Yeti
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MUZAFFARABAD:
In the mid 1990s, the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border between Pakistan and India, was relatively porous, with many migrating from Srinagar (Indian-Kashmir) into Azad Kashmir. Some arrived in pursuit of a better life and others with hopes to win back Kashmir.
I was around 18 years old when I decided I had enough. I had hoped that Pakistan, being a Muslim country, will help us win back Kashmir, but I was wrong, said Omer, refusing to give his last name.
Omers exploits nearly two decades ago landed him with fighters who were training anyone and everyone for Jihad in Kashmir during the 90s.
I was contacted by them, and they took me to Afghanistan, where I was trained in guerilla warfare for two years, said Omer.
However, his stint as a Jihadi wouldnt last too long. Eager to put his newly acquired skills to use, Omer crossed over with a group of fellow freedom fighters into Indian-Kashmir.
We were moving cautiously through the woods and hills when I stepped on a landmine which exploded, he recalled.
The ill-fated night would constitute his first and last day on the battlefield. Omer injured his foot in the blast and was told by fellow freedom fighters to return to the other side of LoC on his own since it was a general protocol for any injured combatants.
I bandaged my foot, whatever was remaining of it, with a piece of cloth, as it was bleeding profusely. But God gave me the strength and I started to crawl back to this side again, Omer said. A day later, miraculously, Omer reached the other side of LoC and was taken to a local hospital to be treated for his injuries. Even though doctors saved his life, they werent able to salvage his leg. He now wears a prosthetic leg.
Nearly two decades later, Omer is happily married with two children and is living on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad AJKs capital. However, even though Omer claims to have severed his ties with militant groups, he still believes that an armed resistance is the only way to win back his homeland.
That is the only way we can have the worlds attention diverted towards us, Omer said, adding that he and many other have been let down by the AJK and Pakistani governments as they have softened their stance on the Kashmir dispute over the years.
Speaking about the frequent talks between India and Pakistan, Omer said that even though the two countries have improved ties, they have not done so much for Kashmirs inhabitants.
There are these confidence building measures in which trade, travel and entertainment industry exchanges are taking place, but no one is resolving the Kashmir conflict even though everyday there are human rights violation by Indian authorities there.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2012.
Mission
---------- Post added at 07:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:02 AM ----------
Moving article from a ex militant in his own word's
In the mid 1990s, the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border between Pakistan and India, was relatively porous, with many migrating from Srinagar (Indian-Kashmir) into Azad Kashmir. Some arrived in pursuit of a better life and others with hopes to win back Kashmir.
I was around 18 years old when I decided I had enough. I had hoped that Pakistan, being a Muslim country, will help us win back Kashmir, but I was wrong, said Omer, refusing to give his last name.
Omers exploits nearly two decades ago landed him with fighters who were training anyone and everyone for Jihad in Kashmir during the 90s.
I was contacted by them, and they took me to Afghanistan, where I was trained in guerilla warfare for two years, said Omer.
However, his stint as a Jihadi wouldnt last too long. Eager to put his newly acquired skills to use, Omer crossed over with a group of fellow freedom fighters into Indian-Kashmir.
We were moving cautiously through the woods and hills when I stepped on a landmine which exploded, he recalled.
The ill-fated night would constitute his first and last day on the battlefield. Omer injured his foot in the blast and was told by fellow freedom fighters to return to the other side of LoC on his own since it was a general protocol for any injured combatants.
I bandaged my foot, whatever was remaining of it, with a piece of cloth, as it was bleeding profusely. But God gave me the strength and I started to crawl back to this side again, Omer said. A day later, miraculously, Omer reached the other side of LoC and was taken to a local hospital to be treated for his injuries. Even though doctors saved his life, they werent able to salvage his leg. He now wears a prosthetic leg.
Nearly two decades later, Omer is happily married with two children and is living on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad AJKs capital. However, even though Omer claims to have severed his ties with militant groups, he still believes that an armed resistance is the only way to win back his homeland.
That is the only way we can have the worlds attention diverted towards us, Omer said, adding that he and many other have been let down by the AJK and Pakistani governments as they have softened their stance on the Kashmir dispute over the years.
Speaking about the frequent talks between India and Pakistan, Omer said that even though the two countries have improved ties, they have not done so much for Kashmirs inhabitants.
There are these confidence building measures in which trade, travel and entertainment industry exchanges are taking place, but no one is resolving the Kashmir conflict even though everyday there are human rights violation by Indian authorities there.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2012.
Mission
---------- Post added at 07:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:02 AM ----------
Moving article from a ex militant in his own word's
