Gearing up for revenge: Lyari don Arshad Pappu’s brother, cousin set free

By Salman Siddiqui

The two men sat on the floor of a room that looked more like a billet than a dera befitting the leading members of Lyari don Arshad Pappu’s gang.

The two men were released on the eve of Eid. They said, however, that freedom came only after they paid a packet to senior police officials, who had refused to let them go even though no charges were proven in court.

One of them, Pappu’s brother, named Yasir Arafat after the legendary revolutionary Palestinian figure, looked like a dehydrated parrot with a beard. His brother in arms, Waheed Baloch, sat in the corner with an expression of defiance made prouder by his worn-out threads.

The two men were released on the eve of Eid. They said, however, that freedom came only after they paid a packet to senior police officials, who had refused to let them go even though no charges were proven in court.

Thirty-year-old Arafat was facing 33 cases, including the murder of the defunct Peoples Amn Committee (PAC) chief Uzair Baloch’s father Mama Faizoo, five murders and various police encounters. He was caught in 2005, but when none of the charges stuck, his lawyer and friends bailed him out on Chand raat last week.

As Coca Cola bottles, tea and joints were served in the hash-hazy room, Waheed Baloch, who served nine years for killing Mama Faizoo, introduced himself as a cousin of Arshad Pappu. “My only crime, like Yasir, was that I had blood relations with Pappu,” he said, repeatedly stressing that he had nothing to do with the murder of Uzair’s father.

But the fact is that these two groups – Arshad Pappu’s and Rehman Dakait’s – have been on the warpath long before the PAC was formed. The history of bloodshed dates to the time when Rehman Dakait turned on his boss, Arshad Pappu’s father. The blood went bad between prodigal son and biological son. Later, Arshad Pappu went to jail and Dakait was shot dead in a police encounter in 2009. Nonetheless, there were men to keep the torch burning. Uzair Baloch took over Dakait’s group that continued to battle Pappu and his men.

Today, as Waheed emerges from nine years of incarceration, 45 years old, he has another battle to fight. Unless he exacts some form of revenge for the killings that have marked these years, he will not be able to face his eight children and wife who left Lyari and fled to Balochistan.

Karachi killings

The men have emerged to find a different Karachi. “Things weren’t this bad during our time,” said Arafat. Waheed has noted that in the current wave of violence many innocent Baloch have been killed.

They both claimed that they could “clear Lyari of the PAC goons” in just five hours if the government did not “side” with them and stayed out of “their conflict”. “The people who are with us haven’t taken up arms for 500 rupees like the PAC,” sneered Waheed.

The Pappu group members ridicule Zulfiqar Mirza’s claim that he was working for the good of the people of Lyari and the Baloch people. “Who are these people who Mirza is backing?” said Mohammad Yousuf, a group member who also served time. “They are not the sardars of the Baloch people like Arshad [Pappu].”

For Waheed, PAC chief Uzair Baloch is a nobody, whose father was a driver. “Baba Ladla is a kid in front of us. His dad Ghulam Hussain was just a low-level [electricity company] worker,” he said, rhetorically asking how these ‘low lifes’ could claim to be leaders of the Baloch and the people of Lyari?

Arafat and Waheed alleged that the Amn Committee not only had political backing from a powerful personality but that they were also minting money for him. The PAC denies the claim. “At least Rs100 million was being made a week in extortion rackets, land grabbing, gambling dens and the drugs business in Amn Committee-controlled areas,” said Waheed. “Where does it all go?”

He alleged that the one political bigwig has armed the PAC to the teeth. “The fact of the matter is that today Lyari has as many arms as the state of Afghanistan itself, all of which are with the PAC.”

Future course

Although it is clear that Arshad Pappu’s group is gearing up to settle old scores, Arafat chose restrained words when asked about a course of action. “We are the victims who have been kicked out of our homes. Our houses have been burnt down. So many of our people have been killed…I’m just hopeful that God would lead our path.”

Waheed was more direct. “I used to be a man like you, just making an honest living for my family,” he said. “I was a crane operator at the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation and worked there for 18 years. Just put yourself in my place and tell me what would you do if you came out of prison after nine years for a crime you didn’t even commit?”

It is more personal than political: “My father, a frail old man who fought with no one in his lifetime, was killed mercilessly on the footsteps of a mosque. Forty bullets were pumped into his body. We’ve lost count of the number of our brothers and people who have been butchered. So tell me, what do you think we will do next?”

Kashmiri American Council Reiterates Its Statement of Objectives: Dr. Fai

South Asian News Agency

Washington, Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director, Kashmiri American Council (KAC) said that once again, Kashmir is living proof that it is not going to compromise, far less abandon, its demand for Azaadi (freedom) which is its birthright and for which it has paid a price in blood and suffering which has not been exacted from any other people of the South Asian subcontinent. Fai said that the Board of Directors of the KAC in its 3-days meeting agreed to the following 18-points “Policy Statement” to be pursued during the fiscal year of 2011.

1. The Board clarified that the Kashmir dispute is simply this: the people of a large territory which is not part of any existing sovereign state were assured by the entire international community represented by the United States that they would be given the right of self-determination to decide their future by a free vote. Until now this assurance has not been honored;
2. The Board explained that there must be an early, just and durable resolution to the Jammu & Kashmir dispute in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions and in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Jammu & Kashmir;

3. The Board noted with satisfaction the reiteration of President Obama on November 7, 2010 that “Kashmir is a longstanding dispute between India and Pakistan” and resolution of Kashmir is, “in the interests of the region; it is in the interests of the two countries involved and it is in the interests of the United States of America;”

4. The Board remains convinced that the people of Jammu and Kashmir constitute the principle stakeholders and should be an integral component of the ongoing peace process. Therefore, the talks must be tripartite between all parties concerned: i.e., the Governments of India & Pakistan and the legitimate leadership of the people of Jammu and Kashmir;

5. The Board voiced its continuing belief that India and Pakistan alone cannot solve the 64-year-old Kashmir conflict, it requires the deeper engagement of the United States with both these neighboring countries;

6. The Board reiterated that durable peace and development of harmonious relations and friendly cooperation between India and Pakistan would serve the vital interests of the peoples of both nations, enabling them to devote their energies for a better future;

7. The Board stressed that ‘Cricket Diplomacy’ and more trade between India and Pakistan will create a conducive atmosphere and must be appreciated but history testifies that it will do nothing to end the indigenous Kashmiri resistance against occupation, which is fueled by the denial of self-determination for more than 64 years;

8. The Board believes that moral suasion, not military force or violence, should be employed to resolve the Kashmir conflict. There cannot be a military solution of the problem; any such solution is bound to invite challenge. The Board rules out war as an option and calls upon all the parties to the dispute to work for a comprehensive cease-fire and bring every form of violence to an end to improve the environment for a constructive and progressive dialogue;

9. The Board made it clear that the Kashmir conflict is not about autonomy, nor is it about converting the ‘Ceasefire Line’ into an international border. It is about honoring the political and human rights of the people of Jammu & Kashmir in accord with international law, international treaties, international covenants, justice and morality;

10. The Board appeals to both India and Pakistan to negotiate a treaty to create a nuclear weapons-free zone in all of Jammu and Kashmir because Kashmir being the only country in the world that shares borders with three nuclear powers – India, Pakistan & China;

11. The Board calls for an intensive and comprehensive inter and intra Kashmiri dialogue outside Sub-Continent between different opinions and regions of the state on both the sides of the Ceasefire line including Kashmiri Diaspora. This interaction will improve the level of trust and confidence, as it will also help to develop a consensus in the conflict resolution. The governments of India and Pakistan must facilitate the dialogue by issuing the travel documents to the participants;

12. The Board resolves that all internally and externally displaced people of Jammu and Kashmir since 1947 including Kashmiri Pandits, should be facilitated to return to their homes in safety and dignity;

13. The Board expresses grave concern over the conditions of militarization and inhumanity endured by the people of Kashmir, and the violation of their inalienable right to self-determination. The militarization has induced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, unlawful detentions, torture, phenomenon of half-widows, orphans, displacement, migrations, and mass graves;

14. The Board expressed its disbelief that non-violent, civil disobedience, including the prolific agitation that began in 2007 and is sustained until today, enacted by the people of Kashmir has been repeatedly met with brutal force and collective punishment by the Indian state.

15. The Board decided to continue to draw the attention of the international community toward the gross human rights atrocities committed by 700,000 Indian military and paramilitary forces in Kashmir;

16. The Board decided to pursue the case of Rt. Major Avtar Singh of Rashtriya Rifles (Indian paramilitary force deployed in Jammu & Kashmir), accused of brutally killing Jalil Andrabi, Chairman, Kashmir Commission of Jurists on March 27, 1996 in Srinagar, Kashmir.

17. The Board recommended that following steps need to be taken by the Government of India to make the peace process meaningful, i.e.,

i. Immediate and complete cessation of military and paramilitary actions;
ii. gradual withdrawal of the military presence from the towns and villages;
iii. dismantling of bunkers, watch towers and barricades;
iv. release of political prisoners languishing in jails, interrogation centers and detained under emergency laws, like Mian Abdul Qayyum, Ghulam Nabi Sumjee, Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, Musarat Alam, and many others;
v. annulling of various special repressive laws, like the Indian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSAPA), the Jammu & Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act; and
vi. restoring the right of peaceful association, assembly and demonstrations;

18. The board proposed that an appointment of a special envoy on Kashmir by the United Nations or the European Parliament or President Obama will hasten the process of peace and stability in the region of South Asia.

Kashmir is calling

Azam Khalil

“The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs or impede their efforts to obtain it.” – John Stuart Mill

Huge protests continue in Indian Occupied Kashmir where even school going children are now clamouring for their right of self-determination. Nearly 150 people, who were armed with stones – that replicated the struggle of the Palestinian youth against the Israeli atrocities – have been brutally killed or injured by the Indian occupation forces.

So, in a dramatic move on December 6, senior Congress leader for Jammu and Kashmir and State’s Minister for Health Shyam Lal Sharma addressed a rally in Kathua district, calling on the Indian (federal) government to divide the occupied territory into three parts. According to him, Kashmir should be given independence; Jammu be made a separate state; and the region of Ladakh be declared a union territory of India. Thus, India will find it very difficult to continue their hold on the disputed territory by sheer force. Recently, the number Indian troops in the valley have been raised to 900,000; it will not only create problems for the Kashmiris, but also for the occupation forces.

In the recent past, the Government of Pakistan has not followed an aggressive and firm policy vis-à-vis the issue of Kashmir, which has allowed the Indian leadership to continue to suppress Kashmiris, who were betrayed by the British, the then Hindu administration and Maharaja Hari Singh. In this context, India has always tried to downplay the struggle of the Kashmiri people and, at the same time, has carried out a vigorous propaganda campaign against Pakistan trying to equate a just cause with terrorism. In case the Government of Pakistan does not carry out a rigorous approach to highlight the miseries and human right violations in IHK, it may perhaps result in further delay to achieve the objective of the freedom struggle.

Before Sharma presented his formula for Kashnir, Arundhati Roy, an Indian civil rights worker, and Syed Ali Shah Geelani, a veteran Kashmiri leader, were charged with sedition, and a case was registered against them for highlighting the Kashmir cause in a seminar in New Delhi. One can now say with certainty that whatever the Indian leadership or its forces do, time is fast approaching when a just solution, which is acceptable to the people of the occupied valley, need to be found. In case it continues to resist reason, there will be a danger that the other oppressed regions like Nagaland, Mizoram, Assam, and the Sikhs in Punjab, may also join the Kashmiris to demand their right of self-determination from the Indian government.

But the question is what should be Pakistan’s role so that a peaceful, positive and productive decision can be achieved in Kashmir? For this, the Pakistanis need to highlight the miseries of their Kashmiri brethren in the United Nations in an effort to remind the international community about the pending implementation of the resolutions passed by it long ago.

Pakistan should make it clear to the international community, especially the US and EU, that the struggle for self-determination cannot and should not be bracketed with terrorism. Moreover, Islamabad should inform Beijing that, while they have no objection to China’s trade relations with India, its leadership must advocate the cause of the Kashmiri people with the Indians when they visit New Delhi this month.

Besides the efforts made by Pakistan, it is the responsibility of the Muslim countries to exert diplomatic and moral pressure on the Indians to reach an amicable solution for the disputed state.

Pakistan was provided with an opportunity initially when the puppet Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah demanded the federal government to repeal the Special Armed Forces Act, which it had enforced in the occupied territory. And now when one of his Cabinet ministers (Sharma) demanded Azadi for Kashmir, because he believes that this is the only solution which would allow the people of Kashmir to progress. Hence, such pressures are expected to increase on New Delhi in the coming days, which may force it to have a tripartite meeting, including the Pakistani and the genuine Kashmiri leadership, for a negotiable settlement of the issue.

Pakistanis should make it clear that no progress is possible with the Indians, unless and until real progress is made on the disputed territory. We should also make it clear to the Obama administration that it is time the US comes out and supports the just cause of the Kashmiris – if they are serious to win the war on terror in this strategic part of the world. Also, the Americans must understand that without the resolution of this issue, it may not be possible for Pakistan and the West to eliminate the menace of terrorism from South Asia.

Having said that, it will be desirable to see a visible shift in the foreign policy of Pakistan, especially on Kashmir. That it will respond properly to the Kashmiris’ call not showing any hesitation whatsoever, and simultaneously support them to achieve their right of self-determination.

More so, the Government of Pakistan should learn from the WikiLeaks’ disclosures, which prove that backdoor diplomacy will not always be productive. Therefore, whenever this government talks about principles there should be no contradiction whatsoever in its backdoor contacts or open discussion, especially on the issues that are critical for Pakistan.

Finally, the PPP-led government should also exercise its right to respond against India’s blatant interference in Balochistan, and if it does not retreat or sever its ties with insurgents, who are creating havoc in our country by indulging in acts of terrorism, then the least it can do is to raise the issues of other oppressed people in India whose rights have been suppressed or who are living as second or third class citizens. So, I believe that there is no harm if the Indians are made to test the same medicine, which they prescribe for others. Perhaps, then they will be able to understand the real reason why we are at war, and eventually behave like a good neighbour.

A Tale of Three Cities

By General Mirza Aslam Beg

Charles Dickens in his novel – A Tale of Two Cities depicts a paradoxical depiction of the Post-French Revolution. He says: “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times,” but the situation of the two capitals, Kabul and Islamabad, however is outrightly reminiscent of only the “worst of times,” being the most tormented regions of the world, due to insane invasion of Afghanistan, which has wrecked the country and has caused the wanton killing of millions of innocent men, women and children. It is being repeated in Pakistan also by various means, including the men-killing machine called drones, blind and oblivious of all humane considerations. Kabul is fighting for its national freedom for the last thirty years, while Islamabad is fighting against terrorism and for the consolidation of the democratic order, against despoticism. In both cases, the struggle has reached the point of decision. In both cases Washington is the common factor, hence the Tale of Three Cities.

Faisal Masjid Islamabad

Islamabad is engaged in a grim struggle on several fronts: The most serious is the confrontation with the judiciary, where the government is trying to shield the NRO beneficiaries and the 18th amendment through manipulations of utterly indescent nature. The nation holds it breath, while the decisive moment is drawing closer for the final judgment to provide change and the opportunity for democracy to flourish under the supremacy of the Constitution. The failure to ameliorate the sufferings of the under-privileged is causing deep resentment. The scale of corruption has not only tarnished the image of the country but has also made the life of the common man miserable. The escalating prices of daily consumer goods, energy crisis, appalling law and order situation and the fear of the administrative system collapsing, has created a deep sense of despondency. People, therefore, demand a change, which is being resisted by means unbecoming of a democratic government. The print and the electronic media of Pakistan, during the last decade, has gained much of respectability, freedom of expression and expertise in investigative journalism and is keeping the public informed of the good and evil, causing deep friction between the government and the media. The confrontational situation on our borders with Afghanistan has had a deep impact on Pak-US relations, at this critical moment, when the occupation forces are facing the problem of safe exit from Afghanistan. Pakistan is not ready to commit its forces in North Waziristan, which is the bone of contention between Pakistan and USA, and is viciously not only linked to the issue of aid and assistance, but also the reimbursement of heavy expenditure Pakistan has incurred for engaging in War on Terror!

Notwithstanding this critical situation, there is no fear of the system collapsing, because the prime institutions of Pakistan, such as the judiciary, the armed forces, the political opposition, the media and the civil society are not asking for any drastic change, but a clean-up of the system, to ensure a sustainable democratic order.

Presidential Palace Kabul

Kabul stands at the turning point of history, as it was in Vienna in 1683, when the advancing Ottoman armies had laid siege to it, the heartland of Europe, and suffered a major defeat, resulting into the dismantling of the Ottoman Umpire and the resultant decline, defeat and degradation of the Muslim World as a whole. However, after World War II, as the colonial forces weakened, many Muslim countries gained independence, which was seen as threat to the interests of the western world, particularly after defeat of the Soviet Union at the hands of the Taliban and its retreat from Kabul. The vacuum thus created was promptly filled by the United States and its allies, by occupying Afghanistan – the heartland of the Muslim World. The purpose was to degrade and defeat the Taliban power, and extend American primacy and pre-eminence into Eurasia and beyond. But that was not to be, because the people of Afghanistan, after defeating the Soviets, have convincingly defeated the sole super-power of the world and its allies. The Afghans, therefore stands at the cross-roads, ready to lay down the parameters of peace in Afghanistan and the region. Kabul establishes the historical linkage with Vienna, which inflicted defeat on the rising Muslim Power, its fall, and now its rises again from the soil of Afghanistan, after a long period of over three centuries. Civilizations, thus cyclically rise, fall and then rise again, with a new momentum, thus repudiating the notion of clash of Civilizations. On the contrary, civilizations get matured through intermingling with each other.

The Americans and their allies – European Union and India, therefore are faced with a sense of humiliating defeat on several fronts, with no clear modality for a safe exit from Afghanistan. Taliban now control over eighty percent of Afghanistan and the occupation forces, control main air bases, communication centres and the garrisons of Kandahar and Kabul only. The Afpak Strategy, i.e. the troops surge and intensified drone attacks also have failed to provide the “position of strength needed for meaningful negotiation with the Taliban”, who are demanding withdrawal of the occupation forces, prior to the negotiations. The effort to divide the Taliban has also failed, thus limiting the option to direct negotiations with the Taliban, on their terms. The immediate neighbours of Afghanistan, i.e., Pakistan, Iran and Russia, constitute the external front to Afghanistan. Admiral Petreaus’ policy of pressurizing and confronting Pakistan has back-fired and Pakistan has succeeded in giving a clear message that no such venture will be entertained in future. Iran being unduly pressurized by USA for the last several years, is paying back, by keeping a blind eye, to the smuggling of arms and ammunition into Afghanistan from the neighbouring countries. The Russians, since 2004-5 have let loose the regional smugglers of arms and ammunition, in retaliation to the revolutions whipped-up by the Americans in the Russian ‘near abroad’ in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. Thus the hostility of the neighbours has come heavy on the occupation forces, with defeat staring into their faces.

Capitol Hill

The Americans are facing a serious political dilemma at home, as the French faced in Vietnam, and lost the war in Paris. Due to the split between Pentagon and the State Department, on Afghan military and political strategy, the Security Advisor to the President, James Jones, the economic advisor and the strategic planner Axelrod, have resigned, while the public opinion is gradually turning against the war, with 65% demanding troops withdrawal from Afghanistan. The economic situation is further deteriorating, adversely impacting the life of the common man. While the strategic talks are being held at Washington, seeking a peaceful solution of the Afghan issue, the US policy appears working on cross-purposes as explained by the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton: “The US is working on an outreach process with Taliban promising that if they remove Al-Qaeda, (numbering not more than seventy, according to CIA), the US will help them re-integrate into the Afghan society,” whereas a society destroyed by invasion, with institutions demolished and the country ravaged by lawlessness, it is beyond the capacity of the defeated armed forces of USA and the allies to integrate the society. Only Taliban under Mullah Omer could do that, as they did during the nineties – 1996-2001. With such a mindset the strategic dialogue in all probability would be working at cross-purposes. However the saving grace for the talk could be, if there was an agreement on the issue of drone attacks; immediate allocation of two billion dollars flood relief and not military aid package as proposed, would win the hearts of the Pakistani people; firm commitment on exit from Afghanistan, and the willingness to negotiate with the Taliban. The current strategic talks are not transactional any more, in which America could seek only to buy Pakistan’s loyalty through threat, coercion or aid. These talks would have no meaning, if “America looses substance in its relationship with Pakistan.”

It is time for USA and its allies to accept gracefully their mistake and consequent failures. Alexander Pope rightly counseled: “A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that, he is wiser today than he was yesterday.” Will USA display the moral courage to accept the mistake, is the question.

Shaukat sees end to religion-based militancy in Kashmir

By Afnan Khan

LAHORE: Kashmiri leader Shaukat Maqbool Butt sees an end to religion-based militancy inside the valley and states that Kashmiris are reviving their secular values which can be gauged by the fact that they have picked up stones against occupying forces in the area, referring to recent protests launched by the people of Indian-held Kashmir.

Shaukat is the son of famous Kashmiri revolutionary leader Maqbool Butt who died during the guerrilla struggle against Indian occupation of his motherland, on the footsteps of Che Guevara, and his other predecessors from the left. His son Shaukat and his companions continued their struggle facing challenges after challenges on both sides of the border.

Currently, Shaukat is leading the National Liberation Conference (NLC), a left wing pro-independence political party, and is also founder of a consortium of different nationalist parties called the All Parties National Alliance (APNA) and said that the Kashmiris were facing the brunt of the enmity between Pakistan and India over the disputed territory, which is a matter of life and death for both archrivals.

However, Shaukat has a different point of view on the issue and during an interview with Daily Times on his recent visit to Lahore, he said, “Religious extremism was never part of a Kashmiri lifestyle and people from all religions were peacefully living in the area for centuries despite the fact that they were suppressed by different imperialist forces at the same time.”

He said his father, regarded as the founding father of the current independence movement for the formerly princely state, started the strongest-ever freedom struggle in Indian-held Kashmir, which has now turned into a more sophisticated one by the locals who actually desire an independent state out of the influence of both Pakistan and India as well as any other foreign powers and the struggle is still going on.

He said Indians tried their best to crush this struggle and the Pakistani establishment also launched militancy inside the disputed territory in the name of religion, but it could not succeed because Kashmiris never believed in religious extremism and now do not even believe in any armed struggle, but want to secure their freedom through political dialogue and campaigning across the world.

Shaukat said Kashmiris had got sick and tired of living under the influence of both Pakistan and India because they had faced physical and mental loss throughout history during the tussle between both the countries. He said his party welcomed the friendship initiatives taken by both sides, yet they believed that the inter-Kashmir bus service as well as trade was heavily controlled by the intelligence agencies and bureaucracy on both sides of the border and they were only allowing selected people to visit their relatives of trade across border.

He said that most Kashmiris were still deprived of the facility of moving across the valley and especially those who had differences of opinion with Pakistani or Indian establishments were still barred from moving around. Shaukat said he himself had tried to visit his relatives in IHK but was not granted permission. He said an independent Kashmir was in the best interest of all stakeholders, but Pakistani and Indian establishments did not understand this.

He said that a free Kashmiri state would definitely end the bloody rivalry between both the countries, as it remained a bone of contention and the root cause of so many wars and bloodshed in the past between the two countries. He said both the countries were keeping a stranglehold on natural resources in the region, which actually belonged to the people of the soil.

“Pakistan faces a major water crisis and blames India for the phenomenon as it has control over the origin of the water resources. This will not be the case if there is an independent Kashmir as the Kashmiris sympathised with their Pakistani brothers and don’t believe in persecution after facing it themselves at the hands of foreign powers,” he explained.

He said the Pakistani establishment also had a hold on the Kashmiris’ resources and pretended to be feeding the Kashmiris while they were actually utilising their resources. He added that he and all other Kashmiris believed that the government of Pakistan violated their own constitution by declaring Gilgit-Baltistan a separate province when the territory was declared a part of Azad Jammu and Kashmir state under the same constitution.

Shaukat said those who migrated from IHK to AJK were still facing an identity crisis as the Pakistan government was hesitant in issuing them identity cards. He said the recent peaceful protests against Indian occupation and its army’s role in the valley following an intifada was a clear indication that the Kashmiris had strongly rejected religion-based militancy.

“We never wanted to kick any Kashmiri out of their homeland on the basis of caste, creed or colour. We have been living with Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians and people of other faiths peacefully for centuries and want all those who were kicked out of the state by religious fundamentalists back,” Shaukat asserted.

Teenage student shot dead in Indian Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India – Four people were killed Monday when Indian security forces opened fire on stone-throwing protesters during fresh demonstrations against Indian rule in Kashmir, police said.

Kashmiri Muslim protesters throw stones towards Indian paramilitary soldiers during a protest in Srinagar. …

A total of 69 protesters and bystanders have been killed over the past three months, mostly by security forces who have used live ammunition on rallies after being pelted with stones.

The latest deaths, including that of a teenage student, occurred in Palhalan, about 30 kilometres (18 miles) north of the state summer capital Srinagar, police said.

“Security forces opened fire in self-defence after they were attacked with stones during a rally,” a police officer said, asking not to be named.

He said one protester died on the spot while 18 others were wounded.

“One of the injured died on way to hospital,” the officer said, adding that two more of the injured died in hospital.

He said the condition of two others was serious.

The fresh deaths brought more people onto the streets of Palhalan, chanting pro-independence slogans, a local photographer said.

They blocked the main highway and pelted stones at security forces and attacked government buildings.

Witnesses said the slain student was not part of the protest.

Residents told visiting reporters that security forces opened fire at peaceful demonstrations and that no one among the protesters hurled stones.

Authorities have launched a probe into the incident.

“Senior police officers have taken a serious view of the firing. Ammunition of the policemen is being checked to fix the responsibility,” an official statement said.

“Those found involved shall be proceeded against strictly according to law without any favour,” it said.

The killings also sparked protests in Srinagar and the southern towns of Pampore and Awantipora, witnesses said, adding hundreds of people poured on to the streets chanting, “Go India, go back!” and “we want freedom!”

The protests came as Muslims prepared for night-long prayers to mark a key night in the ongoing fasting month of Ramadan.

For nearly three months, crowds of young Kashmiris have defied curfews and pelted stones at the hundreds of thousands of security forces that India uses to keep a grip on the volatile region.

Last Monday, an 11-year-old boy was shot dead by police in the southern town of Anantnag during a violent demonstration against New Delhi’s rule in the Muslim-majority region.

Government forces have struggled to contain the outpouring of anger ignited by the killing of a 17-year-old student by police in early June.

Protests began in the main town of Srinagar and have spread through the Kashmir valley.

In northern Handwara district, Indian soldiers Monday shot dead three suspected militants during a gunbattle, army spokesman J.S. Brar said.

India needs Azadi from tinted vision

By Khalid Awan

The Kashmiri youth want to get rid of Indian yoke come what may be the cost. Their demonstration of frustration and anger in the face of bullets and curfews bear testimony to this fact. Indian authorities, right from the beginning, have been blaming Pakistan for fomenting trouble in Kashmir and instigating the Kashmiri youth to rise in revolt against the Indian sovereignty. But the facts speak for themselves; the struggle of Kashmiri youth is indigenous.

The Indian Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram, repeated the same mantra recently, saying that Pakistan based organisations were behind the ongoing agitation in the Kashmir Valley and the protesting youth were being supported by Pakistan. However, an opinion poll conducted by the Outlook magazine of India, in association with the Marketing and Development Research Associates (MDRA), has totally nullified the Indian propaganda, while exposing some of the hard facts about the Kashmir movement.

The poll conducted in Srinagar revealed that 75 percent of those polled did not see Pakistan behind the protests in the occupied territory and believe that it is an indigenous struggle. A majority of the respondents recorded their anger against the New Delhi government, saying that it was responsible for the whole mess.

A majority has described yearning of liberation amongst the Kashmiri masses as the main factor of the current situation. For how long, India will succeed in hiding the truth and gruesome ground realities by blaming Pakistan for its wrongdoings?

Indian authorities must realise that they are themselves responsible for current deteriorating situation in the IOK, and throwing muck on someone else will neither improve the situation nor let them succeed in achieving their false claims. The opinion poll of the Outlook magazine must serve as an eye opener for India as well as the international community. The writing on the wall is what noted human rights activist and author Arundhati Roy said, “India needs azadi (freedom) from Kashmir as much as Kashmir needs azadi from India.”