Yasin Malik injured in Srinagar protests

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Yasin Malik injured in Srinagar protests

Indo-Asian News Service
Srinagar, September 12, 2008
First Published: 16:26 IST(12/9/2008)
Last Updated: 17:27 IST(12/9/2008)




Muhammad Yasin Malik, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), was injured in Srinagar on Friday when the police baton-charged a group of protesters in Lal Chowk city centre.

Malik was leading a sit-in protest of about 4,000 people at Lal Chowk after Friday prayers. The separatist leader was injured as police used batons and tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.

"Malik fell unconscious and was immediately removed to the SMHS hospital," a JKLF activist told IANS.

Doctors at the hospital said Malik was out of danger, but had sustained an injury in his leg.

Protests after Friday prayers were reported from other places in Srinagar and elsewhere in the Kashmir Valley.

The joint co-ordination committee of both the separatist groups of Hurriyat conference had called for peaceful protests after Friday prayers across the Valley and a complete shutdown after 12.30 pm.

Addressing a large congregation at the Jamia mosque in the old city area in Srinagar on Friday, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, chairman of the moderate Hurriyat group, called on people to boycott the forthcoming assembly elections in the state.

He was also highly critical of the police sending summons to people of various in the city to present themselves at police stations in connection with their participation in separatist protests and rallies.
"Once anybody receives such summons in the locality, the entire population of that locality must go to the police station and lodge a peaceful protest there," he said.

"The administration should immediately stop this practice of summoning people to police stations, failing which we shall be forced to start a 'Jail Bharo' (court arrest) programme here," the Mirwaiz said.

Elections to the state legislative assembly are due in November. The state is under six-month governor's rule since July 11 when the previous Congress-led coalition government fell and the state assembly dissolved after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) pulled out of the alliance following differences over the Amarnath shrine land allotment.

The issue has had the state on the boil amid conflicting claims from Muslims in the Valley and Hindu groups in Jammu region over a piece of forest land allotted to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board that manages annual pilgrimage to the cave shrine in south Kashmir.

Nearly 50 people have died, mostly in police and paramilitary firing, during the last two months of protests over the land row.


Yasin Malik injured in Srinagar protests- Hindustan Times

 

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After killing Kasmiri leader Aziz now Indians have found a new tactic to target Kashmiri leadership in target killing.'
'

 

[Spring Onion]

Fresh protests in Kashmir; 2 killed, 130 injured
12 Sep 2008, 2000 hrs IST,PTI

SRINAGAR: Two persons were killed and over 130 others, including JKLF chief Yasin Malik, injured in firing and baton charge by security forces as fresh protests rocked the Kashmir Valley on Friday, prompting authorities to clamp curfew in Baramulla and Shopian towns.
The protesters poured into the streets shortly after Friday prayers on a call by the separatists to press for right to self determination but turned violent as security forces refused to allow them to march on the roads, the sources said.

Apprehending violence, authorities had deployed police and paramilitary forces in strength outside all mosques, shrines and sensitive localities

A roadside vendor, Manzoor Afzal, was killed when he was hit by a bullet after security forces opened fire to quell violent protesters in Baramulla town, the sources said.

The clashes between the protesters and security forces intensified towards late afternoon, prompting the authorities to impose curfew in the town, the sources said.

In Shopian, thousands of slogan shouting people took to streets shortly after offering prayers at Jamia Masjid.

One person, Imtiyaz Ahmad Ganai alias Sabha, was killed and 13 others injured in firing by security forces on protesters, the sources said, adding curfew was later clamped.

In Srinagar, police fired tear gas shells and used batons to disperse thousands of protesters who assembled at Lal Chowk after the prayers.

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik received a baton blow on his legs and was taken to SMHS hospital for treatment, the sources said, adding nearly 25 people were also injured in the police action.



Hundreds of people went to the Maisuma residence of Malik, where he has been under house arrest since his release on September 1, and broke the police cordon to escort him to Lal Chowk, the sources said

Security forces earlier used batons and fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters who turned violent and indulged in heavy stone-pelting in Shopian.

More than 35 protesters were injured in the police action, the sources said.

Violent protests also took place at Nowhatta, Rajouri Kadal, Gojwara, Jamia Masjid, Bohri Kadal and Alamgari Bazar area of the city.

Two photojournalists were among 30 people injured in stone-pelting and police action, the sources said.

A peaceful protest was held in Anantnag district town after the local Imam assured the local authorities that there will not be any violence.

In Lal Chowk, Kashmir High Court Bar Association members staged a protest and tried to march to the local United Nations office but were prevented by the police, the sources said adding the lawyers later dispersed peacefully.


Fresh protests in Kashmir; 2 killed, 130 injured-India-The Times of India

 

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Clashes continue for second day in Jammu; strike in Kashmir

Press Trust Of India
Srinagar, September 13, 2008
First Published: 12:08 IST(13/9/2008)
Last Updated: 13:57 IST(13/9/2008)

Print



Violent clashes between security forces and agitators continued for the second day on Saturday in Maisuma area of city even as Kashmir valley observed a spontaneous strike over the killing of two persons in police firing.

Several slogan-shouting protesters took out a procession from Maisuma locality in the city on Saturday. The protesters were intercepted by CRPF personnel who used batons to disperse them, triggering intense clashes as the agitators indulged in stone pelting, official sources said.

So far, there were no report of any injury in the clashes but several persons were beaten up by paramilitary forces. The situation was put under control after the intervention of police, the sources said.

Agitators said they took out the rally in protest against the use of "brute force" during peaceful protests on Friday in which two persons were killed and more than 130 including JKLF chief Mohammad Yasin Malik was injured in police action.

Shops and business establishments opened as usual in the morning but after clashes broke out between protestors and CRPF personnel, a spontaneous strike was observed, the sources said.

Within no time all shutters were down and offices closed and transporters started beating hasty retreat to safety, resulting in traffic jams.

CRPF spokesman Prabhakar Tripathy said some "abberations" might have been committed by the personnel in the volatile situation. He said the incident would be investigated and those guilty, if any, would be punished.

Clashes continue for second day in Jammu; strike in Kashmir- Hindustan Times

 

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Clashes continue for second day in Srinagar
13 Sep 2008, 1330 hrs IST,PTI

SRINAGAR: Violent clashes between security forces and agitators continued for the second day on Saturday in Maisuma area of the city even as Kashmir valley observed a spontaneous strike over the killing of two persons in police firing. ( Watch )

Several slogan-shouting protesters took out a procession from Maisuma locality in the city on Saturday.

The protesters were intercepted by CRPF personnel who used batons to disperse them, triggering intense clashes as the agitators indulged in stone pelting, official sources said.

So far, there were no report of any injury in the clashes but several persons were beaten up by paramilitary forces. The situation was put under control after the intervention of police, the sources said.

Agitators said they took out the rally in protest against the use of "brute force" during peaceful protests on Friday in which two persons were killed and more than 130 including JKLF chief Mohammad Yasin Malik was injured in police action.

Shops and business establishments opened as usual in the morning but after clashes broke out between protestors and CRPF personnel, a spontaneous strike was observed, the sources said.

Within no time all shutters were down and offices closed and transporters started beating hasty retreat to safety, resulting in traffic jams.

CRPF spokesman Prabhakar Tripathy said some "abberations" might have been committed by the personnel in the volatile situation. He said the incident would be investigated and those guilty, if any, would be punished.

Clashes continue for second day in Srinagar-India-The Times of India

 

[Spring Onion]

watch the massive protest by Kashmiris and brutal use of force by Indian police in occupied Kashmir


Valley on the boil; 2 killed in violence-News-Broadband - Indiatimes.com

 

[ashfaque]

Whats wrong killing anti national people who are invoking general public. Lazy GoI should have removed them when there was peace in Kashmir, now they have got an issue and making it big. GoI still has time to finish all these so called Kashmiri leaders who have given nothing to people.....

 

[UnitedPak]

Whats wrong killing anti national people who are invoking general public. Lazy GoI should have removed them when there was peace in Kashmir, now they have got an issue and making it big. GoI still has time to finish all these so called Kashmiri leaders who have given nothing to people.....

They are called leaders because the Kashmiri people chose them to be. What you think about them simply doesnt matter the slightest. And the fact that you want to kill them shows how democracy really works in India.

 

[Flintlock]

They are called leaders because the Kashmiri people chose them to be. What you think about them simply doesnt matter the slightest. And the fact that you want to kill them shows how democracy really works in India.

You really shouldn't be taking up such a patronizing tone, but never mind that.

Yes, you are right. This is how democracy works in India, as in any other democracy. People are free to choose their leaders, as long as they are loyal to India.
That's a small price to pay in return for the kind of personal freedom that very few countries on the planet can provide.

 

[UnitedPak]

You really shouldn't be taking up such a patronizing tone, but never mind that.

Yes, you are right. This is how democracy works in India, as in any other democracy. People are free to choose their leaders, as long as they are loyal to India.
That's a small price to pay in return for the kind of personal freedom that very few countries on the planet can provide.

'Free' would be the last word I would use to describe Kashmirs status.

I did hear something about a Curfew though...

 

[Flintlock]

'Free' would be the last word I would use to describe Kashmirs status.

I did hear something about a Curfew though...

Oh please. You know and I know what curfews are.

 

[ashfaque]

Perfently, if any leader are going against India kill them without delay......

 

[Sagar Bhai]

Perfently, if any leader are going against India kill them without delay......

Pardon me but jk issue between ind Pak can be resolve if so called democrative india full fill their promises made under UN agreement but i think promise has no value in indian culture ... Yu can kill birds but yu cant stop birds from flying freely

 

[muse]

One wonders what our Indian friends will do after Bush is gone - where will they seek support for their anti-Muslim agenda - The Israeli can be counted upon to take the Indians money, but unless an international sponsor for an anti-Muslim agenda can be found, our Indian friends will have to think serious about the limits of thei anti-Muslim agenda. The Muslims of Hindustan and Kashmir have demonstrated that their patience is stretched thin.



Anand Kumar
03 September 2008
Is India tiring of the cost of its star-crossed paradise?

Renewed unrest in the Kashmir valley, followed by more trouble in the Jammu region, has stirred debate in India about the future of the much disputed-region, with a sizeable minority advocating either freedom for Kashmir or a plebiscite in the state to decide its future.

This is a view that has been anathema. The Indian government’s position has always been that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the country. But it seems a certain Kashmir fatigue is setting in. Unable to expect closer integration of Kashmir under the present government’s policies, the minority are suggesting its separation. They argue that at least it would reduce the economic burden. Kashmir, they argue, has been a big drain on Indian resources and hence holding it from taking its due place in the world.

In sharp contrast to this another faction is arguing that giving freedom to Kashmir would not solve India’s security problems and in fact would only exacerbate them in other parts of South Asia and create another Waziristan on India’s northern borders. It is also possible that the headquarters of Taliban, Al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba would move to Kashmir to launch a more effective Jihad against India. The increasing use of slogans in favor of Islam and Lashkar-e-Taiba by protestors has been cited as an ample proof.

The state government’s decision to temporarily transfer 100 acres of land to the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board has given an opportunity to galvanize some increasingly marginalized separatist leaders who portrayed it as a loss of territory to Hindu outsiders, and raised the spectre of a Hindu settlement that would erode the Muslims’ demographic majority in the state. The agitation that followed eventually forced the government to change its mind but also brought to fore the deeply Islamic fervor of the uprising. To make matters worse, separatists were this time supported by some leading mainstream political parties of the state which found it beneficial to side with the secessionists, hoping to gain at the polls even if the movement was to die down later.

Over the years, the separatist movement in Kashmir has taken on a deepening Islamic color. The first indication came when Kashmiri Pandits were driven out of the valley. Kashmiriayt, the teachings of love and peace of the Sufis, which was a uniting factor, is a thing of the past. In its place radical ideology has increased its hold among the Kashmiri Muslims. Syed Ali Shah Geelani, an important separatist leader, said in a protest rally that Islam would guide the struggle and that it was a complete social and moral code that would govern the people of free Kashmir. He also talked of an Islamic state. The chief ideologue of Jamaat-e-Islami in Kashmir is similarly demanding Kashmir’s accession to Pakistan and the establishment of an Islamic state.

India’s Kashmir policy has been faulty, so far involving just pumping in money into the state. The central government’s assistance is 10 times that which the impoverished state of Bihar gets. Moreover, most of Bihar’s assistance is in the form of loans, most of Kashmir’s is grants. The Indian taxpayer is also fully funding Kashmir’s five-year plans. As a result only 3.56 percent of the people of Jammu and Kashmir are classified as below the poverty level despite the long-running insurgency, whereas 25 percent are classified poor in Maharashtra, India’s richest state.

The Indian policy has thus been to buy over Kashmiris and not to win over and integrate them into the mainstream. The Kashmiris have happily taken the money and often used a large chunk of it to finance the insurgency. Article 370, which granted special status to the region, has worked over the years against integration into the larger Indian polity and has only increased their segregation. Now there is a need to modify this article to suit the present needs as completely abrogating it would not be possible.

The increased participation of a new generation of Kashmiris in the agitation indicates that the old generation has successfully managed to pass on an issue kept alive by faulty government policies. Hence this will ensure that no solution is found to the Kashmir issue even in the decades to come unless the government of India reverses its Kashmir policy.

Certainly the policy has not generated the goodwill expected of it. It has not assured Kashmiris that the intentions of the rest of India towards them are benign. It has only increased the segregation of Kashmir’s Muslims and encouraged them to raise the demand for freedom, which most of us know is an alibi for merger with Pakistan. The policy has also resulted in the ethnic cleansing of the Kashmiri Pandits, regarded as a hindrance to the objective of Kashmir’s separation from India.

Even the recent upsurge does not seem to have awakened the Indian state. The attitude of the government is to manage the crisis rather than seek to solve it. Even to manage the crisis, New Delhi’s strategy seems hinge on passive expectation rather than active measures. It is hoping that with the start of the Ramadan holy month things would cool down in Kashmir as Ramadan has generally been a peaceful month in the valley. After this winter is likely to set in, making street protests difficult.

To weaken the protests in the Jammu region, the central government has now reached an agreement with the Shri Amarnath Sangarsh Samiti (SASS) which has been spearheading the movement. The government has agreed to allow the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board use 40 hectares (100 acres) during the pilgrimage period every year for temporary facilities including toilets and rest rooms for the pilgrims. However, the proprietary status/ownership/title of the land will not undergo any change

The decision of the government is bound to have reverberations in the valley. Although Farooq Abdullah, the patron of National Conference, has welcomed the agreement, Mehbooba Mufti, leader of the People's Democratic Party, which until recently was part of the state's ruling coalition, criticized the government for not consulting separatist leaders and other Kashmiri representatives before reaching the agreement with Hindu leaders.

Other Muslim separatists also immediately rejected the government's accord with Hindus and said their protests would continue. Masarat Aalam, chief spokesman of the Jammu-Kashmir Coordination Committee, comprised of separatist leaders and representatives of businesses, lawyers and government employees, has stated that the goal is complete independence from India.

The decision of the government will hardly change the demographic or geographic character of the Kashmir valley, but it has definitely proved an important tool in the hands of separatist elements who want to use it to revive a hibernating movement. It has also encouraged Pakistan across the border to look afresh at Kashmir, which in recent times had become second priority to Pakistani politicians, but this resurgence may prompt them revive Kashmir policy.

Ignoring India's assertions that Islamabad should not interfere in its affairs, Pakistan's parliament has already decided to set up a panel to monitor human rights in Jammu and Kashmir and to mobilize world opinion in support of the "right of self-determination" for Kashmiri people. Parties in Azad Kashmir have urged the government to adopt an aggressive policy and raise their voices against human rights violations on the Indian side at international forums. They are also trying to propagate the idea that Pakistan's internal political instability is badly affecting the Kashmir movement.

The agitation has once again brought Kashmir to the fore as a trouble spot in South Asia. But the recent upsurge also brought to fore the retrograde nature of this movement, in which a Muslim-majority valley is demanding a merger with Pakistan or independence. After achieving this initial objective their ultimate objective is to turn Kashmir into an Islamic state. This round has also made it clear that the proposed future of Kashmir has no takers either in the Hindu majority region of Jammu or the Buddhist-dominated region of Laddakh.

Thus the insurgency in Kashmir valley does not represent the hopes and aspirations of the whole Jammu and Kashmir State. Its popularity is limited to a section of Kashmiri Muslims which have become increasingly radicalized. They see an Islamist future for Kashmir and have an ideology similar to the Taliban. But such retrograde ideas need to be discouraged in the larger interest of world community and peace. India’s policy under Article 370 has only increased the segregation of Kashmiris. Just pumping in money is also not going to help. Its time now that the government of India review its Kashmir policy and see what other things it can do to bring the Kashmiri youth into the mainstream.

 

[Spring Onion]

Whats wrong killing anti national people who are invoking general public. Lazy GoI should have removed them when there was peace in Kashmir, now they have got an issue and making it big. GoI still has time to finish all these so called Kashmiri leaders who have given nothing to people.....

Well well being anti-National is one thing and being Kashmiri is another.

Kashmir is not part of India hence there is no question of anti-Nationalism there.

Secondly if you advocate assassination of real Kashmiri leaders, then be prepared when third generation Kashmiris find the time to spread to Indian areas. Trust me you are panic over small fire crackers, imagine if Kashmrir decide go violent and target your areas, you will be badly pissed off.


And BTW the Kashmiri leaders have never been in government in the Held Kashmir while those who are, and who were, are all Indian puppets who are Muslims only in name.