah and threatening to cross the Line of Control into Muzaffarabad, ostensibly to sell fruits to the shackled inhabitants of Azad Kashmir.

Even as this naked exhibition of extra-territorial loyalty assumes increasingly macabre dimensions, all that "secular" parties in the Valley and outside can do is to blame the BJP and its associates for creating the impasse. While, predictably, the Congress Party's central leadership froths at the mouth blaming BJP for stoking Hindu passions in Jammu, even the recently deposed Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, otherwise a mature and experienced politician, has been hurling abuse at that organisation for no explicit reason. On the other hand, the State's former Deputy Chief Minister, Congressman Mangat Ram Sharma, reportedly turned hysterical during the All-Party Meeting in Jammu as he narrated the woes of his community. Now that the Congress, which swept the Jammu region in the 2002 Assembly polls, finds its duplicity has turned the people against it in both the geo-political divisions of the State, it is trying desperately to hunt with the hounds and run with the hare.

Why are the separatists in the Valley succeeding in their diabolical stratagem while the political establishment of the country is on the defensive? The answer lies in the fact that land for the Amarnath Shrine Board was never the real problem as far as the separatists are concerned. They were searching for an issue that could be twisted around to regain the upper hand they had lost during the last few years. I believe alarm bells rang in the top echelons of the Hurriyat and their Pakistani mentors particularly after the huge success of Junoon's concert on Dal Lake some months go. Despite the firm disapproval of fundamentalists, the Pakistani band's sufiana-pop and message of peace reverberated across the Valley with tens of thousands cheering the group's open-air performance. Junoon's phenomenal success suggested that the vice-like grip of the separatists was loosening even in their core area, namely Srinagar city.

In all fairness, it must be said that Ghulam Nabi Azad ran a fine administration, reaching out to people of both regions while steadfastly adhering to a nationalist platform. Although his own record in office was largely creditable, Azad's success evidently perturbed his coalition partner Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and his ambitious daughter Mehbooba, who have always had a soft corner for separatist groups. The PDP's rapid somersault on the Amarnath land transfer clearly establishes that the party sought to get in sync with separatists as soon as it smelt a political opportunity. Consequently, both the Congress and Farooq Abdullah's NC have been upstaged notwithstanding Omer Abdullah's competitively communal utterances.

The events of the last few weeks transparently reveal that the writ of the Government has ceased to run in the Valley. While the Army was deployed in massive strength to ensure that traffic movement on the State's lifeline National Highway 1A remained unaffected, that did not deter Kashmiri politicians from crying wolf by conjuring up the myth of its blockade by Hindu mobs. Rampaging protestors in the Valley, however, were treated with kid gloves. It was not till the scheming masterminds of secessionism operating out of Srinagar announced their plan to cross the LoC at the head of truckloads of fruit that the Government, embarrassed by its international implications, briefly cracked down.

The wily separatists know that a weak-kneed Government, a thoroughly incompetent Home Minister, the ruling alliance's minority-appeasing agenda, and the "secular" media's vocal sympathy for merchants of terror, will ensure that the local administration bends backwards to mollycoddle them -- possibly even direct security forces to shower pro-Pakistani mobs with rose petals rather than resort to coercive crowd control methods. Secure in this belief, they can keep upping the ante in the Valley so that jihadi infiltrators from across the LoC find fertile ground conducive to getting logistic support from the local populace. Few people in the rest of India acknowledge that Kashmiri agitators have no concrete grievance. Their economic conditions are far superior to that of the average Indian, thanks to 60 years of financial pampering by the Centre at the expense of the rest of the country.

Therefore, at the risk of sounding rabid, I wonder if would not have been a good idea to let the marchers cross the LoC last week and firmly seal the crossing thereafter. This may appear insensitive, but how can any true Indian feel sensitised towards a bunch of disloyal people who have no respect for other's sentiments, refuse to allow 100 acres of barren land to be used for temporary structures for an annual pilgrimage, chant 'Azadi' and 'Hindustan Murdabad' at the slightest provocation and work full-time to facilitate depredations of terrorists?

This is not a Hindu-Muslim issue and it is remarkable that no Muslim in the rest of India has ever demonstrated an iota of sympathy for Kashmiri separatists. The issue is starkly one of secessionism versus national integration. In this confrontation, India's integrity must prevail, whatever the cost. If that means Assembly elections have to be postponed indefinitely, so be it. Pluralist democracy is not an instrument for combating secessionism; in fact, democracy has been grossly abused both by separatists and spineless "mainstream" politicians of the Valley. Sadly, the Indian establishment will neither recognise the truth nor act in a manner befitting a country that aspires to be a world power. More tragically, India is a soft state that gets softer with each passing year. On Independence Day we are subjected to routine incantations that include paying obeisance to Jawaharlal Nehru and his "Tryst with destiny" speech. I wonder whether the architect of India's misfortune ever privately regretted the pathetic destiny he personally shaped for this country.

The Pioneer > Columnists
 
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Why aren't the Indian Muslims protesting?? Why only Kashmiris?? This is something worth looking into.. Why only Pakistani and Kashmiri Muslims crying hoarse, whereas most of the Islamic world is not bothered!!
 
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Why aren't the Indian Muslims protesting?? Why only Kashmiris?? This is something worth looking into.. Why only Pakistani and Kashmiri Muslims crying hoarse, whereas most of the Islamic world is not bothered!!

Why should Indian muslims protest? Its absurd.

Kashmir is one of the oldest front lines on the battle between Radical Islam and modernity. It will be a huge mistake to leave it to its own devices.
 
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NEW DELHI, Aug 16: More than 100,000 mourners gathered on Saturday in Kashmir’s district of Pampur to pay their respects to the slain resistance leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz and demanded a UN probe into his killing by Indian troops.

“We had the biggest gathering in recent memory to pay respects to the martyred leader. But we are dismayed by the silence of the international community to the extreme repression going on in Kashmir,” Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said from Srinagar.

Protesters travelled to Pampur, the native town of Mr Aziz who, along with 21 others, was killed by police this week during violent protests.

Police kept their distance during Saturday’s march, as demonstrators hoisted black protest and green flags. They chanted slogans demanding Kashmir’s independence from India.

At least 500 people have been wounded in clashes this week between Muslim separatists and Indian security forces.

The unrest was triggered by the government’s June decision to donate land to a Hindu shrine. Muslims staged mass protests, forcing the government to revoke the transfer, which angered Hindus who sparked fresh protests this week with a roadblock.

An impromptu coordination committee formed to lead the protests against the state’s complicity in the shootings includes three long-time rivals. After a long time Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Yasin Malik spoke at Saturday’s gathering together with the Mirwaiz.

They have decided to lead a march to the UN office in Srinagar to submit a petition that the gathering passed.
 
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