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Well there were more news from Indian sources which were scoffed at being of un reputed and not reliable. Including you.
Kashmir The Freedom of Struggle
- Thread starter A.Rahman
- Start date
Well there were more news from Indian sources which were scoffed at being of un reputed and not reliable. Including you.
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OP/ED
Jammu and Kashmir: the death of a cause
Praveen Swami
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has candidly acknowledged that the Islamist rebellion of 1989 has failed. The APHC chairman should now join in an inclusive, multi-party dialogue to marginalise terrorism.
MIRWAIZ MOHAMMAD Farooq's body lies in the Bihisht-e-Shauda-e-Kashmir in Srinagar, a sprawling graveyard built to honour those who have given their lives during the Islamist campaign against Indian rule that began in 1989. His assassin, the Hizbul-Mujahideen-linked terrorist Abdullah Bangroo, is buried just a few metres away. Both the murderer and his victim, to the faithful, are martyrs: martyrs, moreover, for the same cause.
If the presence of Bangroo's grave in the Bihisht-e-Shauda ââ¬â Persian for martyr's paradise ââ¬â gives offence to Mohammad Farooq's son, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference chairperson Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, he has never shown it in public. Mirwaiz Farooq's authority owes not a little to his status as a spokesperson for the cause of his father's jihadist opponents, an ugly irony that has often drawn taunts from his opponents.
Now, however, the Srinagar cleric has finally spoken out. Addressing a January 20 dinner meeting hosted by Pakistan-administered Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmad Khan, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq finally delivered the unequivocal rejection of violence that peace advocates have long called for ââ¬â and, unnoticed by most commentators, a candid admission that the Islamist rebellion of 1989 had failed.
"We have already seen the results of our fight on the political, diplomatic and military fronts," the cleric said, "which have not achieved anything other than creating more graveyards." While he understood the sentiments of those engaged in the armed struggle, the Mirwaiz said, "as far as the APHC is concerned, we are not prepared to sacrifice any more of our loved ones."
Mirwaiz Farooq's remarks came hours after he met Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, as part of a dialogue process that is dramatically transfiguring Jammu and Kashmir's political landscape. General Musharraf had turned to the APHC for the legitimisation of a four-point plan his opponents have bitterly criticised ââ¬â a plan that in essence involves accepting existing borders, in return for wide-ranging autonomy for both parts of Jammu and Kashmir, free transnational movement, and phased demilitarisation.
At first glance, Mirwaiz Farooq's remarks seem startling. Only in May, after all, the APHC chairman had called for the "political, diplomatic and military fronts" of the "Kashmiri resistance" to work "in unison" against Indian "occupation." In reality, however, the APHC chairman's call for an end to the jihad in Jammu and Kashmir merely reflects the centre-ground among secessionists. As early as 1997, Jammu and Kashmir Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Mohammad Bhat said the armed struggle had "served its purpose" ââ¬â no small assertion coming from one of the Hizbul-Mujahideen's mentors.
Such sentiments became increasingly common. In April 1999, the APHC's Abdul Gani Butt called for a dialogue between secessionists and political groups such as the National Conference. The outcome of this dialogue, he suggested, would constitute the will of the people of the State. Remarkably similar to the round-table dialogue instituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005, Mr. Butt's ideas constituted a sharp departure from the APHC's longstanding demand for a three-way dialogue involving India, Pakistan, and itself.
While the Kargil war interrupted efforts to put such a dialogue in place, APHC centrists were able to facilitate the unilateral ceasefire declared by dissident Hizbul-Mujahideen commander Abdul Majid Dar in 2000. Although Islamist groups, with the support of Pakistan, succeeded in sabotaging the ceasefire, a succession of developments worked to strengthen the APHC centrists. Pakistan's longstanding sponsorship of terrorism became increasingly untenable in a world transfigured by the tragic events of September 11, 2000. The near-war provoked by the Jaish-e-Mohammad strike on India's Parliament, moreover, brought home to Islamabad the potentially catastrophic costs of its proxy war strategy.
In mid-April 2002, Mirwaiz Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone ââ¬â a one-time supporter of far-right jihadi groups who was eventually assassinated by a Lashkar-e-Taiba hit-squad in May 2002 ââ¬â travelled to Sharjah for discussions with the powerful Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir leader Sardar Abdul Qayoom Khan and Pakistan's then-Inter-Services Intelligence chief, Lieutenant-General Ehsan-ul-Haq.
"If the [Indian] government is not ready to allow self-determination," Lone said soon after, "the alternative is that they should be ready to settle the dispute through a meaningful dialogue involving all parties concerned."
Facing the backlash
Ever since 2004, when the APHC leadership first held formal discussions with the Government of India, that dialogue process has been in motion ââ¬â but at snail-like speed. Part of the problem is that the Mirwaiz's appetite for personal risk is low ââ¬â the outcome of the sustained terrorist threat to his family, and the fact that there is, so far, no male heir to his clerical throne. As important, the APHC, with its limited on-ground political influence, fears the outcome of dialogue in which it would be just one of several voices from Jammu and Kashmir rather than the sole spokesman for its people.
After meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005, APHC leaders had promised to come back with detailed proposals for discussion through an institutional mechanism. The promise wasn't kept, for fear of upsetting jihadi groups hostile to the APHC's engagement with New Delhi. Again, in March 2006, APHC leaders promised mediators they would attend Prime Minister Singh's second round table conference on Jammu and Kashmir, but backed off after threats from the Hizbul-Mujahideen.
Now, the APHC hopes, President Musharraf's support will secure them from personal attack and thus facilitate a serious dialogue with New Delhi. Just how well-founded this belief will prove, though, isn't clear. On January 15, for example, terrorists lobbed grenades at Mirwaiz Farooq's home in suburban Srinagar. Jihadi front-organisations like the Save Kashmir Movement have already held out express death threats to him. A United Jihad Council spokesperson warned the Mirwaiz to "not teach the lesson of cowardice and hopelessness to the caravan of freedom seekers."
Underpinning this violence are jihadi fears that the APHC will run away with the prizes of two decades of violence. Speaking to journalists on January 21, the hardline Islamist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani observed: "leaders who are today talking of ending militancy owe their popularity to these militants only."
Mr. Geelani's rejection of talks might be unprincipled ââ¬â as late as August 19, 1989, after many of his Jamaat-e-Islami colleagues had joined the Hizbul-Mujahideen, he participated in all-party called by Farooq Abdullah as Chief Minister and advocated negotiations with armed groups ââ¬â but the fact is his Tehreek-e-Hurriyat has the support of terrorist groups, and therefore the power to sabotage the dialogue process. On January 17, as the APHC delegation prepared to leave for Pakistan, a strike called by the Tehreek succeeded in shutting down much of the Kashmir valley. Backed by the Hizbul-Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba, the strike even paralysed life in Mirwaiz Farooq's downtown Srinagar heartland, a fact of no small consequence.
APHC centrists hope Pakistani pressure will marginalise their jihadi opponents. Under intense pressure from the United States, and aware of the risks of a confrontation with India when it is under an existence-threatening siege from within, Pakistan has understood it cannot sustain the jihad in Jammu and Kashmir at levels that pose a serious threat to India. On the ground, this has meant organisations such as the Hizbul-Mujahideen are strapped for cash, short of weapons, and low on morale.
Most important, General Musharraf has found his relationship with Pakistani Islamists growing increasingly adversarial. Heading into elections scheduled for later this year, Qazi Husain Ahmad's Hizbul-Mujahideen-linked Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, and the Lashkar-backed Markaz Dawah wal'Irshad have charged General Musharraf with betraying both Pakistan's national interests and Islam. As such, the General shares the APHC's interests in stripping Islamist terror groups of military muscle.
Still, the fact is the dialogue process' opponents command clout. If the jihad in Jammu and Kashmir is, in fact, to be brought to an end, Mirwaiz Farooq will have to join in a genuinely inclusive dialogue ââ¬â the sole instrument through which those who advocate violence can be marginalised.
Mirwaiz Farooq has demonstrated he understands this fact by supporting multi-party working groups set up in Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir to evolve a consensus on the State's future. APHC leaders are hoping to meet Prime Minister Singh to take forward the dialogue. Should they do so, the Prime Minister could suggest the Mirwaiz adopt the same standard on the Indian side of the LoC, and lead the APHC into the round-table dialogue it rejected last year.
Eventually, the APHC would become just one of several competitive political actors in Jammu and Kashmir.
Why should the APHC walk into such an uncertain future? Several reasons could be conceived of ââ¬â but the most compelling is that there is no option. APHC reluctance to join competitive politics has cost lives ââ¬â but also helped mainstream political parties such as the People's Democratic Party to encroach on much of its political space. If Mirwaiz Farooq is indeed serious that he wants no more martyrs without a cause, the time has come for him to sacrifice his organisation's insistence on being the single author of Jammu and Kashmir's destiny.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/01/31/stories/2007013103831000.htm
Jammu and Kashmir: the death of a cause
Praveen Swami
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has candidly acknowledged that the Islamist rebellion of 1989 has failed. The APHC chairman should now join in an inclusive, multi-party dialogue to marginalise terrorism.
MIRWAIZ MOHAMMAD Farooq's body lies in the Bihisht-e-Shauda-e-Kashmir in Srinagar, a sprawling graveyard built to honour those who have given their lives during the Islamist campaign against Indian rule that began in 1989. His assassin, the Hizbul-Mujahideen-linked terrorist Abdullah Bangroo, is buried just a few metres away. Both the murderer and his victim, to the faithful, are martyrs: martyrs, moreover, for the same cause.
If the presence of Bangroo's grave in the Bihisht-e-Shauda ââ¬â Persian for martyr's paradise ââ¬â gives offence to Mohammad Farooq's son, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference chairperson Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, he has never shown it in public. Mirwaiz Farooq's authority owes not a little to his status as a spokesperson for the cause of his father's jihadist opponents, an ugly irony that has often drawn taunts from his opponents.
Now, however, the Srinagar cleric has finally spoken out. Addressing a January 20 dinner meeting hosted by Pakistan-administered Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmad Khan, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq finally delivered the unequivocal rejection of violence that peace advocates have long called for ââ¬â and, unnoticed by most commentators, a candid admission that the Islamist rebellion of 1989 had failed.
"We have already seen the results of our fight on the political, diplomatic and military fronts," the cleric said, "which have not achieved anything other than creating more graveyards." While he understood the sentiments of those engaged in the armed struggle, the Mirwaiz said, "as far as the APHC is concerned, we are not prepared to sacrifice any more of our loved ones."
Mirwaiz Farooq's remarks came hours after he met Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, as part of a dialogue process that is dramatically transfiguring Jammu and Kashmir's political landscape. General Musharraf had turned to the APHC for the legitimisation of a four-point plan his opponents have bitterly criticised ââ¬â a plan that in essence involves accepting existing borders, in return for wide-ranging autonomy for both parts of Jammu and Kashmir, free transnational movement, and phased demilitarisation.
At first glance, Mirwaiz Farooq's remarks seem startling. Only in May, after all, the APHC chairman had called for the "political, diplomatic and military fronts" of the "Kashmiri resistance" to work "in unison" against Indian "occupation." In reality, however, the APHC chairman's call for an end to the jihad in Jammu and Kashmir merely reflects the centre-ground among secessionists. As early as 1997, Jammu and Kashmir Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Mohammad Bhat said the armed struggle had "served its purpose" ââ¬â no small assertion coming from one of the Hizbul-Mujahideen's mentors.
Such sentiments became increasingly common. In April 1999, the APHC's Abdul Gani Butt called for a dialogue between secessionists and political groups such as the National Conference. The outcome of this dialogue, he suggested, would constitute the will of the people of the State. Remarkably similar to the round-table dialogue instituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005, Mr. Butt's ideas constituted a sharp departure from the APHC's longstanding demand for a three-way dialogue involving India, Pakistan, and itself.
While the Kargil war interrupted efforts to put such a dialogue in place, APHC centrists were able to facilitate the unilateral ceasefire declared by dissident Hizbul-Mujahideen commander Abdul Majid Dar in 2000. Although Islamist groups, with the support of Pakistan, succeeded in sabotaging the ceasefire, a succession of developments worked to strengthen the APHC centrists. Pakistan's longstanding sponsorship of terrorism became increasingly untenable in a world transfigured by the tragic events of September 11, 2000. The near-war provoked by the Jaish-e-Mohammad strike on India's Parliament, moreover, brought home to Islamabad the potentially catastrophic costs of its proxy war strategy.
In mid-April 2002, Mirwaiz Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone ââ¬â a one-time supporter of far-right jihadi groups who was eventually assassinated by a Lashkar-e-Taiba hit-squad in May 2002 ââ¬â travelled to Sharjah for discussions with the powerful Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir leader Sardar Abdul Qayoom Khan and Pakistan's then-Inter-Services Intelligence chief, Lieutenant-General Ehsan-ul-Haq.
"If the [Indian] government is not ready to allow self-determination," Lone said soon after, "the alternative is that they should be ready to settle the dispute through a meaningful dialogue involving all parties concerned."
Facing the backlash
Ever since 2004, when the APHC leadership first held formal discussions with the Government of India, that dialogue process has been in motion ââ¬â but at snail-like speed. Part of the problem is that the Mirwaiz's appetite for personal risk is low ââ¬â the outcome of the sustained terrorist threat to his family, and the fact that there is, so far, no male heir to his clerical throne. As important, the APHC, with its limited on-ground political influence, fears the outcome of dialogue in which it would be just one of several voices from Jammu and Kashmir rather than the sole spokesman for its people.
After meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005, APHC leaders had promised to come back with detailed proposals for discussion through an institutional mechanism. The promise wasn't kept, for fear of upsetting jihadi groups hostile to the APHC's engagement with New Delhi. Again, in March 2006, APHC leaders promised mediators they would attend Prime Minister Singh's second round table conference on Jammu and Kashmir, but backed off after threats from the Hizbul-Mujahideen.
Now, the APHC hopes, President Musharraf's support will secure them from personal attack and thus facilitate a serious dialogue with New Delhi. Just how well-founded this belief will prove, though, isn't clear. On January 15, for example, terrorists lobbed grenades at Mirwaiz Farooq's home in suburban Srinagar. Jihadi front-organisations like the Save Kashmir Movement have already held out express death threats to him. A United Jihad Council spokesperson warned the Mirwaiz to "not teach the lesson of cowardice and hopelessness to the caravan of freedom seekers."
Underpinning this violence are jihadi fears that the APHC will run away with the prizes of two decades of violence. Speaking to journalists on January 21, the hardline Islamist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani observed: "leaders who are today talking of ending militancy owe their popularity to these militants only."
Mr. Geelani's rejection of talks might be unprincipled ââ¬â as late as August 19, 1989, after many of his Jamaat-e-Islami colleagues had joined the Hizbul-Mujahideen, he participated in all-party called by Farooq Abdullah as Chief Minister and advocated negotiations with armed groups ââ¬â but the fact is his Tehreek-e-Hurriyat has the support of terrorist groups, and therefore the power to sabotage the dialogue process. On January 17, as the APHC delegation prepared to leave for Pakistan, a strike called by the Tehreek succeeded in shutting down much of the Kashmir valley. Backed by the Hizbul-Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba, the strike even paralysed life in Mirwaiz Farooq's downtown Srinagar heartland, a fact of no small consequence.
APHC centrists hope Pakistani pressure will marginalise their jihadi opponents. Under intense pressure from the United States, and aware of the risks of a confrontation with India when it is under an existence-threatening siege from within, Pakistan has understood it cannot sustain the jihad in Jammu and Kashmir at levels that pose a serious threat to India. On the ground, this has meant organisations such as the Hizbul-Mujahideen are strapped for cash, short of weapons, and low on morale.
Most important, General Musharraf has found his relationship with Pakistani Islamists growing increasingly adversarial. Heading into elections scheduled for later this year, Qazi Husain Ahmad's Hizbul-Mujahideen-linked Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, and the Lashkar-backed Markaz Dawah wal'Irshad have charged General Musharraf with betraying both Pakistan's national interests and Islam. As such, the General shares the APHC's interests in stripping Islamist terror groups of military muscle.
Still, the fact is the dialogue process' opponents command clout. If the jihad in Jammu and Kashmir is, in fact, to be brought to an end, Mirwaiz Farooq will have to join in a genuinely inclusive dialogue ââ¬â the sole instrument through which those who advocate violence can be marginalised.
Mirwaiz Farooq has demonstrated he understands this fact by supporting multi-party working groups set up in Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir to evolve a consensus on the State's future. APHC leaders are hoping to meet Prime Minister Singh to take forward the dialogue. Should they do so, the Prime Minister could suggest the Mirwaiz adopt the same standard on the Indian side of the LoC, and lead the APHC into the round-table dialogue it rejected last year.
Eventually, the APHC would become just one of several competitive political actors in Jammu and Kashmir.
Why should the APHC walk into such an uncertain future? Several reasons could be conceived of ââ¬â but the most compelling is that there is no option. APHC reluctance to join competitive politics has cost lives ââ¬â but also helped mainstream political parties such as the People's Democratic Party to encroach on much of its political space. If Mirwaiz Farooq is indeed serious that he wants no more martyrs without a cause, the time has come for him to sacrifice his organisation's insistence on being the single author of Jammu and Kashmir's destiny.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/01/31/stories/2007013103831000.htm
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Pakistan to observe Kashmir solidarity day today
ISLAMABAD: It is a day of no particular significance for Jammu and Kashmir but Pakistan will observe Monday, February 5, as Kashmir Solidarity Day, as it has done every year since 1990, shortly after the armed uprising in the State began.
Preparations have been under way since several days. The Government has declared the day a public holiday ââ¬â government offices, banks, schools and colleges will remain closed.
Banners are already up on many important avenues, roads and intersections of the capital, proclaiming Pakistan's solidarity with the Kashmiris.
On Monday, across the country, and in Azad Kashmir, politicians will lead prayers and a five-minute silence in memory of those killed in fighting in Kashmir.
Tuesday, 6 February 2007
Kashmir shut down over killings
Kashmiris want action taken against the security forces
A general strike in protest at alleged extra-judicial killings of civilians by security forces has disrupted life across Indian-administered Kashmir.
Most businesses closed, schools shut and traffic was thin on the roads.
Separatists who called the strike accuse the police and security forces of killing people in faked gun battles.
Four bodies have been exhumed since last Thursday as part of a probe into claims that clashes with militants were used to cover extra-judicial killings.
Tear gas
The BBC's Bashir Ahmed in the summer capital, Srinagar, says most shops and businesses there and in other major towns in the region were closed in response to the one-day strike called by the separatist Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).
Two exhumed bodies have recently been seized by crowds.
There was little traffic on the roads and few workers turned up at government offices, banks and other commercial establishments.
Protests were held in various parts of the Kashmir valley. In Srinagar, police used tear gas and batons to disperse demonstrators.
JKLF leader Mohammad Yaseen Malik had led protesters who were demanding action against members of the security forces over the so-called "fake encounters".
"The peace process and killing of innocent Kashmiris cannot go together," he told the rally.
Mr Malik has begun a hunger strike to press his movement's demands.
There have been angry scenes in recent days as the police have exhumed four bodies as part of their investigation into alleged fake encounters.
Last Friday, angry protesters seized the exhumed body of a civilian who they allege was shot by the security forces. Another body was seized by crowds in a similar incident on Thursday.
Officers arrested
Deputy Inspector General of Police, Farooq Ahmed Bhat, said an investigating team was looking into four cases of alleged staged encounters in which civilians were killed.
Over the weekend, four policemen, including two senior officers, were arrested for allegedly killing civilians and trying to pass them off as militants.
On Monday, both the police and the army began separate inquiries into the allegations of extra-judicial killings.
In a report released last September, the US-based Human Rights Watch said extra-judicial executions by Indian security forces were common.
On Monday, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said there had been a dramatic improvement in security in Indian-administered Kashmir since he came to office in November 2005.
A decline in militancy-related violence had been accompanied by a marked decrease in human rights violations, including deaths in custody and disappearances, he told the state assembly.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6334209.stm
Kashmir shut down over killings
Kashmiris want action taken against the security forces
A general strike in protest at alleged extra-judicial killings of civilians by security forces has disrupted life across Indian-administered Kashmir.
Most businesses closed, schools shut and traffic was thin on the roads.
Separatists who called the strike accuse the police and security forces of killing people in faked gun battles.
Four bodies have been exhumed since last Thursday as part of a probe into claims that clashes with militants were used to cover extra-judicial killings.
Tear gas
The BBC's Bashir Ahmed in the summer capital, Srinagar, says most shops and businesses there and in other major towns in the region were closed in response to the one-day strike called by the separatist Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).
Two exhumed bodies have recently been seized by crowds.
There was little traffic on the roads and few workers turned up at government offices, banks and other commercial establishments.
Protests were held in various parts of the Kashmir valley. In Srinagar, police used tear gas and batons to disperse demonstrators.
JKLF leader Mohammad Yaseen Malik had led protesters who were demanding action against members of the security forces over the so-called "fake encounters".
"The peace process and killing of innocent Kashmiris cannot go together," he told the rally.
Mr Malik has begun a hunger strike to press his movement's demands.
There have been angry scenes in recent days as the police have exhumed four bodies as part of their investigation into alleged fake encounters.
Last Friday, angry protesters seized the exhumed body of a civilian who they allege was shot by the security forces. Another body was seized by crowds in a similar incident on Thursday.
Officers arrested
Deputy Inspector General of Police, Farooq Ahmed Bhat, said an investigating team was looking into four cases of alleged staged encounters in which civilians were killed.
Over the weekend, four policemen, including two senior officers, were arrested for allegedly killing civilians and trying to pass them off as militants.
On Monday, both the police and the army began separate inquiries into the allegations of extra-judicial killings.
In a report released last September, the US-based Human Rights Watch said extra-judicial executions by Indian security forces were common.
On Monday, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said there had been a dramatic improvement in security in Indian-administered Kashmir since he came to office in November 2005.
A decline in militancy-related violence had been accompanied by a marked decrease in human rights violations, including deaths in custody and disappearances, he told the state assembly.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6334209.stm
dabong1
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Police in Indian-administered Kashmir have opened a formal investigation of murder against a group of soldiers.
Local residents accuse the soldiers of killing a 37-year-old civilian shortly after three soldiers had been killed by presumed militants.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Tral, about 40km (24 miles) from the summer capital, Srinagar in protest at the man's death.
The military say the civilian was killed by the militants.
On Tuesday much of Indian-administered Kashmir was affected by a general strike called in protest at alleged extra-judicial killings by the security forces.
Hospital issue
Residents of Tral say the Indian troops dragged Mohammad Afzal Kumhar from a mosque on Friday and then shot him.
They say the troops did not allow the victim to be taken to hospital.
A police spokesman said a First Information Report (FIR), the preliminary formal stage of an investigation, had been registered against the police for murder.
The FIR was registered following street demonstrations by thousands of angry locals.
A defence spokesman says Mr Kumhar was killed by militants while they fled the scene after killing the three Indian soldiers.
It was not immediately clear whether the suspected militants had suffered casualties.
Earlier this week, separatists in Indian-administered Kashmir called a general strike in protest at alleged extra-judicial killings of civilians by security forces.
They accuse the police and security forces of killing people in faked gun battles.
Four bodies have been exhumed since last Thursday as part of an investigation into claims that clashes with militants were used to cover extra-judicial killings.
Militant groups have been fighting an insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir since 1989 and the conflict has cost over 60,000 lives.
Both the Indian army and separatist militants have faced repeated accusations of abuses by human rights groups.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6345129.stm
Local residents accuse the soldiers of killing a 37-year-old civilian shortly after three soldiers had been killed by presumed militants.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Tral, about 40km (24 miles) from the summer capital, Srinagar in protest at the man's death.
The military say the civilian was killed by the militants.
On Tuesday much of Indian-administered Kashmir was affected by a general strike called in protest at alleged extra-judicial killings by the security forces.
Hospital issue
Residents of Tral say the Indian troops dragged Mohammad Afzal Kumhar from a mosque on Friday and then shot him.
They say the troops did not allow the victim to be taken to hospital.
A police spokesman said a First Information Report (FIR), the preliminary formal stage of an investigation, had been registered against the police for murder.
The FIR was registered following street demonstrations by thousands of angry locals.
A defence spokesman says Mr Kumhar was killed by militants while they fled the scene after killing the three Indian soldiers.
It was not immediately clear whether the suspected militants had suffered casualties.
Earlier this week, separatists in Indian-administered Kashmir called a general strike in protest at alleged extra-judicial killings of civilians by security forces.
They accuse the police and security forces of killing people in faked gun battles.
Four bodies have been exhumed since last Thursday as part of an investigation into claims that clashes with militants were used to cover extra-judicial killings.
Militant groups have been fighting an insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir since 1989 and the conflict has cost over 60,000 lives.
Both the Indian army and separatist militants have faced repeated accusations of abuses by human rights groups.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6345129.stm
dabong1
<b>PDF VETERAN</b>
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2006
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Ready to share gas, electricity with J&K: Azad Kashmir
Nirupama Subramanian
A gesture of "moral and political support" to peace process: Prime Minister
ISLAMABAD: The Government of Azad Kashmir (Azad Kashmir) wants to share the piped gas supply, which it awaits from Pakistan, with Jammu and Kashmir through two points on the Line of Control (LoC).
Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmad Khan told a press conference on Saturday that he wants investors from Jammu and Kashmir to set up ventures on this side of the LoC and assist in the economic development of the earthquake-hit region.
Azad Kashmir was preparing for the supply of piped gas from Pakistan and Mr. Khan said that as a "goodwill gesture," his Government was willing to share it with "our brethren" across the border. He said the pipe network could take the gas to Kashmir through Chakoti and to Jammu through Sialkot.
Describing it as a gesture of "moral and political support" to the India-Pakistan peace process, Mr. Khan said that in this way, Kashmiris could act as a bridge between the two countries. The Azad Kashmir leader also offered to share electricity with Jammu and Kashmir.
Mr. Khan reiterated his earlier invitation to doctors and engineers from Jammu and Kashmir to work in Azad Kashmir.
Nirupama Subramanian
A gesture of "moral and political support" to peace process: Prime Minister
ISLAMABAD: The Government of Azad Kashmir (Azad Kashmir) wants to share the piped gas supply, which it awaits from Pakistan, with Jammu and Kashmir through two points on the Line of Control (LoC).
Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmad Khan told a press conference on Saturday that he wants investors from Jammu and Kashmir to set up ventures on this side of the LoC and assist in the economic development of the earthquake-hit region.
Azad Kashmir was preparing for the supply of piped gas from Pakistan and Mr. Khan said that as a "goodwill gesture," his Government was willing to share it with "our brethren" across the border. He said the pipe network could take the gas to Kashmir through Chakoti and to Jammu through Sialkot.
Describing it as a gesture of "moral and political support" to the India-Pakistan peace process, Mr. Khan said that in this way, Kashmiris could act as a bridge between the two countries. The Azad Kashmir leader also offered to share electricity with Jammu and Kashmir.
Mr. Khan reiterated his earlier invitation to doctors and engineers from Jammu and Kashmir to work in Azad Kashmir.
Thursday, 22 February 2007
Kashmiri was civilian - DNA tests
Mr Paddar's body was exhumed at the start of February
DNA tests have confirmed that a man killed by security forces in a staged gun battle in Indian-administered Kashmir was a civilian, police say.
The body of Abdul Rehman Paddar, a carpenter, was exhumed three weeks ago from a grave in Sumbal near Srinagar.
He had been buried as a Pakistani militant, but protesters said that he was killed in a "fake encounter".
Deputy Inspector General of Police Farooq Ahmed told the BBC that charges against his killers will be filed soon.
'Harsh punishments'
"The DNA samples taken from a body have matched with those of the carpenter's relatives, proving beyond doubt that he was killed in custody and later declared a militant," a police spokesman told the AFP news agency.
The killing provoked widespread protests.
Mr Paddar was reportedly detained in the summer capital, Srinagar, in December 2006. He was killed and later described by police as a Pakistani militant.
"Equipped with scientific evidence we will now press for harsh punishments for the policemen involved in Padder's killing," the spokesman said, adding other DNA reports were expected to arrive soon.
The BBC's Altaf Hussain in Srinagar says that police are investigating four cases of staged killings, involving police, paramilitary personnel and the army.
The senior superintendent of police of Ganderbal district and a deputy superintendent are among seven police officials arrested so far on charges of murder.
Disappeared
The army has ordered a separate inquiry into the involvement of soldiers in the killings.
Mr Paddar, a carpenter from the Kukernag area in southern Kashmir, was allegedly killed by the anti-militancy task force.
His family say he had paid 80,000 rupees (more than $2,000) to a police official - who is now in custody - to get himself a government job.
Instead, it is alleged the police official killed him and claimed a reward for killing a militant.
Our correspondent says that thousands of people have disappeared in Indian-administered Kashmir, many of them after being arrested by the security forces, in the past 18 years.
Their families have been demanding the cases be investigated so that the missing people could at least be declared dead.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6386141.stm
Kashmiri was civilian - DNA tests
Mr Paddar's body was exhumed at the start of February
DNA tests have confirmed that a man killed by security forces in a staged gun battle in Indian-administered Kashmir was a civilian, police say.
The body of Abdul Rehman Paddar, a carpenter, was exhumed three weeks ago from a grave in Sumbal near Srinagar.
He had been buried as a Pakistani militant, but protesters said that he was killed in a "fake encounter".
Deputy Inspector General of Police Farooq Ahmed told the BBC that charges against his killers will be filed soon.
'Harsh punishments'
"The DNA samples taken from a body have matched with those of the carpenter's relatives, proving beyond doubt that he was killed in custody and later declared a militant," a police spokesman told the AFP news agency.
The killing provoked widespread protests.
Mr Paddar was reportedly detained in the summer capital, Srinagar, in December 2006. He was killed and later described by police as a Pakistani militant.
"Equipped with scientific evidence we will now press for harsh punishments for the policemen involved in Padder's killing," the spokesman said, adding other DNA reports were expected to arrive soon.
The BBC's Altaf Hussain in Srinagar says that police are investigating four cases of staged killings, involving police, paramilitary personnel and the army.
The senior superintendent of police of Ganderbal district and a deputy superintendent are among seven police officials arrested so far on charges of murder.
Disappeared
The army has ordered a separate inquiry into the involvement of soldiers in the killings.
Mr Paddar, a carpenter from the Kukernag area in southern Kashmir, was allegedly killed by the anti-militancy task force.
His family say he had paid 80,000 rupees (more than $2,000) to a police official - who is now in custody - to get himself a government job.
Instead, it is alleged the police official killed him and claimed a reward for killing a militant.
Our correspondent says that thousands of people have disappeared in Indian-administered Kashmir, many of them after being arrested by the security forces, in the past 18 years.
Their families have been demanding the cases be investigated so that the missing people could at least be declared dead.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6386141.stm
Janbaz
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Musharraf’s proposal for Kashmir settlement:
India rules out joint management
* Mukherjee says the concept not a solution to Kashmir
By Iftikhar Gilani
NEW DELHI: India has ruled out talks on President Pervez Musahrraf’s concept of ‘joint management’ for Kashmir, saying “it cannot be the basis of a settlement of the issue of Jammu and Kashmir”.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, answering a question in the Rajya Sabha, said that Jammu and Kashmri was an integral part of India and therefore concepts like Musharraf’s “joint management” cannot be the basis of any solution to the Kashmir issue.
“Any demilitarisation or re-deployment of security forces within the territory is a sovereign decision of the Indian government, based on our own assessment or the prevailing security situation,” Mukherjee said. He told the house that President Musharraf, in an interview, had suggested the identification of the areas to which these proposals of making the LoC irrelevant, demilitarisation and joint management would apply.
He said during the last round of the Foreign Secretary-level talks in January 2006, several proposals, including these four concepts, were discussed.
Mukherjee said further that Jammu and Kashmir enjoys autonomy under the Indian Constitution and has a democratically elected government in place. “On the other hand, there is only nominal autonomy in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and there has been no popular election in Gilgit-Baltistan, which does not even have a legal or constitutional status,” he told the upper house.
He also denied that Hurriyat leaders had submitted any proposal for solution of Kashmir issue after their return from Pakistan.
Mukherjee further told the House that during his recent meetings with Pakistani counterpart Khursheed Kasuri, it was decided that the officials would meet soon to address the issue of Siachen. “We agreed to expedite the liberalisation of the visa regime and the agreements on reducing the risk of accidents relating to nuclear weapons, speedy return of inadvertent line crossers and prevention of incidents at sea,” he stated.
He also said that both sides had also agreed to facilitate the movement of diplomats to Noida and Gurgaon in India and Taxila and Hasan Abdal in Pakistan. “On Sir Creek, they agreed that the officials would be directed to expedite the joint survey,” he said.
Daily Times.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\02\story_2-3-2007_pg1_1
India rules out joint management
* Mukherjee says the concept not a solution to Kashmir
By Iftikhar Gilani
NEW DELHI: India has ruled out talks on President Pervez Musahrraf’s concept of ‘joint management’ for Kashmir, saying “it cannot be the basis of a settlement of the issue of Jammu and Kashmir”.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, answering a question in the Rajya Sabha, said that Jammu and Kashmri was an integral part of India and therefore concepts like Musharraf’s “joint management” cannot be the basis of any solution to the Kashmir issue.
“Any demilitarisation or re-deployment of security forces within the territory is a sovereign decision of the Indian government, based on our own assessment or the prevailing security situation,” Mukherjee said. He told the house that President Musharraf, in an interview, had suggested the identification of the areas to which these proposals of making the LoC irrelevant, demilitarisation and joint management would apply.
He said during the last round of the Foreign Secretary-level talks in January 2006, several proposals, including these four concepts, were discussed.
Mukherjee said further that Jammu and Kashmir enjoys autonomy under the Indian Constitution and has a democratically elected government in place. “On the other hand, there is only nominal autonomy in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and there has been no popular election in Gilgit-Baltistan, which does not even have a legal or constitutional status,” he told the upper house.
He also denied that Hurriyat leaders had submitted any proposal for solution of Kashmir issue after their return from Pakistan.
Mukherjee further told the House that during his recent meetings with Pakistani counterpart Khursheed Kasuri, it was decided that the officials would meet soon to address the issue of Siachen. “We agreed to expedite the liberalisation of the visa regime and the agreements on reducing the risk of accidents relating to nuclear weapons, speedy return of inadvertent line crossers and prevention of incidents at sea,” he stated.
He also said that both sides had also agreed to facilitate the movement of diplomats to Noida and Gurgaon in India and Taxila and Hasan Abdal in Pakistan. “On Sir Creek, they agreed that the officials would be directed to expedite the joint survey,” he said.
Daily Times.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\02\story_2-3-2007_pg1_1
Contrarian
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OMG, not again!
Doesnt Musharraf get tired of giving impractical suggestions!
Doesnt Musharraf get tired of giving impractical suggestions!
Janbaz
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Maybe he is just one of many who desire lasting peace between our very alike nations!
Contrarian
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Yes, or maybe he just likes to show that he alone is working for peace while the Indian side is not responsive to the world and home, by giving propositions that are simply not possible.
Janbaz
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Could be although i think that the joint govering idea cannot be worked. The only possible solution is a fair divisio under the shadow of the UN and with large scale consultations from people of all backgrounds and every political movement in the area.
Contrarian
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Lol, no peace dude. Peace is taken by the gun, dont expect that there will be a resolution of the Kashmir dispute.
dabong1
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Your wasting your time bro if you think by using logic or trying to find a fair solution to the kashmir issue with the indians.
The indians have been talking the same crap on kashmir since 47 and the only person fooled is mushy and a few others.
malaymishra123 is correct that the gun will bring peace.
The pakistani government needs to back in public the armed freedom movement in kashmir.
We need to start an intifada in occupied kashmir on the same lines as the palestinians and have the freedom fighters modelled on the Hezbollah style.
If a couple off hundred freedom fighters pinned down a large amount of the indian army in kargil what would 10,000 fighters do to the indian army.
Contrarian
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Musy aint fooled, he's trying to fool others, and his own countrymen at that.
BTW, there have been many changes in government since 1947, suprisingly there has been no change in the 'crap' they talk. Does it mean something to you?
That is not cause of the Indian govt. India wants to make LoC to IB, which would solve the problem. Its Pakistan that wants to keep on the whole 'we'r so concerned about the Kashmiri people' thing, and they want the entire Kashmir. Which is not happening as long as Pakistan cannot defeat India militarily, cuz India will obviouly not agree to it on the negotiating table.
Then i ask you, do you think that Pakistan can defeat India in a war? If the answer is no, then the status quo continues unless Mushy is thrown from power and a peace loving govt comes in Pakistan who does not support jehadis.
Do you not see the simplicity of the problem? Pakistan wants entire Kashmir or an independent Kashmir(which is the same thing! I mean they claim 'azad kashmir' is...ahem...azad). This India will never agree to. Pakistan has made 4 military overtures for this cause, lost all four times, they cannot win in teh future, what do you expect? India will cave in the pressure from the Jehadi terrorists and give up Kashmir? You know the answer as well as i do. So what can be done?.....NOTHING, but wait for another Kargil type thing.
Yeah, you think the ENTIRE army there is JUST for terrorists? Dude, its an LoC, they have to man it, they need to be prepared for another war, Pakistan has not been very kind in maintaining the sanctity of the LoC.
BTW the Hezbollah stylle thing or Iraq thing would have worked IF the entire kashmiri population was against India. Unfortunately for you, there is a SIZEABLE population that supports India, and this is only growing whereas the support for terrorists is declining.
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