By Sheikh Mushtaq Reuters
Published: August 28, 2008
SRINAGAR, India: Authorities tentatively relaxed a four-day curfew in Indian Kashmir on Thursday to allow people to buy essentials as residents ran short of food during massive protests against Indian rule.
At least 30 protesters have been killed by government forces over the past three weeks in some of the biggest pro-independence demonstrations since a revolt against New Delhi's rule broke out in Kashmir in 1989. More than 600 have been injured.
In Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, people swarmed grocery shops as authorities relaxed a curfew for more than an hour. The curfew was briefly relaxed at different times in different areas across much of the Kashmir Valley.
The latest deaths occurred on Wednesday, when troops shot protesters who police said defied a curfew and shouted pro-independence slogans. Two protesters were killed and more than a dozen wounded.
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called on Wednesday for the India government to show restraint and called for a probe into the recent killings.
"OHCHR calls on the Indian authorities and in particular security forces to respect the right to freedom of assembly and expression, and comply with international human rights principles in controlling the demonstrators," the OHCHR said in a statement.
First sparked by a land row over a Hindu shrine, the protests quickly transformed into rallies that galvanised pro-separatist groups after years of relative calm in the region.
The crisis has strained relations between India and Pakistan, which both claim the region in full but rule in parts, damaging a tentative peace process and raising fears Kashmir could again become a hotspot between the two nuclear rivals.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Kashmir since the armed revolt against New Delhi's rule broke out, but levels of violence had been falling in the past few years after the tentative peace process between India and Pakistan.
The conflict over the land also sparked large protests in the Hindu-majority region of Jammu, sparking fears of communal conflict gripping parts of the state of more than 10 million people previously less affected by violence.
"EXCESSIVE FORCE"
Indian troops have been criticised by Kashmiris and human rights groups for using excessive force, with reports that they have attacked journalists and ambulance drivers.
Authorities have blocked four local television news channels from broadcasting since Sunday and none of more than a dozen local newspapers have been able to publish for the past five days.
"They have stopped newspapers, local television and starved us," Mukhtar Ahmad, a carpet trader said. "They can't hold us at gun point for long."
Police have also detained four senior separatist leaders since Monday to defuse protests and raided the homes of dozens of others.
"Already reeling under the impact of an economic blockade the curfew has further accentuated the conditions and a humanitarian disaster is staring at our faces," Sajad Lone, a separatist leader, said in a statement.
The crisis began after the Kashmir government promised to give forest land to a Hindu trust that runs Amarnath, a cave shrine visited by Hindu pilgrims. Many Muslims were enraged.
The government then rescinded its decision, which in turn angered Hindus in Jammu who attacked lorries carrying supplies to the largely Muslim Kashmir Valley and blocked the region's highway, the only surface link with the rest of India.
Challenging the blockade, Kashmiris took to the streets.
In Jammu, mainly Hindu protest groups were due to hold talks with state government officials on Thursday evening.
"We are hopeful now," said Narinder Singh, a protest leader in Jammu, when asked about the chances of agreement with the state government over the land row.
Three suspected Muslim militants who slipped across the border from Pakistan into Indian Kashmir were shot dead by security forces after they killed six people in the Hindu-majority region of Jammu on Wednesday, police said.
(Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Alex Richardson)
Friday, August 29, 2008
Kashmir Rumbles, Rattling Old Rivals:The Newyork Times
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
Published: August 21, 2008
SRINAGAR, Kashmir — Born and reared during the bloodiest years of insurgency and counterinsurgency, inheritors of rage, a new generation of young Kashmiris poured into the streets by the tens of thousands over the past several weeks, with stones in their fists and an old slogan on their lips: “Azadi,” or freedom, from India.
Kashmiri Muslims headed to a United Nations office in Srinagar on Monday to press their cause.
Their protests in Indian-controlled Kashmir were part of an unexpected outburst of discontent set off by a dispute over a 99-acre piece of land, which has for more than two months been stoked by both separatist leaders in Muslim-majority Kashmir and Hindu nationalists elsewhere in India.
Overnight, the unrest has threatened to breathe new life into the old and treacherous dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, which is claimed by both nations and lies at the heart of 60 years of bitterness between them, including two wars.
Disastrously for the Indian government, Kashmir has burst onto center stage at a time of growing turmoil in the region — with the resignation this week of Pakistan’s president, Pervez Musharraf, who had sought to temper his country’s backing for anti-Indian militancy here.
Even though the two countries have been engaged in four years of peace talks, India has grown nervous that the disarray in Pakistan has left it with no negotiating partner. From New Delhi’s perspective, that power vacuum has allowed anti-Indian elements in Pakistan’s intelligence services and the militant groups they employ to pursue their agenda with renewed vigor.
Relations between the countries have become newly embittered as Indian and Pakistani forces have engaged in skirmishes across the Line of Control that divides Kashmir between them for the first time in years.
Not least, India has blamed the Pakistani intelligence services for playing a hidden role in the bombing of the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan last month, a charge that Pakistan vehemently denies.
The latest unrest here has only added to the difficulties of renewed dialogue.
How long this agitation will continue depends on both India’s capacity to assuage Kashmiri separatist leaders, and their ability in turn to control the sudden eruption of rage among the young.
The largest, most intense demonstration in years took place on Monday, as tens of thousands of Kashmiris, mostly men, streamed into an open area in the city center to demand independence from India. They came in motorcycle cavalcades, and on the backs of trucks and buses.
A few waved Pakistani flags. Some shouted praise for Lashkar-e-Taiba, the banned Pakistan-based militant organization that India blames for a series of terrorist attacks in recent years. “India, your death will come,” they chanted. “Lashkar will come. Lashkar will come.”
By Tuesday, traffic had returned to the city, as the separatists called for a three-day suspension of the strike. Shops and cafes reopened. The pro-Pakistan graffiti had been covered up, as though it were again an ordinary day.
Another mass gathering, however, is planned for Friday at the martyrs’ cemetery, where two generations of those killed in the conflict are buried, with all the potential to become yet another flash point of conflict.
Again and again, Kashmiris from across the political spectrum said these scenes reminded them of the peak of the anti-Indian rebellion in the early 1990s, except at that time, separatist guerrillas, aided by Pakistan, openly roamed the streets with guns.
Nineteen years after that rebellion kicked off, the current demonstrations have pierced what seemed, perhaps deceptively to the Indian government, like a return of the ordinary here.
Earlier this year, tourists were flocking to Dal Lake in Kashmir. Buses were running twice monthly so that Kashmiris could visit their relatives across the de facto border in the Pakistan-controlled region of Kashmir. A bookshop opened for the first time in nearly two decades.
“Before the storm, there is always a calm,” a Kashmiri woman, Assabah Khan, 34, declared. “The uprising we see now is the latent anger against the Indian state that has erupted again.”
Narendra Nath Vohra, the governor of the Indian-controlled Kashmir state, compared life in Srinagar today to darkness at noon.
In the last few weeks, tourists all but disappeared. Schools and offices closed. The main city hospital was filled with Kashmiris shot and wounded by Indian security forces.
Mehmeet Syed, who only a few months ago could sing her heart out on stage with her five-piece rock band, remained caged in her home, as her city erupted in a series of fiery protests and strikes. On the road leading to the Syed family home, children guarded a homemade roadblock the other day, clutching stones.
On Monday, on the edges of an open field where tens of thousands had gathered to vent their anger at Indian rule, Abdul Gani Mir, 62, marveled at a young man who had scaled a chinar tree to plant a green Islamic flag.
Skip to next paragraph
The New York Times
Amarnath, a Hindu shrine, figures in Kashmir’s unrest.
Related
Times Topics: Kashmir
Mr. Mir said being here filled him with hope. “We succumbed, but I don’t think this generation will,” he said, and then he chuckled. “I wish I were young.”
His niece was among 20 unarmed Kashmiri protesters killed by Indian security forces last week, as they set off on a march to Muzaffarabad, in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
Sheik Yasir Rouf, 27, said he had never before taken part in a demonstration so large, so intense. He was a child in the early 1990s, when the anti-Indian rebellion was at its peak. “This feeling was always there,” he said. “We are fighting for our one right to be free.”
“Sooner or later, this had to be,” insisted his friend, Shahid Rasool, also 27.
Mr. Rouf said he had spent 15 days in jail during his senior year in high school, accused of harboring militants. Mr. Rasool was picked up by security forces and interrogated all night; he was 16 years old.
The trouble in the valley began two months ago, quite unexpectedly, over 99 acres of state government land that, for decades, had been used by Hindu pilgrims on the route to a Himalayan shrine called Amarnath.
In May, the authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir authorized the panel that runs the pilgrimage site to put up “prefabricated structures” for pilgrims. The order enraged Muslims.
With state elections scheduled for this year, some politicians and separatist leaders pounced on the decision and declared it a bid to re-engineer the demography of Kashmir. Hard-line Islamists compared it to the Israeli occupation of Muslim holy lands.
The government soon rescinded the order, but nothing, as Governor Vohra pointed out, actually changed — Hindu pilgrims still used the land, and they still came this year in record numbers.
Nevertheless, the retraction of the original order enraged people in the Hindu-majority plains of Jammu, which is part of the same state. They, too, began agitating by the tens of thousands. And they, too, were goaded by politicians and hard-line leaders.
All told over the past two months, the protests here in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley and counterprotests led by Hindu groups in the plains below, have left a death toll of nearly 40 in clashes with security forces.
The two sides remain at each other’s throats. Muslims in the valley allege that Indian troops have been quick to halt their protests, while letting Hindus in the plains carry on their agitation.
Hindu leaders in the plains were outraged that the government allowed anti-Indian separatists to march through the valley carrying Pakistani flags.
Many Indians regard the rebellious tableau in the valley as an unexpected affront. Kanwal Sibal, a retired diplomat, suggested in a livid column on Tuesday in Mail Today, an English-language newspaper, that unlike China with its Tibet policy, India has never sought to alter Kashmir’s Muslim-majority demography.
The latest fury, he suggested, “shows the failure, and perhaps the futility, of efforts to win the hearts and minds of the valley Kashmiris.”
Kashmiri public opinion is hardly uniformly anti-Indian, and the pro-Pakistan current is one among many. But distrust runs deep. Rumors travel and harden equally fast.
Muslims here complain that Indian security forces roam the streets, and they can recount at least one memory, usually more, of humiliation and fear.
“It is a volcano that has erupted,” Shad Salim Akhtar, 54, a doctor, said of the latest agitation.
That volcano kept Ms. Syed, the Kashmiri singer, at home. She had a video shoot scheduled for her new solo album; it has been postponed. Her father, Ahmad, a doctor was considering running in the elections this fall, but he is no longer sure.
Dr. Syed, 46, said he had just been getting used to the sense of the ordinary returning to his city. The guards at checkpoints were less aggressive than before. He did not worry much about his daughter’s concerts. “Three, four months ago, we thought, ‘It’s all over now, nothing to worry about,’ ” Dr. Syed said.
That is all over now, his daughter lamented. “Will that day come when we can move around freely?” she asked. “It is a dream.”
Amit Wanchoo, a Kashmiri Hindu and the leader of her band, Imersion, was also mostly staying home, leaving plenty of time to write new songs. One was dedicated to those killed last week.
“The sky is saying something, the air is saying something,” the lyrics went. “Where are my people, whom I met here?”
Yusuf Jameel contributed reporting.
Published: August 21, 2008
SRINAGAR, Kashmir — Born and reared during the bloodiest years of insurgency and counterinsurgency, inheritors of rage, a new generation of young Kashmiris poured into the streets by the tens of thousands over the past several weeks, with stones in their fists and an old slogan on their lips: “Azadi,” or freedom, from India.
Kashmiri Muslims headed to a United Nations office in Srinagar on Monday to press their cause.
Their protests in Indian-controlled Kashmir were part of an unexpected outburst of discontent set off by a dispute over a 99-acre piece of land, which has for more than two months been stoked by both separatist leaders in Muslim-majority Kashmir and Hindu nationalists elsewhere in India.
Overnight, the unrest has threatened to breathe new life into the old and treacherous dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, which is claimed by both nations and lies at the heart of 60 years of bitterness between them, including two wars.
Disastrously for the Indian government, Kashmir has burst onto center stage at a time of growing turmoil in the region — with the resignation this week of Pakistan’s president, Pervez Musharraf, who had sought to temper his country’s backing for anti-Indian militancy here.
Even though the two countries have been engaged in four years of peace talks, India has grown nervous that the disarray in Pakistan has left it with no negotiating partner. From New Delhi’s perspective, that power vacuum has allowed anti-Indian elements in Pakistan’s intelligence services and the militant groups they employ to pursue their agenda with renewed vigor.
Relations between the countries have become newly embittered as Indian and Pakistani forces have engaged in skirmishes across the Line of Control that divides Kashmir between them for the first time in years.
Not least, India has blamed the Pakistani intelligence services for playing a hidden role in the bombing of the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan last month, a charge that Pakistan vehemently denies.
The latest unrest here has only added to the difficulties of renewed dialogue.
How long this agitation will continue depends on both India’s capacity to assuage Kashmiri separatist leaders, and their ability in turn to control the sudden eruption of rage among the young.
The largest, most intense demonstration in years took place on Monday, as tens of thousands of Kashmiris, mostly men, streamed into an open area in the city center to demand independence from India. They came in motorcycle cavalcades, and on the backs of trucks and buses.
A few waved Pakistani flags. Some shouted praise for Lashkar-e-Taiba, the banned Pakistan-based militant organization that India blames for a series of terrorist attacks in recent years. “India, your death will come,” they chanted. “Lashkar will come. Lashkar will come.”
By Tuesday, traffic had returned to the city, as the separatists called for a three-day suspension of the strike. Shops and cafes reopened. The pro-Pakistan graffiti had been covered up, as though it were again an ordinary day.
Another mass gathering, however, is planned for Friday at the martyrs’ cemetery, where two generations of those killed in the conflict are buried, with all the potential to become yet another flash point of conflict.
Again and again, Kashmiris from across the political spectrum said these scenes reminded them of the peak of the anti-Indian rebellion in the early 1990s, except at that time, separatist guerrillas, aided by Pakistan, openly roamed the streets with guns.
Nineteen years after that rebellion kicked off, the current demonstrations have pierced what seemed, perhaps deceptively to the Indian government, like a return of the ordinary here.
Earlier this year, tourists were flocking to Dal Lake in Kashmir. Buses were running twice monthly so that Kashmiris could visit their relatives across the de facto border in the Pakistan-controlled region of Kashmir. A bookshop opened for the first time in nearly two decades.
“Before the storm, there is always a calm,” a Kashmiri woman, Assabah Khan, 34, declared. “The uprising we see now is the latent anger against the Indian state that has erupted again.”
Narendra Nath Vohra, the governor of the Indian-controlled Kashmir state, compared life in Srinagar today to darkness at noon.
In the last few weeks, tourists all but disappeared. Schools and offices closed. The main city hospital was filled with Kashmiris shot and wounded by Indian security forces.
Mehmeet Syed, who only a few months ago could sing her heart out on stage with her five-piece rock band, remained caged in her home, as her city erupted in a series of fiery protests and strikes. On the road leading to the Syed family home, children guarded a homemade roadblock the other day, clutching stones.
On Monday, on the edges of an open field where tens of thousands had gathered to vent their anger at Indian rule, Abdul Gani Mir, 62, marveled at a young man who had scaled a chinar tree to plant a green Islamic flag.
Skip to next paragraph
The New York Times
Amarnath, a Hindu shrine, figures in Kashmir’s unrest.
Related
Times Topics: Kashmir
Mr. Mir said being here filled him with hope. “We succumbed, but I don’t think this generation will,” he said, and then he chuckled. “I wish I were young.”
His niece was among 20 unarmed Kashmiri protesters killed by Indian security forces last week, as they set off on a march to Muzaffarabad, in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
Sheik Yasir Rouf, 27, said he had never before taken part in a demonstration so large, so intense. He was a child in the early 1990s, when the anti-Indian rebellion was at its peak. “This feeling was always there,” he said. “We are fighting for our one right to be free.”
“Sooner or later, this had to be,” insisted his friend, Shahid Rasool, also 27.
Mr. Rouf said he had spent 15 days in jail during his senior year in high school, accused of harboring militants. Mr. Rasool was picked up by security forces and interrogated all night; he was 16 years old.
The trouble in the valley began two months ago, quite unexpectedly, over 99 acres of state government land that, for decades, had been used by Hindu pilgrims on the route to a Himalayan shrine called Amarnath.
In May, the authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir authorized the panel that runs the pilgrimage site to put up “prefabricated structures” for pilgrims. The order enraged Muslims.
With state elections scheduled for this year, some politicians and separatist leaders pounced on the decision and declared it a bid to re-engineer the demography of Kashmir. Hard-line Islamists compared it to the Israeli occupation of Muslim holy lands.
The government soon rescinded the order, but nothing, as Governor Vohra pointed out, actually changed — Hindu pilgrims still used the land, and they still came this year in record numbers.
Nevertheless, the retraction of the original order enraged people in the Hindu-majority plains of Jammu, which is part of the same state. They, too, began agitating by the tens of thousands. And they, too, were goaded by politicians and hard-line leaders.
All told over the past two months, the protests here in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley and counterprotests led by Hindu groups in the plains below, have left a death toll of nearly 40 in clashes with security forces.
The two sides remain at each other’s throats. Muslims in the valley allege that Indian troops have been quick to halt their protests, while letting Hindus in the plains carry on their agitation.
Hindu leaders in the plains were outraged that the government allowed anti-Indian separatists to march through the valley carrying Pakistani flags.
Many Indians regard the rebellious tableau in the valley as an unexpected affront. Kanwal Sibal, a retired diplomat, suggested in a livid column on Tuesday in Mail Today, an English-language newspaper, that unlike China with its Tibet policy, India has never sought to alter Kashmir’s Muslim-majority demography.
The latest fury, he suggested, “shows the failure, and perhaps the futility, of efforts to win the hearts and minds of the valley Kashmiris.”
Kashmiri public opinion is hardly uniformly anti-Indian, and the pro-Pakistan current is one among many. But distrust runs deep. Rumors travel and harden equally fast.
Muslims here complain that Indian security forces roam the streets, and they can recount at least one memory, usually more, of humiliation and fear.
“It is a volcano that has erupted,” Shad Salim Akhtar, 54, a doctor, said of the latest agitation.
That volcano kept Ms. Syed, the Kashmiri singer, at home. She had a video shoot scheduled for her new solo album; it has been postponed. Her father, Ahmad, a doctor was considering running in the elections this fall, but he is no longer sure.
Dr. Syed, 46, said he had just been getting used to the sense of the ordinary returning to his city. The guards at checkpoints were less aggressive than before. He did not worry much about his daughter’s concerts. “Three, four months ago, we thought, ‘It’s all over now, nothing to worry about,’ ” Dr. Syed said.
That is all over now, his daughter lamented. “Will that day come when we can move around freely?” she asked. “It is a dream.”
Amit Wanchoo, a Kashmiri Hindu and the leader of her band, Imersion, was also mostly staying home, leaving plenty of time to write new songs. One was dedicated to those killed last week.
“The sky is saying something, the air is saying something,” the lyrics went. “Where are my people, whom I met here?”
Yusuf Jameel contributed reporting.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Kisse Vakil Karen Kis se Munsifi Chahen :Greater kashmir
ALEE ANDRABI
Srinagar, Aug 18: The ‘discrimination’ debate has come to the fore, yet again. Taking the centre-stage in Jammu along with the Amarnath agitation, its misrepresented and clichéd tagline of ‘second class citizens’ has not only been restricted to the slogans of resurrected right wing netas and newsprint in Jammu but has found its way into the newsrooms of National media, gaining undue mileage across Bharat.
We are making an attempt to remove some mist around this discrimination debate. However, Greater Kashmir does not want to contribute to the agenda of hate, discord and divisive politics being run across Chenab. We just want to put the record straight and remove the myths of regional disparity. This is the first of a series of articles on the subject.
We start with the Judiciary. First things first, though. The Sachar Committee report on the Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India, commissioned by the Prime Minister, reveals important figures and information which would somewhat help in dispelling the distorted facts around discrimination in Jammu and Kashmir. We take the representation of Muslims in West Bengal Judiciary as an analogy to the judicial composition in our state. This makes sense because the composition of population in West Bengal is roughly opposite to that of Jammu & Kashmir. West Bengal has a population of 72.5 percent Hindus and 25.2 percent Muslims, whereas Jammu & Kashmir has 67 percent Muslim population and about 29.6 percent Hindus. In West Bengal judiciary the share of Muslims is 4.8 percent at the level of Sessions Judge and 3.2 per cent at the levels of Munsif. A comparison of these numbers with the Muslim representation in our judiciary will prick the bubble of the discrimination bogey.
Muslims and Kashmiris are hugely outnumbered in the superior and lower judiciary of Jammu and Kashmir, the only ‘Muslim majority’ state in India. Contrary to the bogus claims emanating from different quarters, the figures are surprising. Grave, on second thoughts. We have 10 High Court Judges. Only 3 happen to be Kashmiri Muslims. One a Kashmiri Pandit. Amongst the rest, 3 are Jammu Hindus and 3 outsiders, Hindu again. Well then, discrimination? Of course. But the other way around. Muslims with more than double the population of Hindus have been ‘made to’ stand on equal ground in the superior judiciary. Blatant discrimination. Exploitation. I hope these figures address the concerns of the self proclaimed ‘second class citizens’ up in arms against Kashmiri Muslims and gives them an ego boost. A much needed one.
Moving on to the Sessions Judges. 8 Kashmiri Pandits, 4 Jammu Muslims, 28 Jammu Non Muslims and 24 Kashmiri Muslims. The representation of Jammuites works out to 50 per cent. Compare that with the representation of West Bengal Muslims quoted above. With these figures, I can only be shocked as to how this blatant myth of discrimination of the Jammu population has been kept alive for so long and even gets coverage and endorsement across the ‘Breaking News’ bandwagon of modern day India. A commendable feat indeed. And to add to these disturbing figures, sixteen of the twenty four Muslim Judges of Kashmir are retiring in two years. It is all yours to play Jammuites!
Thanks to the recruitment during the past twenty years the lion’s share will literally belong to the ‘second class citizens’. Have a look at these staggering figures. In all there are 110 Sub Judges/ Munsifs out of which 79 are from Jammu, with 19 Muslims and 60 Non Muslims. This works out to 72 percent, compared to the 3.2 percent Muslim Munsifs in West Bengal! The participation of Kashmiris in the most vital judiciary is of course a pittance. Only 29 Kashmiri Muslim Sub Judges and 2 Kashmiri Pandits. This is not even discrimination, it looks like ethnic cleansing.
There is no doubt in my mind that Kashmiris got only what they deserved on the basis of comparative merit. But they don’t complain. Look who does!
Srinagar, Aug 18: The ‘discrimination’ debate has come to the fore, yet again. Taking the centre-stage in Jammu along with the Amarnath agitation, its misrepresented and clichéd tagline of ‘second class citizens’ has not only been restricted to the slogans of resurrected right wing netas and newsprint in Jammu but has found its way into the newsrooms of National media, gaining undue mileage across Bharat.
We are making an attempt to remove some mist around this discrimination debate. However, Greater Kashmir does not want to contribute to the agenda of hate, discord and divisive politics being run across Chenab. We just want to put the record straight and remove the myths of regional disparity. This is the first of a series of articles on the subject.
We start with the Judiciary. First things first, though. The Sachar Committee report on the Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India, commissioned by the Prime Minister, reveals important figures and information which would somewhat help in dispelling the distorted facts around discrimination in Jammu and Kashmir. We take the representation of Muslims in West Bengal Judiciary as an analogy to the judicial composition in our state. This makes sense because the composition of population in West Bengal is roughly opposite to that of Jammu & Kashmir. West Bengal has a population of 72.5 percent Hindus and 25.2 percent Muslims, whereas Jammu & Kashmir has 67 percent Muslim population and about 29.6 percent Hindus. In West Bengal judiciary the share of Muslims is 4.8 percent at the level of Sessions Judge and 3.2 per cent at the levels of Munsif. A comparison of these numbers with the Muslim representation in our judiciary will prick the bubble of the discrimination bogey.
Muslims and Kashmiris are hugely outnumbered in the superior and lower judiciary of Jammu and Kashmir, the only ‘Muslim majority’ state in India. Contrary to the bogus claims emanating from different quarters, the figures are surprising. Grave, on second thoughts. We have 10 High Court Judges. Only 3 happen to be Kashmiri Muslims. One a Kashmiri Pandit. Amongst the rest, 3 are Jammu Hindus and 3 outsiders, Hindu again. Well then, discrimination? Of course. But the other way around. Muslims with more than double the population of Hindus have been ‘made to’ stand on equal ground in the superior judiciary. Blatant discrimination. Exploitation. I hope these figures address the concerns of the self proclaimed ‘second class citizens’ up in arms against Kashmiri Muslims and gives them an ego boost. A much needed one.
Moving on to the Sessions Judges. 8 Kashmiri Pandits, 4 Jammu Muslims, 28 Jammu Non Muslims and 24 Kashmiri Muslims. The representation of Jammuites works out to 50 per cent. Compare that with the representation of West Bengal Muslims quoted above. With these figures, I can only be shocked as to how this blatant myth of discrimination of the Jammu population has been kept alive for so long and even gets coverage and endorsement across the ‘Breaking News’ bandwagon of modern day India. A commendable feat indeed. And to add to these disturbing figures, sixteen of the twenty four Muslim Judges of Kashmir are retiring in two years. It is all yours to play Jammuites!
Thanks to the recruitment during the past twenty years the lion’s share will literally belong to the ‘second class citizens’. Have a look at these staggering figures. In all there are 110 Sub Judges/ Munsifs out of which 79 are from Jammu, with 19 Muslims and 60 Non Muslims. This works out to 72 percent, compared to the 3.2 percent Muslim Munsifs in West Bengal! The participation of Kashmiris in the most vital judiciary is of course a pittance. Only 29 Kashmiri Muslim Sub Judges and 2 Kashmiri Pandits. This is not even discrimination, it looks like ethnic cleansing.
There is no doubt in my mind that Kashmiris got only what they deserved on the basis of comparative merit. But they don’t complain. Look who does!
Hawk Geelani says he’s ‘sole’ azadi leader, then apologises:Indian express
Muzamil Jaleel
SRINAGAR,
AUGUST 18: The massive march by protesters in the Valley to submit a memo to the United Nations Military Observers Group here today also came to reflect the fragility behind the new-found union between the hawks and doves in the separatist camp as they lead the snowballing agitation.
In his address to the crowds that had started pouring in from across the Valley since morning, Hurriyat hardline leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who called for a “merger with Pakistan,” proclaimed himself the sole leader of the separatist movement. He sought approval of the huge gathering asking those assembled to raise their hands.
But sensing that such a call could undermine the united front — separatists, traders, industrialists and civil society organisations — formed after the Amarnath land transfer row in June, Geelani, within hours of his speech, called a hurried press conference to apologise.
“It was a mistake,” he said, “no person is bigger than the movement”. The apology assumes significance since Geelani’s themes today were an echo of his traditional “Islamist” stand on Kashmir. He also welcomed the exit of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf who, he said, had betrayed the cause of Islam and Kashmir.
But Geelani’s immediate withdrawal of his controversial public statement — this is the first time he has done so — is also a pointer to the mood in the Valley where protests have gone beyond the land transfer and the “economic blockade” to calls for “azadi.”
But, clearly, it once again exposed the deep ideological fissures in the separatist camp between Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik.
While Geelani bases his separatist struggle entirely on the premise of “Islam, seeking Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan”, Malik’s separatist politics stands for “an independent, secular and united Jammu and Kashmir”. Mirwaiz, meanwhile, takes the middle route and does not necessarily have a rigid political manifesto even as his Awami Action Committee party and constituency in downtown Srinagar are staunchly in favour of Pakistan.
Earlier, the flow of people into Srinagar from across the Valley began early this morning, especially as the Government decided to allow the procession, after Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Kachu Asfandyar Khan and Senior Superintendent of Police Syed Ahfad-ul-Mujataba met and convinced the separatist leadership to change their programme from assembling at the UN office to holding a rally in the neighbouring Tourist Reception Grounds. By 10 am, all roads surrounding the TRC grounds were choked with protesters shouting separatist slogans.
Groups from political, business and social organisations represented in the Hurriyat-led Coordination committee — Geelani, Mirwaiz and Yasin did not accompany them — were allowed to go to the UN office where they submitted a memo asking UN Secretary General to intervene in Jammu and Kashmir. It also called upon India to take effective measures in giving the people of the state the right to self-determination.
JKLF leader Yasin Malik was the first to arrive to azadi slogans: “Is paar bhi lenge azadi, Us par bhi lenge azadi,” (freedom on this side of the LoC, freedom from across as well). When Hurriyat moderate leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq appeared, the crowd began shouting pro- Pakistan slogans. When Geelani arrived, it was 3 pm and he was the last to speak. “We demanding a right of self determination. This is our human and democratic right and we have given every sacrifice to attain our goal,” he said. “We demand that the United Nations sends its delegation to Kashmir to listen to this demand of people. People want a complete withdrawal of Indian troops from here and a referendum under the auspices of the United Nations”. Geelani lashed at the media too. “The Indian media is part and parcel of India’s war machine so we want international press to visit Kashmir and report the truth. People here are demanding their basic rights,” he said.
Geelani then gave the resignation of Pak President Pervez Musharraf his own twist. “I want to give you a good news,” he said. “For the past eight years, a military general of Pakistan has been damaging the entire Islamic nation. He harmed Pakistan. He destroyed the Kashmir cause to save his chair. Today he has resigned. Pakistan’s public has rejected him,” he said. “We are demanding from Pakistan’s rulers, political leadership and Pakistan’s people that Pakistan had been created for the sake of Islam and it should be used only for Islam. Socialism, secularism and America’s world order cannot work there. Only Islam must work there,” he said. “Through the relationship of Islam, we are all Pakistanis and Pakistan is ours”. Then he shouted: “Hum Pakistani hain. Pakistan hamara hai (We are Pakistani and Pakistan is ours).”
“Till now the choice of a leader (of the separatists) could never been made,” Geelani said. “Today, I am asking you whether you trust me. Do you trust Syed Ali Shah Geelani to lead this movement?” he said and asked the people to raise their hands. “I promise you to work for the domination of Islam and will carry everyone along”.
After the rally concluded, the Hurriyat moderates immediately issued a statement that separatist leadership is not the sole right of one person. “It is a joint leadership,” the moderates insisted. JKLF, however, didn’t issue any statement. JKLF leader Yasin Malik sees the sudden surge in pro-Pakistan slogans as the Geelani camp’s effort to dominate this latest wave of separatism and bring religion and Pakistan to the centrestage.
SRINAGAR,
AUGUST 18: The massive march by protesters in the Valley to submit a memo to the United Nations Military Observers Group here today also came to reflect the fragility behind the new-found union between the hawks and doves in the separatist camp as they lead the snowballing agitation.
In his address to the crowds that had started pouring in from across the Valley since morning, Hurriyat hardline leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who called for a “merger with Pakistan,” proclaimed himself the sole leader of the separatist movement. He sought approval of the huge gathering asking those assembled to raise their hands.
But sensing that such a call could undermine the united front — separatists, traders, industrialists and civil society organisations — formed after the Amarnath land transfer row in June, Geelani, within hours of his speech, called a hurried press conference to apologise.
“It was a mistake,” he said, “no person is bigger than the movement”. The apology assumes significance since Geelani’s themes today were an echo of his traditional “Islamist” stand on Kashmir. He also welcomed the exit of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf who, he said, had betrayed the cause of Islam and Kashmir.
But Geelani’s immediate withdrawal of his controversial public statement — this is the first time he has done so — is also a pointer to the mood in the Valley where protests have gone beyond the land transfer and the “economic blockade” to calls for “azadi.”
But, clearly, it once again exposed the deep ideological fissures in the separatist camp between Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik.
While Geelani bases his separatist struggle entirely on the premise of “Islam, seeking Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan”, Malik’s separatist politics stands for “an independent, secular and united Jammu and Kashmir”. Mirwaiz, meanwhile, takes the middle route and does not necessarily have a rigid political manifesto even as his Awami Action Committee party and constituency in downtown Srinagar are staunchly in favour of Pakistan.
Earlier, the flow of people into Srinagar from across the Valley began early this morning, especially as the Government decided to allow the procession, after Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Kachu Asfandyar Khan and Senior Superintendent of Police Syed Ahfad-ul-Mujataba met and convinced the separatist leadership to change their programme from assembling at the UN office to holding a rally in the neighbouring Tourist Reception Grounds. By 10 am, all roads surrounding the TRC grounds were choked with protesters shouting separatist slogans.
Groups from political, business and social organisations represented in the Hurriyat-led Coordination committee — Geelani, Mirwaiz and Yasin did not accompany them — were allowed to go to the UN office where they submitted a memo asking UN Secretary General to intervene in Jammu and Kashmir. It also called upon India to take effective measures in giving the people of the state the right to self-determination.
JKLF leader Yasin Malik was the first to arrive to azadi slogans: “Is paar bhi lenge azadi, Us par bhi lenge azadi,” (freedom on this side of the LoC, freedom from across as well). When Hurriyat moderate leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq appeared, the crowd began shouting pro- Pakistan slogans. When Geelani arrived, it was 3 pm and he was the last to speak. “We demanding a right of self determination. This is our human and democratic right and we have given every sacrifice to attain our goal,” he said. “We demand that the United Nations sends its delegation to Kashmir to listen to this demand of people. People want a complete withdrawal of Indian troops from here and a referendum under the auspices of the United Nations”. Geelani lashed at the media too. “The Indian media is part and parcel of India’s war machine so we want international press to visit Kashmir and report the truth. People here are demanding their basic rights,” he said.
Geelani then gave the resignation of Pak President Pervez Musharraf his own twist. “I want to give you a good news,” he said. “For the past eight years, a military general of Pakistan has been damaging the entire Islamic nation. He harmed Pakistan. He destroyed the Kashmir cause to save his chair. Today he has resigned. Pakistan’s public has rejected him,” he said. “We are demanding from Pakistan’s rulers, political leadership and Pakistan’s people that Pakistan had been created for the sake of Islam and it should be used only for Islam. Socialism, secularism and America’s world order cannot work there. Only Islam must work there,” he said. “Through the relationship of Islam, we are all Pakistanis and Pakistan is ours”. Then he shouted: “Hum Pakistani hain. Pakistan hamara hai (We are Pakistani and Pakistan is ours).”
“Till now the choice of a leader (of the separatists) could never been made,” Geelani said. “Today, I am asking you whether you trust me. Do you trust Syed Ali Shah Geelani to lead this movement?” he said and asked the people to raise their hands. “I promise you to work for the domination of Islam and will carry everyone along”.
After the rally concluded, the Hurriyat moderates immediately issued a statement that separatist leadership is not the sole right of one person. “It is a joint leadership,” the moderates insisted. JKLF, however, didn’t issue any statement. JKLF leader Yasin Malik sees the sudden surge in pro-Pakistan slogans as the Geelani camp’s effort to dominate this latest wave of separatism and bring religion and Pakistan to the centrestage.
Independence Day for Kashmir:Times of India
Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar
On August 15, India celebrated independence from the British Raj. But Kashmiris staged a bandh demanding independence from India. A day symbolising the end of colonialism in India became a day symbolising Indian colonialism in the Valley.
As a liberal, i dislike ruling people against their will. True, nation-building is a difficult and complex exercise, and initial resistance can give way to the integration of regional aspirations into a larger national identity — the end of Tamil secessionism was a classical example of this.
I was once hopeful of Kashmir's integration, but after six decades of effort, Kashmiri alienation looks greater than ever. India seeks to integrate with Kashmir, not rule it colonially. Yet, the parallels between British rule in India and Indian rule in Kashmir have become too close for my comfort.
Many Indians say that Kashmir legally became an integral part of India when the maharaja of the state signed the instrument of accession. Alas, such legalisms become irrelevant when ground realities change. Indian kings and princes, including the Mughals, acceded to the British Raj. The documents they signed became irrelevant when Indians launched an independence movement.
The British insisted for a long time that India was an integral part of their Empire, the jewel in its crown, and would never be given up. Imperialist Blimps remained in denial for decades. I fear we are in similar denial on Kashmir.
The politically correct story of the maharaja's accession ignores a devastating parallel event. Just as Kashmir had a Hindu maharaja ruling over a Muslim majority, Junagadh had a Muslim nawab ruling over a Hindu majority. The Hindu maharaja acceded to India, and the Muslim nawab to Pakistan.
But while India claimed that the Kashmiri accession to India was sacred, it did not accept Junagadh's accession to Pakistan. India sent troops into Junagadh, just as Pakistan sent troops into Kashmir. The difference was that Pakistan lacked the military means to intervene in Junagadh, while India was able to send troops into Srinagar. The Junagadh nawab fled to Pakistan, whereas the Kashmir maharaja sat tight. India's double standard on Junagadh and Kashmir was breathtaking.
Do you think the people of Junagadh would have integrated with Pakistan after six decades of genuine Pakistani effort? No? Then can you really be confident that Kashmiris will stop demanding azaadi and integrate with India?
The British came to India uninvited. By contrast, Sheikh Abdullah, the most popular politician in Kashmir, supported accession to India subject to ratification by a plebiscite. But his heart lay in independence for Kashmir, and he soon began manoeuvering towards that end. He was jailed by Nehru, who then declared Kashmir's accession was final and no longer required ratification by a plebiscite. The fact that Kashmir had a Muslim majority was held to be irrelevant, since India was a secular country empowering citizens through democracy.
Alas, democracy in Kashmir has been a farce for most of six decades. The rot began with Sheikh Abdullah in 1951: he rejected the nomination papers of almost all opponents, and so won 73 of the 75 seats unopposed! Nehru was complicit in this sabotage of democracy.
Subsequent state elections were also rigged in favour of leaders nominated by New Delhi. Only in 1977 was the first fair election held, and was won by the Sheikh. But he died after a few years, and rigging returned in the 1988 election. That sparked the separatist uprising which continues to gather strength today.
Many Indians point to long episodes of peace in the Valley and say the separatists are just a noisy minority. But the Raj also had long quiet periods between Gandhian agitations, which involved just a few lakhs of India's 500 million people. One lakh people joined the Quit India movement of 1942, but 25 lakh others joined the British Indian army to fight for the Empire's glory.
Blimps cited this as evidence that most Indians simply wanted jobs and a decent life. The Raj built the biggest railway and canal networks in the world. It said most Indians were satisfied with economic development, and that independence was demanded by a noisy minority. This is uncomfortably similar to the official Indian response to the Kashmiri demand for azaadi.
Let me not exaggerate. Indian rule in Kashmir is not classical colonialism. India has pumped vast sums into Kashmir, not extracted revenue as the Raj did. Kashmir was among the poorest states during the Raj, but now has the lowest poverty rate in India. It enjoys wide civil rights that the Raj never gave. Some elections — 1977, 1983 and 2002 — were perfectly fair.
India has sought integration with Kashmir, not colonial rule. But Kashmiris nevertheless demand azaadi. And ruling over those who resent it so strongly for so long is quasi-colonialism, regardless of our intentions.
We promised Kashmiris a plebiscite six decades ago. Let us hold one now, and give them three choices: independence, union with Pakistan, and union with India. Almost certainly the Valley will opt for independence. Jammu will opt to stay with India, and probably Ladakh too. Let Kashmiris decide the outcome, not the politicians and armies of India and Pakistan.
On August 15, India celebrated independence from the British Raj. But Kashmiris staged a bandh demanding independence from India. A day symbolising the end of colonialism in India became a day symbolising Indian colonialism in the Valley.
As a liberal, i dislike ruling people against their will. True, nation-building is a difficult and complex exercise, and initial resistance can give way to the integration of regional aspirations into a larger national identity — the end of Tamil secessionism was a classical example of this.
I was once hopeful of Kashmir's integration, but after six decades of effort, Kashmiri alienation looks greater than ever. India seeks to integrate with Kashmir, not rule it colonially. Yet, the parallels between British rule in India and Indian rule in Kashmir have become too close for my comfort.
Many Indians say that Kashmir legally became an integral part of India when the maharaja of the state signed the instrument of accession. Alas, such legalisms become irrelevant when ground realities change. Indian kings and princes, including the Mughals, acceded to the British Raj. The documents they signed became irrelevant when Indians launched an independence movement.
The British insisted for a long time that India was an integral part of their Empire, the jewel in its crown, and would never be given up. Imperialist Blimps remained in denial for decades. I fear we are in similar denial on Kashmir.
The politically correct story of the maharaja's accession ignores a devastating parallel event. Just as Kashmir had a Hindu maharaja ruling over a Muslim majority, Junagadh had a Muslim nawab ruling over a Hindu majority. The Hindu maharaja acceded to India, and the Muslim nawab to Pakistan.
But while India claimed that the Kashmiri accession to India was sacred, it did not accept Junagadh's accession to Pakistan. India sent troops into Junagadh, just as Pakistan sent troops into Kashmir. The difference was that Pakistan lacked the military means to intervene in Junagadh, while India was able to send troops into Srinagar. The Junagadh nawab fled to Pakistan, whereas the Kashmir maharaja sat tight. India's double standard on Junagadh and Kashmir was breathtaking.
Do you think the people of Junagadh would have integrated with Pakistan after six decades of genuine Pakistani effort? No? Then can you really be confident that Kashmiris will stop demanding azaadi and integrate with India?
The British came to India uninvited. By contrast, Sheikh Abdullah, the most popular politician in Kashmir, supported accession to India subject to ratification by a plebiscite. But his heart lay in independence for Kashmir, and he soon began manoeuvering towards that end. He was jailed by Nehru, who then declared Kashmir's accession was final and no longer required ratification by a plebiscite. The fact that Kashmir had a Muslim majority was held to be irrelevant, since India was a secular country empowering citizens through democracy.
Alas, democracy in Kashmir has been a farce for most of six decades. The rot began with Sheikh Abdullah in 1951: he rejected the nomination papers of almost all opponents, and so won 73 of the 75 seats unopposed! Nehru was complicit in this sabotage of democracy.
Subsequent state elections were also rigged in favour of leaders nominated by New Delhi. Only in 1977 was the first fair election held, and was won by the Sheikh. But he died after a few years, and rigging returned in the 1988 election. That sparked the separatist uprising which continues to gather strength today.
Many Indians point to long episodes of peace in the Valley and say the separatists are just a noisy minority. But the Raj also had long quiet periods between Gandhian agitations, which involved just a few lakhs of India's 500 million people. One lakh people joined the Quit India movement of 1942, but 25 lakh others joined the British Indian army to fight for the Empire's glory.
Blimps cited this as evidence that most Indians simply wanted jobs and a decent life. The Raj built the biggest railway and canal networks in the world. It said most Indians were satisfied with economic development, and that independence was demanded by a noisy minority. This is uncomfortably similar to the official Indian response to the Kashmiri demand for azaadi.
Let me not exaggerate. Indian rule in Kashmir is not classical colonialism. India has pumped vast sums into Kashmir, not extracted revenue as the Raj did. Kashmir was among the poorest states during the Raj, but now has the lowest poverty rate in India. It enjoys wide civil rights that the Raj never gave. Some elections — 1977, 1983 and 2002 — were perfectly fair.
India has sought integration with Kashmir, not colonial rule. But Kashmiris nevertheless demand azaadi. And ruling over those who resent it so strongly for so long is quasi-colonialism, regardless of our intentions.
We promised Kashmiris a plebiscite six decades ago. Let us hold one now, and give them three choices: independence, union with Pakistan, and union with India. Almost certainly the Valley will opt for independence. Jammu will opt to stay with India, and probably Ladakh too. Let Kashmiris decide the outcome, not the politicians and armies of India and Pakistan.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
کشمیر: ہلاکتوں پر ہر جگہ ماتم
ریاض مسرور
بی بی سی اُردو ڈاٹ کام، سرینگر
تعزیتی اجتماع کی کال علیٰحدگی پسند رہنماؤں سید علی گیلانی اور میرواعظ عمرفاروق نے مشترکہ طور پر دی تھی
ہندوستان کے زیرانتظام کشمیر میں گیارہ اگست کو شروع کی گئی ’مظفرآباد چلو‘ تحریک کے چھٹے روز سنیچر کو اس تحریک کے دوران فوج اور نیم فوجی عملے کی فائرنگ میں ہلاک ہونےوالے کشمیریوں کے حق میں جگہ جگہ غائبانہ نماز جنازہ پڑھی گئی۔
اس حوالے سے سب سے بڑا اجتماع جنوبی کشمیر کے پانپور قصبہ میں ہوا ، جہاں گیارہ اگست کو مظفرآباد مارچ کے دوران مارے گیے سرکردہ علیٰحدگی پسند رہنما شیخ عبدالعزیز کے گھر پر لاکھوں لوگوں نے تعزیتی مجلس میں حصہ لیا۔
اس اجتماع کی کال علیٰحدگی پسند رہنماؤں سید علی گیلانی اور میرواعظ عمرفاروق نے مشترکہ طور پر دی تھی۔
کشمیری للکار قبول نہیں کرتے
’تحریک آزادیِ کشمیر‘ کا نیا شہید
کشمیر میں مظاہرے تصاویر میں
شیخ عبدالعزیز کے آبائی قصبہ پانپور میں قریب دو لاکھ لوگوں کے اجتماع سے سید علی گیلانی، شبیر احمد شاہ ، میرواعظ عمر، نعیم احمد خان اور محمد یٰسین ملک نے خطاب کیا۔ ان رہنماؤں نے مظفرآباد روڑ کی بحالی تک جدوجہد جاری رکھنے کا اعلان کیا ۔
ان رہنماؤں نے عوام سے اپیل کی کہ وہ پیر یعنی اٹھارہ اگست کو وادی کے تمام قصبوں اور دیہات سے سرینگر آئیں اور یہاں مقیم اقوام متحدہ کے فوجی مبصرین کو ایک یاداشت پیش کریں۔
پچھلے اُنیس سال میں یہ پہلا موقع ہے کہ لوگوں کا ایک اژدہام اُمڈ آیا اور ہر طبقہ سے وابستہ افراد جن میں خواتین اور بچے بھی شامل تھے۔ سیاہ اور سبز ہلالی پرچم تھامے قافلوں کے ساتھ پانپور کی طرف رواں دواں تھے۔
جب تک مظفرآباد روڑ بحال نہیں ہوتا، ریاست سے مکمل فوجی انخلا نہییں ہوتا، کالے قوانیں کا خاتمہ نہیں ہوتا اور تمام کشمیری قیدیوں کو رہا نہیں کیا جاتا ، تب ہماری جدوجہد اور احتجاج جاری رہے گا
میر واعظ عمر فاروق، حریت لیڈر
پچھلے چند روز کے دوران پولیس اور سی آر پی ایف کے خلاف انتہائی غم و غصہ کو دیکھتے ہوئے، صوبے کے پولیس سربراہ کلدیپ کمار کُھڈا نے جمعہ کے روز ہی ایک بیان میں اعلان کی تھا ’اگر مظاہرین پرامن رہینگے تو انہیں روکا نہیں جائے گا۔‘
پانپور جارہے قافلوں میں لوگ مرثیہ خواں تھے، اور ’السلام السلام ، اے شہیدو السلام‘ کے نعروں سے پوری فضا گونج رہی تھی۔ لوگ ، اسلام، آزادی اور پاکستان کے حق میں بھی نعرے بلند کررہے تھے۔
خواتین مخصوص کشمیری انداز میں ماتم کررہی تھیں اور ’ہا میانہ شہدو ولا گور کرایو (اے میرے شہید آجا تجھے سینے سے لگادوں‘۔
سرینگر سے پانپور تک کے دس کلومیٹر فاصلے پر جگہ جگہ خواتین نے مشروبات اور دیگر اشیائے خوردنی کے اسٹال لگائے تھے جن سے مظاہرین مستفید ہورہے تھے۔
پانپور کے تعزیتی اجتماع سے خطاب کے دوران میرواعظ عمر فاروق نے حالات کی بحالی کے لیے حکومت ہند کو چار نکاتی فارمولہ پیش کرتے ہوئے’جب تک مظفرآباد روڑ بحال نہیں ہوتا، ریاست سے مکمل فوجی انخلا نہیں ہوتا، کالے قوانیں کا خاتمہ نہیں ہوتا اور تمام کشمیری قیدیوں کو رہا نہیں کیا جاتا ، تب ہماری جدوجہد اور احتجاج جاری رہے گا۔‘
سید علی گیلانی، یٰسین ملک، شبیر احمد شاہ اور نعیم خان نے بھی اس مؤقف کی تائید کی۔ انہوں نے یاد دلایا کہ حریت کانفرنس کے دونوں دھڑوں نے پہلے ہی ’مظفرآباد چلو‘ کی تحریک کو آگے بڑھانے کے لئے ایک مشترکہ رابطہ کمیٹی کا قیام عمل میں لایا ہے، اور احتجاجی تحریک سے متعلق یہی کمیٹی لائحہ عمل طے کرے گی۔
مظفرآباد چلو مارچ کے دوران شیخ عبدالعزیز کی ہلاکت کے بعد ان کے آبائی قصبہ پانپور میں تقریبا دو لاکھ افراد تعزیتی جلسے میں پہنچے
گیلانی نے ڈاکٹر فاروق عبداللہ، عمر عبداللہ، مفتی محمد سعید ، محبوبہ مفتی اور دیگر ہندنواز سیاسی رہنماؤں کو دعوت دی کہ وہ ’ہندنواز سیاست سے کنارہ کش ہوکر اس تحریک کا حصہ بنیں کیونکہ وہ اسی مٹی کی پیدوار ہیں جس کے لیے یہاں کے نوجوان اپنا گرم لہو نچھاور کررہے ہیں۔‘
واضح رہے شیخ عبدالعزیز گیارہ اگست کو مظفرآباد مارچ کے دوران بارہمولہ کے ژہل گاؤں میں کنٹرول لائن سے چند کلومیٹر کے فاصلے پر فوج کی فائرنگ میں ہلاک ہوگئے۔
ان کی ہلاکت کے بعد وادی میں کشیدگی بڑھ گئی اور پولیس و سی آر پی ایف کی انسدادی کاروائیوں میں ہلاک ہونے والوں سے متعلق جو فہرست مقامی اخبارات نے شائع کی ہے اس کے مطابق اب تک کم از کم 32 افراد مارے گئے ہیں۔ تاہم سرکاری طور پر ابھی تک ہلاکتوں کے بارے میں کوئی واضح بیان جاری نہیں کیا گیا۔
دریں اثنا ہلاک ہونیوالے نوجوانوں کے حق میں غائبانہ نماز جنازہ کا عمل جاری ہے اور تقریباً ہر محلے اور ہر بستی میں مقامی اوقاف اسلامیہ ان جنازوں کا اہتمام کررہی ہے۔ سرینگر کے بٹہ مالو علاقہ میں سابق عسکریت پسند رہنما مشتاق الاسلام اور علیٰحدگی پسند رہنما شکیل بخشی نے بھی ایسے ہی جنازے کا اہمتام کیا۔
بی بی سی اُردو ڈاٹ کام، سرینگر
تعزیتی اجتماع کی کال علیٰحدگی پسند رہنماؤں سید علی گیلانی اور میرواعظ عمرفاروق نے مشترکہ طور پر دی تھی
ہندوستان کے زیرانتظام کشمیر میں گیارہ اگست کو شروع کی گئی ’مظفرآباد چلو‘ تحریک کے چھٹے روز سنیچر کو اس تحریک کے دوران فوج اور نیم فوجی عملے کی فائرنگ میں ہلاک ہونےوالے کشمیریوں کے حق میں جگہ جگہ غائبانہ نماز جنازہ پڑھی گئی۔
اس حوالے سے سب سے بڑا اجتماع جنوبی کشمیر کے پانپور قصبہ میں ہوا ، جہاں گیارہ اگست کو مظفرآباد مارچ کے دوران مارے گیے سرکردہ علیٰحدگی پسند رہنما شیخ عبدالعزیز کے گھر پر لاکھوں لوگوں نے تعزیتی مجلس میں حصہ لیا۔
اس اجتماع کی کال علیٰحدگی پسند رہنماؤں سید علی گیلانی اور میرواعظ عمرفاروق نے مشترکہ طور پر دی تھی۔
کشمیری للکار قبول نہیں کرتے
’تحریک آزادیِ کشمیر‘ کا نیا شہید
کشمیر میں مظاہرے تصاویر میں
شیخ عبدالعزیز کے آبائی قصبہ پانپور میں قریب دو لاکھ لوگوں کے اجتماع سے سید علی گیلانی، شبیر احمد شاہ ، میرواعظ عمر، نعیم احمد خان اور محمد یٰسین ملک نے خطاب کیا۔ ان رہنماؤں نے مظفرآباد روڑ کی بحالی تک جدوجہد جاری رکھنے کا اعلان کیا ۔
ان رہنماؤں نے عوام سے اپیل کی کہ وہ پیر یعنی اٹھارہ اگست کو وادی کے تمام قصبوں اور دیہات سے سرینگر آئیں اور یہاں مقیم اقوام متحدہ کے فوجی مبصرین کو ایک یاداشت پیش کریں۔
پچھلے اُنیس سال میں یہ پہلا موقع ہے کہ لوگوں کا ایک اژدہام اُمڈ آیا اور ہر طبقہ سے وابستہ افراد جن میں خواتین اور بچے بھی شامل تھے۔ سیاہ اور سبز ہلالی پرچم تھامے قافلوں کے ساتھ پانپور کی طرف رواں دواں تھے۔
جب تک مظفرآباد روڑ بحال نہیں ہوتا، ریاست سے مکمل فوجی انخلا نہییں ہوتا، کالے قوانیں کا خاتمہ نہیں ہوتا اور تمام کشمیری قیدیوں کو رہا نہیں کیا جاتا ، تب ہماری جدوجہد اور احتجاج جاری رہے گا
میر واعظ عمر فاروق، حریت لیڈر
پچھلے چند روز کے دوران پولیس اور سی آر پی ایف کے خلاف انتہائی غم و غصہ کو دیکھتے ہوئے، صوبے کے پولیس سربراہ کلدیپ کمار کُھڈا نے جمعہ کے روز ہی ایک بیان میں اعلان کی تھا ’اگر مظاہرین پرامن رہینگے تو انہیں روکا نہیں جائے گا۔‘
پانپور جارہے قافلوں میں لوگ مرثیہ خواں تھے، اور ’السلام السلام ، اے شہیدو السلام‘ کے نعروں سے پوری فضا گونج رہی تھی۔ لوگ ، اسلام، آزادی اور پاکستان کے حق میں بھی نعرے بلند کررہے تھے۔
خواتین مخصوص کشمیری انداز میں ماتم کررہی تھیں اور ’ہا میانہ شہدو ولا گور کرایو (اے میرے شہید آجا تجھے سینے سے لگادوں‘۔
سرینگر سے پانپور تک کے دس کلومیٹر فاصلے پر جگہ جگہ خواتین نے مشروبات اور دیگر اشیائے خوردنی کے اسٹال لگائے تھے جن سے مظاہرین مستفید ہورہے تھے۔
پانپور کے تعزیتی اجتماع سے خطاب کے دوران میرواعظ عمر فاروق نے حالات کی بحالی کے لیے حکومت ہند کو چار نکاتی فارمولہ پیش کرتے ہوئے’جب تک مظفرآباد روڑ بحال نہیں ہوتا، ریاست سے مکمل فوجی انخلا نہیں ہوتا، کالے قوانیں کا خاتمہ نہیں ہوتا اور تمام کشمیری قیدیوں کو رہا نہیں کیا جاتا ، تب ہماری جدوجہد اور احتجاج جاری رہے گا۔‘
سید علی گیلانی، یٰسین ملک، شبیر احمد شاہ اور نعیم خان نے بھی اس مؤقف کی تائید کی۔ انہوں نے یاد دلایا کہ حریت کانفرنس کے دونوں دھڑوں نے پہلے ہی ’مظفرآباد چلو‘ کی تحریک کو آگے بڑھانے کے لئے ایک مشترکہ رابطہ کمیٹی کا قیام عمل میں لایا ہے، اور احتجاجی تحریک سے متعلق یہی کمیٹی لائحہ عمل طے کرے گی۔
مظفرآباد چلو مارچ کے دوران شیخ عبدالعزیز کی ہلاکت کے بعد ان کے آبائی قصبہ پانپور میں تقریبا دو لاکھ افراد تعزیتی جلسے میں پہنچے
گیلانی نے ڈاکٹر فاروق عبداللہ، عمر عبداللہ، مفتی محمد سعید ، محبوبہ مفتی اور دیگر ہندنواز سیاسی رہنماؤں کو دعوت دی کہ وہ ’ہندنواز سیاست سے کنارہ کش ہوکر اس تحریک کا حصہ بنیں کیونکہ وہ اسی مٹی کی پیدوار ہیں جس کے لیے یہاں کے نوجوان اپنا گرم لہو نچھاور کررہے ہیں۔‘
واضح رہے شیخ عبدالعزیز گیارہ اگست کو مظفرآباد مارچ کے دوران بارہمولہ کے ژہل گاؤں میں کنٹرول لائن سے چند کلومیٹر کے فاصلے پر فوج کی فائرنگ میں ہلاک ہوگئے۔
ان کی ہلاکت کے بعد وادی میں کشیدگی بڑھ گئی اور پولیس و سی آر پی ایف کی انسدادی کاروائیوں میں ہلاک ہونے والوں سے متعلق جو فہرست مقامی اخبارات نے شائع کی ہے اس کے مطابق اب تک کم از کم 32 افراد مارے گئے ہیں۔ تاہم سرکاری طور پر ابھی تک ہلاکتوں کے بارے میں کوئی واضح بیان جاری نہیں کیا گیا۔
دریں اثنا ہلاک ہونیوالے نوجوانوں کے حق میں غائبانہ نماز جنازہ کا عمل جاری ہے اور تقریباً ہر محلے اور ہر بستی میں مقامی اوقاف اسلامیہ ان جنازوں کا اہتمام کررہی ہے۔ سرینگر کے بٹہ مالو علاقہ میں سابق عسکریت پسند رہنما مشتاق الاسلام اور علیٰحدگی پسند رہنما شکیل بخشی نے بھی ایسے ہی جنازے کا اہمتام کیا۔
End blockade, or patients will die: Chemists :Greater Kashmir
FAHEEM ASLAM
Srinagar, Aug 16: Chemists and other people associated with drug business on Saturday said they were running out of vital medicinal stocks, warning the government that if the blockade to the Valley is not ended forthwith, patients would die.
Many retailers, chemists and stockists, who spoke to Greater Kashmir, said they haven’t received any consignment from outside during the past 15 days of the blockade, enforced by the right wing groups. “We have a very meager stock of vital drugs in store now. If the blockade won’t end immediately, people would die on daily basis for want of drugs,” said a retailer, Khursheed Ahmad of World Line Medicines at Khayam. “This time my shop has not a single tablet of medicines like Aceloc and Paracetamol.”
Ahmad said he would buy medicines on daily basis from the distributors. “But we haven’t received any consignment from Jammu or Delhi for the past more than two weeks,” he said.
Similar views are expressed by Ghulam Rasool, a wholesaler dealer. “The government is lying that there is no blockade. Our trade has suffered a lot due to it,” he said.
Ghulam Rasool works under the banner of KF Traders at Karan Nagar. “Normally we would receive consignment after every week, but because of the blockade, we haven’t received any so far.”
Ghulam Rasool said the patients suffering from diabetes, blood pressure or other similar ailments would be the worst hit if the blockade won’t end. “Such patients need drugs on daily basis. They have to purchase it from the market, which is running dry,” he said. “We talked to the divisional commissioner Kashmir some time back and asked him to ensure smooth flow of trucks along the highway so that the medicines reach the Valley.”
Chemists and druggists say that majority of their super-stockists are located in Jammu, Chandigarh and Delhi. “We got some vital drugs airlifted two days ago. But I am sure that all chemist shops would run out of stock in the next two to three days,” said Muhammad Ashraf, a chemist.
However many chemists said the picture of how many drugs are available was not clear as the local distributor outlets were not functioning for the past few days. “This time the diabetic patients are the worst hit. If the local distributors would open their shutters, we would at least come to know about the availability of stock with them. Whatever the stock available with them should be forwarded to the retailers for use of patients. I am sure it would help hundreds of patients for the time being,” said a dealer, Iqbal Bazaz, of Asian Pharma at Batamaloo
Srinagar, Aug 16: Chemists and other people associated with drug business on Saturday said they were running out of vital medicinal stocks, warning the government that if the blockade to the Valley is not ended forthwith, patients would die.
Many retailers, chemists and stockists, who spoke to Greater Kashmir, said they haven’t received any consignment from outside during the past 15 days of the blockade, enforced by the right wing groups. “We have a very meager stock of vital drugs in store now. If the blockade won’t end immediately, people would die on daily basis for want of drugs,” said a retailer, Khursheed Ahmad of World Line Medicines at Khayam. “This time my shop has not a single tablet of medicines like Aceloc and Paracetamol.”
Ahmad said he would buy medicines on daily basis from the distributors. “But we haven’t received any consignment from Jammu or Delhi for the past more than two weeks,” he said.
Similar views are expressed by Ghulam Rasool, a wholesaler dealer. “The government is lying that there is no blockade. Our trade has suffered a lot due to it,” he said.
Ghulam Rasool works under the banner of KF Traders at Karan Nagar. “Normally we would receive consignment after every week, but because of the blockade, we haven’t received any so far.”
Ghulam Rasool said the patients suffering from diabetes, blood pressure or other similar ailments would be the worst hit if the blockade won’t end. “Such patients need drugs on daily basis. They have to purchase it from the market, which is running dry,” he said. “We talked to the divisional commissioner Kashmir some time back and asked him to ensure smooth flow of trucks along the highway so that the medicines reach the Valley.”
Chemists and druggists say that majority of their super-stockists are located in Jammu, Chandigarh and Delhi. “We got some vital drugs airlifted two days ago. But I am sure that all chemist shops would run out of stock in the next two to three days,” said Muhammad Ashraf, a chemist.
However many chemists said the picture of how many drugs are available was not clear as the local distributor outlets were not functioning for the past few days. “This time the diabetic patients are the worst hit. If the local distributors would open their shutters, we would at least come to know about the availability of stock with them. Whatever the stock available with them should be forwarded to the retailers for use of patients. I am sure it would help hundreds of patients for the time being,” said a dealer, Iqbal Bazaz, of Asian Pharma at Batamaloo
عوامی انقلاب
پانپور میں لاکھوں لوگوں کا اجتماع ، نذرانۂ خون پر شکرانے کا تاریخی مظاہرہ
شاہ عباس
پانپور16اگست
'خونی لکیر توڑ دو،آر پار جوڑ دو'اور 'ہم کیا چاہتے آزادی ' کے نعروں کی گونج میںکل لاکھوں لوگوں نے مرحوم حریت لیڈر شیخ عبد العزیز کو اُنکے آبائی قصبے پانپورمیں شاندار خراج عقیدت پیش کیا ۔ اس موقعے پر قصبہ زعفران پانپور کو شیخ عبد العزیز کی تصاویر اور سبز و سیاہ پرچموں سے مزین کیا گیا تھا۔ مرحوم شیخ عبد العزیز 11اگست کو خط انتظام عبور کرنے کی کوشش میں چہل اوڑی کے مقام پر جاں بحق ہوئے تھے۔ مرحوم شیخ عزیز کو خراج عقیدت ادا کرنے کے لئے آزادی پسند تنظیموں کی اپیل پر وادی کے طول و عرض سے لاکھوں لوگ پانپور پہنچے تھے۔ پانپور کاعید گاہ اور اُس سے باہر جموں سرینگر شاہراہ کے علاوہ قرب و جوار میں تمام مکانوں کے در و دیواراور چھت لوگوں سے اٹے ہوئے تھے۔ اس کے علاوہ گالندر سے پانتہ چھوک تک کی شاہراہ پر انسانی سروں کا ایک سیلاب پانپور پہنچنے کی کوشش کررہا تھا تاہم اس عوامی سیلاب کو اس کا موقعہ نہیں ملا کیونکہ قصبہ پانپور پہلے ہی لوگوں سے کھچا کھچ بھرا پڑا تھا۔ اور کہیں تل دھرنے کیلئے جگہ موجود نہیں تھی۔صرف عید گاہ پانپور میں موجود لوگوں کی تعداد کا اندازہ اس بات سے بھی لگایا جاسکتا ہے کہ یہاں دم گھٹنے کے نتیجے میں درجنوں افراد بے ہوش ہوگئے ۔ عید گاہ کے میدان میں حد سے زیادہ لوگ داخل ہونے کے نتیجے میں یہاںنصب شامیانے اور لائوڈ سپیکر کا نظام درہم برہم ہوگیا اور مقررین کی آوازیں سامعین تک نہیں پہنچیںجس کے نتیجے میں لوگوں کو کافی مایوسی ہوئی اور ذرائع ابلاغ کے نمائندوں کو اپنے پیشہ ورانہ فرائض انجام دینے میں سخت مشکلات پیش آئیں۔ عید گاہ پانپور کے اندرلوگوں کی بھاری تعداد کے نتیجے میں حریت گ کے چیر مین سید علی گیلانی بھی ڈائس تک نہیں پہنچ سکے اور انہوں نے ڈائس سے دور ہی اپنے خیالات کا اظہار کیا۔ عید گا ہ قصبہ پانپور کل دن بھرا زادی کے حق میں اور بھارت کے خلاف نعروں سے گونجتا رہا۔ ادھر وادی کے اطراف و اکناف کی شاہرائوں پر ہر قسم کی گاڑیوں پر سوار پیر وجوان نعرے لگاتے ہوئے جوق در جوق پانپور کی طرف صبح سے ہی رواں دواں نظر آرہے تھے جن میں سے بیشتر لوگ تقریب اختتام پذیر ہونے تک پانپور نہیں پہنچ پائے۔ لوگوں نے اپنے ہاتھوں میں بھارت مخالف بینر اور سبز پرچم اُٹھارکھے تھے اور اُنہیں جہاں کہیں بھی کوئی ٹاور نظر آیا انہوں نے اُس پر سبز پرچم لہرایا ۔خود پانپور میں بھی لوگوں نے عید گاہ کے متصل قائم موبائل ٹاور پر چڑھ کر اس پر سبز پرچم لہرایا۔پانپور کی ایک مسجد کے امام نے اپنا مخفی رکھنے کی شرط پر'اطلاعات' کو بتایا'' میں نوے کی دہائی کی عوامی ریلیوں کا بھی چشم دید گواہ ہوں تاہم میں نے آج کی جیسی عوامی ریلی نہیں دیکھی ہے''۔ کل پانپور جانے والے لوگوں کے لئے جنوب کی طرف اونتی پورہ اور شمال کی طرف حیدر پورہ اور سولنہ سے مقامی لوگوں نے لفافہ بند کھانے اور مشروبات کا انتظام کر رکھا تھاجبکہ خود پانپور میں بھی ایک بہت بڑا لنگر قائم کیا گیا تھا۔ایک مقامی شہری طارق احمد نے 'اطلاعات' کو بتایا'' ہم نے عزم کیا ہے کہ آج پانپور سے کوئی بھی شخص بھوکے پیٹ واپس نہیں جانا چاہیئے''۔
شاہ عباس
پانپور16اگست
'خونی لکیر توڑ دو،آر پار جوڑ دو'اور 'ہم کیا چاہتے آزادی ' کے نعروں کی گونج میںکل لاکھوں لوگوں نے مرحوم حریت لیڈر شیخ عبد العزیز کو اُنکے آبائی قصبے پانپورمیں شاندار خراج عقیدت پیش کیا ۔ اس موقعے پر قصبہ زعفران پانپور کو شیخ عبد العزیز کی تصاویر اور سبز و سیاہ پرچموں سے مزین کیا گیا تھا۔ مرحوم شیخ عبد العزیز 11اگست کو خط انتظام عبور کرنے کی کوشش میں چہل اوڑی کے مقام پر جاں بحق ہوئے تھے۔ مرحوم شیخ عزیز کو خراج عقیدت ادا کرنے کے لئے آزادی پسند تنظیموں کی اپیل پر وادی کے طول و عرض سے لاکھوں لوگ پانپور پہنچے تھے۔ پانپور کاعید گاہ اور اُس سے باہر جموں سرینگر شاہراہ کے علاوہ قرب و جوار میں تمام مکانوں کے در و دیواراور چھت لوگوں سے اٹے ہوئے تھے۔ اس کے علاوہ گالندر سے پانتہ چھوک تک کی شاہراہ پر انسانی سروں کا ایک سیلاب پانپور پہنچنے کی کوشش کررہا تھا تاہم اس عوامی سیلاب کو اس کا موقعہ نہیں ملا کیونکہ قصبہ پانپور پہلے ہی لوگوں سے کھچا کھچ بھرا پڑا تھا۔ اور کہیں تل دھرنے کیلئے جگہ موجود نہیں تھی۔صرف عید گاہ پانپور میں موجود لوگوں کی تعداد کا اندازہ اس بات سے بھی لگایا جاسکتا ہے کہ یہاں دم گھٹنے کے نتیجے میں درجنوں افراد بے ہوش ہوگئے ۔ عید گاہ کے میدان میں حد سے زیادہ لوگ داخل ہونے کے نتیجے میں یہاںنصب شامیانے اور لائوڈ سپیکر کا نظام درہم برہم ہوگیا اور مقررین کی آوازیں سامعین تک نہیں پہنچیںجس کے نتیجے میں لوگوں کو کافی مایوسی ہوئی اور ذرائع ابلاغ کے نمائندوں کو اپنے پیشہ ورانہ فرائض انجام دینے میں سخت مشکلات پیش آئیں۔ عید گاہ پانپور کے اندرلوگوں کی بھاری تعداد کے نتیجے میں حریت گ کے چیر مین سید علی گیلانی بھی ڈائس تک نہیں پہنچ سکے اور انہوں نے ڈائس سے دور ہی اپنے خیالات کا اظہار کیا۔ عید گا ہ قصبہ پانپور کل دن بھرا زادی کے حق میں اور بھارت کے خلاف نعروں سے گونجتا رہا۔ ادھر وادی کے اطراف و اکناف کی شاہرائوں پر ہر قسم کی گاڑیوں پر سوار پیر وجوان نعرے لگاتے ہوئے جوق در جوق پانپور کی طرف صبح سے ہی رواں دواں نظر آرہے تھے جن میں سے بیشتر لوگ تقریب اختتام پذیر ہونے تک پانپور نہیں پہنچ پائے۔ لوگوں نے اپنے ہاتھوں میں بھارت مخالف بینر اور سبز پرچم اُٹھارکھے تھے اور اُنہیں جہاں کہیں بھی کوئی ٹاور نظر آیا انہوں نے اُس پر سبز پرچم لہرایا ۔خود پانپور میں بھی لوگوں نے عید گاہ کے متصل قائم موبائل ٹاور پر چڑھ کر اس پر سبز پرچم لہرایا۔پانپور کی ایک مسجد کے امام نے اپنا مخفی رکھنے کی شرط پر'اطلاعات' کو بتایا'' میں نوے کی دہائی کی عوامی ریلیوں کا بھی چشم دید گواہ ہوں تاہم میں نے آج کی جیسی عوامی ریلی نہیں دیکھی ہے''۔ کل پانپور جانے والے لوگوں کے لئے جنوب کی طرف اونتی پورہ اور شمال کی طرف حیدر پورہ اور سولنہ سے مقامی لوگوں نے لفافہ بند کھانے اور مشروبات کا انتظام کر رکھا تھاجبکہ خود پانپور میں بھی ایک بہت بڑا لنگر قائم کیا گیا تھا۔ایک مقامی شہری طارق احمد نے 'اطلاعات' کو بتایا'' ہم نے عزم کیا ہے کہ آج پانپور سے کوئی بھی شخص بھوکے پیٹ واپس نہیں جانا چاہیئے''۔
Ration depots, retailers run out of stocks:Greater kashmir
GOWHAR BHAT
Srinagar, Aug 16: Government’s contrary claims on economic blockade and supplies notwithstanding, the Valley is facing acute shortage of rice, sugar, kerosene, LPG and other essential items, with most of the ration depots and shops running out of stocks.
In the wake of the shortage of the essential commodities, people on Saturday could be seen return empty handed from the ration depots here. The storekeepers at city’s ration depots said the sugar and rice stocks had fully exhausted almost a week back.
“The fresh supplies might be reaching to the Valley but we haven’t received any supplies for the past a month. The stocks we received exhausted last week,” said a store in charge at a ration depot in Soura.
Similarly, the kerosene depots and many petrol pumps are running dry. The LPG retail outlets too are falling short of the demand.
In other areas of the city the situation is no different. The residents of many city areas including Khanyar, Nowhatta, Rainawari and Soura said in absence of supplies to the food depots they had been left in lurch.
“Everyday government makes announcements on radio and TV that enough supplies were reaching to the Valley, but there is no stock at the ration depots,” said Bilal Ahmad, a resident of Buchpora.
Due to the highway blockade and the ensuing shutdown, the stocks of the retailers too have exhausted. “Most of the shopkeepers have empty shops. To fetch half a quintal of rice I had to approach to more than a dozen shopkeepers,” said Muhammad Ayub of Safakadal.
“Most of the stockists and distributors here have a habit of maintaining fat stocks in view of the unreliable sole highway that mostly gets blocked during winters. But the stocks they had reserved too have been exhausted,” said Tufail Ahmad, a stockiest.
The Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Masood Samoon had Thursday said that enough stocks of food and other consumable items were present in the Valley. “The rice stocks would last for 20 days, petrol for 7 days, LPG for 6 days, diesel for 5 days, kerosene for 1 month and sugar stocks for 3 days.” he had said.
Srinagar, Aug 16: Government’s contrary claims on economic blockade and supplies notwithstanding, the Valley is facing acute shortage of rice, sugar, kerosene, LPG and other essential items, with most of the ration depots and shops running out of stocks.
In the wake of the shortage of the essential commodities, people on Saturday could be seen return empty handed from the ration depots here. The storekeepers at city’s ration depots said the sugar and rice stocks had fully exhausted almost a week back.
“The fresh supplies might be reaching to the Valley but we haven’t received any supplies for the past a month. The stocks we received exhausted last week,” said a store in charge at a ration depot in Soura.
Similarly, the kerosene depots and many petrol pumps are running dry. The LPG retail outlets too are falling short of the demand.
In other areas of the city the situation is no different. The residents of many city areas including Khanyar, Nowhatta, Rainawari and Soura said in absence of supplies to the food depots they had been left in lurch.
“Everyday government makes announcements on radio and TV that enough supplies were reaching to the Valley, but there is no stock at the ration depots,” said Bilal Ahmad, a resident of Buchpora.
Due to the highway blockade and the ensuing shutdown, the stocks of the retailers too have exhausted. “Most of the shopkeepers have empty shops. To fetch half a quintal of rice I had to approach to more than a dozen shopkeepers,” said Muhammad Ayub of Safakadal.
“Most of the stockists and distributors here have a habit of maintaining fat stocks in view of the unreliable sole highway that mostly gets blocked during winters. But the stocks they had reserved too have been exhausted,” said Tufail Ahmad, a stockiest.
The Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Masood Samoon had Thursday said that enough stocks of food and other consumable items were present in the Valley. “The rice stocks would last for 20 days, petrol for 7 days, LPG for 6 days, diesel for 5 days, kerosene for 1 month and sugar stocks for 3 days.” he had said.
ALL ROADS LEAD TO PAMPORE :Rising kashmir
Nation pays homage to Aziz
Hakeem Irfan
Srinagar, Aug 16: All roads leading to Saffron town were flooded with people marching to pay homage to the slain Hurriyat leader Sheikh Aziz who fell to the bullet of troopers during the recent ‘Muzaffarabad March’.
It is hard to ink the emotions. Black flags, green flags furling in air with enthusiastic sloganeering in favour of Islam, freedom and Pakistan were resonating around Badami Bagh Cantonment of the army, which is considered to be the most heavily deployed area by troopers anywhere in the world.
People in private flagged cars, buses, trucks, jeeps and bikes were raising slogans in rhythm and rhyme.
The atmosphere was charged when women near Pantha Chowk joined the motor cavalcade in sloganeering.
The 12 km strip from Dalgate to Pampore was all abuzz with pro-freedom slogans and lyrics.
A woman amidst heavy slogans said: “We are paying tribute to our martyrs especially Sheikh Abdul Aziz.”
“He is our hero,” she said wiping tears with her head gear.
People were seen offering cold drinks and fruits to the marching protestors. Children at various places in their stuttering voices were trying to imitate their young sloganeers.
“It is more than what happened in 1990. I was part of those processions as well. Today I’m getting nostalgic about things,” said a 50-year-old cameraman who had also covered the 1990 uprising.
The placards carried by protestors read: “If Kashmiris are terrorists then what about Gandhi; India is at war with unarmed Kashmiris; We want freedom; Break this bleeding line and join two Kashmirs; Hamari Mandi Rawalpindi.”
“It is do or die situation. This time we will get freedom. Long live Pakistan,” shouted a boy carrying a green flag in a truck on seeing a camera focusing him.
Women en route Pampore had prepared “Tahri” at various places for the rallying protestors.
“It is our duty to serve our men as they have come out braving bullets. Inshallah we will soon get freedom,” said a women serving “Tahri” to the protestors.
“For the first time I’m witnessing army convoy being stopped for locals. This is the right time for them to leave this state. I’m enthusiastic as I am witnessing this for the first time,” said a medical science student Maroof, 20.
“I just pinched myself twice. It was hard to believe what I was seeing is real,” Maroof added.
The Srinagar-Jammu highway near Kadlabal Pampore was picturesque. People could be seen here, there and everywhere.
“It was a million men march when I saw it from the roof of a three-storey building nearby,” said a journalist who was performing his duties.
When people were moving back to their homes, local women and children at various places stopped their vehicles and offered drinks, biscuit packets and then joined in for a short slot of sloganeering.
Women, children and elderly persons who could not make it to Pampore were seen waiting on the roadsides for the people to return. The bye-pass strip from Pantha Chowk to Bemina and onwards was reverberating with sloganeering.
“This is unbelievable. I pray that this fetches immediate results. I want to move to take a breath in free air at least once,” said an octogenarian Muhammad Shaban waiting for his two sons and three grandsons who had joined the march.
The Kashmiri Tibetans from Eidgah, Hawal and other parts of the Valley also participated in the march and were raising pro-freedom and anti-India slogans.
Hakeem Irfan
Srinagar, Aug 16: All roads leading to Saffron town were flooded with people marching to pay homage to the slain Hurriyat leader Sheikh Aziz who fell to the bullet of troopers during the recent ‘Muzaffarabad March’.
It is hard to ink the emotions. Black flags, green flags furling in air with enthusiastic sloganeering in favour of Islam, freedom and Pakistan were resonating around Badami Bagh Cantonment of the army, which is considered to be the most heavily deployed area by troopers anywhere in the world.
People in private flagged cars, buses, trucks, jeeps and bikes were raising slogans in rhythm and rhyme.
The atmosphere was charged when women near Pantha Chowk joined the motor cavalcade in sloganeering.
The 12 km strip from Dalgate to Pampore was all abuzz with pro-freedom slogans and lyrics.
A woman amidst heavy slogans said: “We are paying tribute to our martyrs especially Sheikh Abdul Aziz.”
“He is our hero,” she said wiping tears with her head gear.
People were seen offering cold drinks and fruits to the marching protestors. Children at various places in their stuttering voices were trying to imitate their young sloganeers.
“It is more than what happened in 1990. I was part of those processions as well. Today I’m getting nostalgic about things,” said a 50-year-old cameraman who had also covered the 1990 uprising.
The placards carried by protestors read: “If Kashmiris are terrorists then what about Gandhi; India is at war with unarmed Kashmiris; We want freedom; Break this bleeding line and join two Kashmirs; Hamari Mandi Rawalpindi.”
“It is do or die situation. This time we will get freedom. Long live Pakistan,” shouted a boy carrying a green flag in a truck on seeing a camera focusing him.
Women en route Pampore had prepared “Tahri” at various places for the rallying protestors.
“It is our duty to serve our men as they have come out braving bullets. Inshallah we will soon get freedom,” said a women serving “Tahri” to the protestors.
“For the first time I’m witnessing army convoy being stopped for locals. This is the right time for them to leave this state. I’m enthusiastic as I am witnessing this for the first time,” said a medical science student Maroof, 20.
“I just pinched myself twice. It was hard to believe what I was seeing is real,” Maroof added.
The Srinagar-Jammu highway near Kadlabal Pampore was picturesque. People could be seen here, there and everywhere.
“It was a million men march when I saw it from the roof of a three-storey building nearby,” said a journalist who was performing his duties.
When people were moving back to their homes, local women and children at various places stopped their vehicles and offered drinks, biscuit packets and then joined in for a short slot of sloganeering.
Women, children and elderly persons who could not make it to Pampore were seen waiting on the roadsides for the people to return. The bye-pass strip from Pantha Chowk to Bemina and onwards was reverberating with sloganeering.
“This is unbelievable. I pray that this fetches immediate results. I want to move to take a breath in free air at least once,” said an octogenarian Muhammad Shaban waiting for his two sons and three grandsons who had joined the march.
The Kashmiri Tibetans from Eidgah, Hawal and other parts of the Valley also participated in the march and were raising pro-freedom and anti-India slogans.
Friday, August 15, 2008
World wakes up to Kashmir crisis:Greater Kashmir
Srinagar, Aug 14: It seems the World has finally started taking note of the spiraling renewed strife in Kashmir with the United Nations Thursday saying that it is monitoring the situation in Kashmir and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is aware of it.
UN human rights officials in Geneva are also aware of it and are “determining whether to make any comment,” associate spokesman Farhan Haq said when asked by reporters whether the UN is aware that Kashmir is suddenly becoming a ‘hot spot.’
“The Secretary-General is aware of the situation. We are monitoring it,” he said.
“I believe our human rights colleagues in Geneva are also aware of the situation,” Haq said.
OIC condemns killings
Strongly condemning what it called the excessive and unwarranted use of force against the Kashmiri people, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Professor Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has expressed his deep concern over the deteriorating situation in Kashmir that resulted in loss of life and property of the Kashmiri people.
The Secretary General called upon the Indian Government to take immediate steps to end violence against innocent Kashmiris in the interest of creating and sustaining an enabling environment for the ongoing peace process between Pakistan and India, aimed at peaceful settlement of the long standing Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
The Secretary General also expressed deep concern on the reported attacks on the life and property of Muslims in the State and the ongoing economic blockade. He called for steps on the part of international humanitarian and human rights organizations, including the UN Human Rights Council, to address the situation in a manner that would prevent the human rights violations there.
Expressing deep sorrow and grief at the martyrdom of Shaikh Abdul Aziz-a prominent Kashmiri leader, the Secretary General offered condolences with his family and those of other innocent Kashmiris who had lost their lives in the ongoing violence.
AI for probe
Amnesty International asked the Government of India to ensure that it protects the right to life in accordance with its responsibilities under international law. This includes the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which it is a state party, and standards such as the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials and the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, which state that firearms should be used only when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.
‘The Indian authorities should conduct investigations and bring to justice police officers, as well as protesters, in a quick, transparent, and fair way in order to cool down sectarian tension,’ Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director, said.
AI also asked the government of Jammu & Kashmir to rescind the order issued yesterday authorizing security forces to ‘shoot on sight’ in response to communal clashes in the town of Kishtwar.
HRW for restraint
Asking India to refrain from using excessive force against protesters in Jammu and Kashmir, leading international human rights watchdog, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has appealed to all parties in the troubled state to settle peacefully the ongoing dispute, which has claimed nearly 40 lives.
Ongoing protests by Muslims and Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir State since June 2008 have turned “increasingly violent,” claiming nearly 40 lives, injuring hundreds, and “fueling religious hatred,” HRW said.
“To end this cycle of tragedy, the government should order security forces to act with restraint and all parties should try to settle the dispute peacefully,” it added.
The Indian security forces, HRW said, should abide by the UN Basic Principles on the use of force and firearms, which call upon law enforcement officials, including members of the armed forces, to employ nonviolent means before resorting to use of force and only in proportion to the seriousness of the offence.
“With violence escalating, the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir is again at the brink of catastrophe,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, senior Asia researcher at HRW. “Political leaders and civil society in Jammu and Kashmir should seek a mutually agreeable solution to the immediate crisis, so that peace is restored,” Ganguly added.
Civil Society appeals UNHCHR
Meanwhile, in a joint appeal to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), around 50 civil society activists from across the world led by Dr Angana Chatterji, Associate Professor, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, California Institute of Integral Studies, have sought the urgent intervention of the UNHCHR in ensuring that human rights, as enshrined in the charter of the United Nations, are upheld in Kashmir.
“We write to bring to your attention the profound humanitarian crisis continuing in the Kashmir Valley due to the ongoing blockade of the Srinagar-Jammu highway. This has resulted in severe shortages in the Kashmir Valley of food and other vital provisions,” the appeal to UNHCHR reads.
UN human rights officials in Geneva are also aware of it and are “determining whether to make any comment,” associate spokesman Farhan Haq said when asked by reporters whether the UN is aware that Kashmir is suddenly becoming a ‘hot spot.’
“The Secretary-General is aware of the situation. We are monitoring it,” he said.
“I believe our human rights colleagues in Geneva are also aware of the situation,” Haq said.
OIC condemns killings
Strongly condemning what it called the excessive and unwarranted use of force against the Kashmiri people, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Professor Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has expressed his deep concern over the deteriorating situation in Kashmir that resulted in loss of life and property of the Kashmiri people.
The Secretary General called upon the Indian Government to take immediate steps to end violence against innocent Kashmiris in the interest of creating and sustaining an enabling environment for the ongoing peace process between Pakistan and India, aimed at peaceful settlement of the long standing Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
The Secretary General also expressed deep concern on the reported attacks on the life and property of Muslims in the State and the ongoing economic blockade. He called for steps on the part of international humanitarian and human rights organizations, including the UN Human Rights Council, to address the situation in a manner that would prevent the human rights violations there.
Expressing deep sorrow and grief at the martyrdom of Shaikh Abdul Aziz-a prominent Kashmiri leader, the Secretary General offered condolences with his family and those of other innocent Kashmiris who had lost their lives in the ongoing violence.
AI for probe
Amnesty International asked the Government of India to ensure that it protects the right to life in accordance with its responsibilities under international law. This includes the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which it is a state party, and standards such as the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials and the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, which state that firearms should be used only when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.
‘The Indian authorities should conduct investigations and bring to justice police officers, as well as protesters, in a quick, transparent, and fair way in order to cool down sectarian tension,’ Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director, said.
AI also asked the government of Jammu & Kashmir to rescind the order issued yesterday authorizing security forces to ‘shoot on sight’ in response to communal clashes in the town of Kishtwar.
HRW for restraint
Asking India to refrain from using excessive force against protesters in Jammu and Kashmir, leading international human rights watchdog, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has appealed to all parties in the troubled state to settle peacefully the ongoing dispute, which has claimed nearly 40 lives.
Ongoing protests by Muslims and Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir State since June 2008 have turned “increasingly violent,” claiming nearly 40 lives, injuring hundreds, and “fueling religious hatred,” HRW said.
“To end this cycle of tragedy, the government should order security forces to act with restraint and all parties should try to settle the dispute peacefully,” it added.
The Indian security forces, HRW said, should abide by the UN Basic Principles on the use of force and firearms, which call upon law enforcement officials, including members of the armed forces, to employ nonviolent means before resorting to use of force and only in proportion to the seriousness of the offence.
“With violence escalating, the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir is again at the brink of catastrophe,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, senior Asia researcher at HRW. “Political leaders and civil society in Jammu and Kashmir should seek a mutually agreeable solution to the immediate crisis, so that peace is restored,” Ganguly added.
Civil Society appeals UNHCHR
Meanwhile, in a joint appeal to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), around 50 civil society activists from across the world led by Dr Angana Chatterji, Associate Professor, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, California Institute of Integral Studies, have sought the urgent intervention of the UNHCHR in ensuring that human rights, as enshrined in the charter of the United Nations, are upheld in Kashmir.
“We write to bring to your attention the profound humanitarian crisis continuing in the Kashmir Valley due to the ongoing blockade of the Srinagar-Jammu highway. This has resulted in severe shortages in the Kashmir Valley of food and other vital provisions,” the appeal to UNHCHR reads.
Police, CRPF take their Valley crackdown to even ambulances, hospitals:The Indian Express
Muzamil Jaleel
40 ambulances attacked by security personnel, says Valley’s Health Director; DGP says will order a probe
Srinagar, August 14: Battling angry and violent crowds on the streets, the police and the CRPF have even targeted ambulances ferrying the injured and, in one case, they opened fire at the entrance to a hospital’s casualty ward.
While Director General of the J&K Police Kuldeep Khuda has said that there will be a probe, CRPF spokesman Prabhakar Tripathi denied the charge. “No such incident has come to our notice,” he said. This comes the day Inspector General, CRPF, S K Jain was shunted out of the Valley.
“These three days have been extremely challenging for us,” said Dr Muzaffar Ahmad, Director of Health Services, Kashmir. “Our 40 ambulances were attacked across Kashmir and most them have broken windscreens. Seven of our ambulance drivers were hurt as well.” The director of Srinagar’s Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) hospital, Dr Abdul Hameed Zargar, said that one of the hospital’s ambulances is still missing. “We are yet to trace it,” he said. “There have been several attacks on our ambulances by the security forces”.
Consider the following encounters:
• On August 11, J-K Police personnel fired tear-smoke shells inside the casualty ward of the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital in Srinagar. “There was a rush of wounded and our doctors and paramedic staff was busy treating them when tear-smoke landed inside the casualty ward,” said SMHS Medical Superintendent Dr Wasim Qureshi. “We had to stop work for some time.
There was a lot of inconvenience to both patients and our staff. This should not happen”. He said that after this incident, hospital attendants were enraged and ransacked CRPF bunkers in the hospital premises.
• On August 12, an ambulance (JK01C 5641) carrying protestors with bullet wounds from Bandipore was attacked at Parimpora by the CRPF. “We were carrying two critically wounded persons in the ambulance,” Dr Asif Ahmad told The Indian Express. “When we reached Parimpora, there was a huge procession. We stopped. The people cleared the way for us. Then the CRPF persons were standing a few dozen metres away,” he said. “When we were close to them, they opened fire on the ambulance. Within seconds, a few CRPF men pounced on the ambulance and started hitting everybody inside. They even assaulted the wounded. One of the wounded died there”. Ahmad said he jumped from the vehicle and rushed inside a house for safety. “A stone hit ambulance driver Mohammad Shaban Para and he was seriously injured”. Director Health Services Dr Muzaffar Ahmad confirmed the incident. “Our people had a close shave there,” he said.
• On August 12, CRPF personnel stopped an ambulance ferrying wounded protestors at Rambagh on the Airport road in Srinagar. The CRPF contingent attacked an ambulance with rifle-butts in front of a senior officer Commandant P S Rajora, broke its windshield and assaulted the wounded persons and the attendants in front of a large media crew including this correspondent. “I am unable to do anything. I am trying to stop them (the men),” Rajora told The Indian Express soon after the ambulance and the injured patients were rescued by personnel of the J-K Police, who rushed to intervene. “We were only trying to impose the curfew”.
• On August 12, J-K Police and CRPF men barged into the premises of the District Hospital in Baramulla. “They fired inside the hospital,” Dr Nisar Ahmad, an orthopaedic surgeon at the hospital told The Indian Express. “We rushed out of the Operation Theatre. We were frightened for our lives”.
• On August 12, police and CRPF men stopped an ambulance and beat patients and their attendants after dragging them out during a pitched battle with protestors at Qamarwari in Srinagar city.
• On August 13, an ambulance of the Jhelum Valley hospital — an associate hospital of the SKIMS — was fired upon by the CRPF near Boatman Colony in the city outskirts while it was ferrying a patient with bullet wounds. “The CRPF men first opened fire at our ambulance and then charged in and broke the windscreens with rifle-butts. Then they started beating us, even the patient was hit,” said Mushtaq Ahmad, in charge of immunization at the Jhelum hospital. “There was an Inspector accompanying them”. Driver of the ambulance Mohammad Shafi said: “It has never happened in these years.”
• On August 13, the J-K Police opened fire at the entrance of the Casualty ward of the SMHS hospital in Srinagar, where a large angry crowd of relatives of the injured had gathered. “The people are infuriated and when they saw a police vehicle inside the hospital compound, they attacked it. The police opened fire. But nobody was injured,” SMHS Medical Superintendent Dr Qureshi said.
DGP Khuda said that they were investigating all incidents of attacks on ambulances and hospitals. Speaking to The Indian Express, Inspector General of J-K Police S M Sahai said that the police have taken up the August 12 Rambagh incident with authorities at the highest level. “After we got reports that an officer was there, we have already taken action,” he said. “We are probing every case where we received reports of excesses”.
40 ambulances attacked by security personnel, says Valley’s Health Director; DGP says will order a probe
Srinagar, August 14: Battling angry and violent crowds on the streets, the police and the CRPF have even targeted ambulances ferrying the injured and, in one case, they opened fire at the entrance to a hospital’s casualty ward.
While Director General of the J&K Police Kuldeep Khuda has said that there will be a probe, CRPF spokesman Prabhakar Tripathi denied the charge. “No such incident has come to our notice,” he said. This comes the day Inspector General, CRPF, S K Jain was shunted out of the Valley.
“These three days have been extremely challenging for us,” said Dr Muzaffar Ahmad, Director of Health Services, Kashmir. “Our 40 ambulances were attacked across Kashmir and most them have broken windscreens. Seven of our ambulance drivers were hurt as well.” The director of Srinagar’s Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) hospital, Dr Abdul Hameed Zargar, said that one of the hospital’s ambulances is still missing. “We are yet to trace it,” he said. “There have been several attacks on our ambulances by the security forces”.
Consider the following encounters:
• On August 11, J-K Police personnel fired tear-smoke shells inside the casualty ward of the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital in Srinagar. “There was a rush of wounded and our doctors and paramedic staff was busy treating them when tear-smoke landed inside the casualty ward,” said SMHS Medical Superintendent Dr Wasim Qureshi. “We had to stop work for some time.
There was a lot of inconvenience to both patients and our staff. This should not happen”. He said that after this incident, hospital attendants were enraged and ransacked CRPF bunkers in the hospital premises.
• On August 12, an ambulance (JK01C 5641) carrying protestors with bullet wounds from Bandipore was attacked at Parimpora by the CRPF. “We were carrying two critically wounded persons in the ambulance,” Dr Asif Ahmad told The Indian Express. “When we reached Parimpora, there was a huge procession. We stopped. The people cleared the way for us. Then the CRPF persons were standing a few dozen metres away,” he said. “When we were close to them, they opened fire on the ambulance. Within seconds, a few CRPF men pounced on the ambulance and started hitting everybody inside. They even assaulted the wounded. One of the wounded died there”. Ahmad said he jumped from the vehicle and rushed inside a house for safety. “A stone hit ambulance driver Mohammad Shaban Para and he was seriously injured”. Director Health Services Dr Muzaffar Ahmad confirmed the incident. “Our people had a close shave there,” he said.
• On August 12, CRPF personnel stopped an ambulance ferrying wounded protestors at Rambagh on the Airport road in Srinagar. The CRPF contingent attacked an ambulance with rifle-butts in front of a senior officer Commandant P S Rajora, broke its windshield and assaulted the wounded persons and the attendants in front of a large media crew including this correspondent. “I am unable to do anything. I am trying to stop them (the men),” Rajora told The Indian Express soon after the ambulance and the injured patients were rescued by personnel of the J-K Police, who rushed to intervene. “We were only trying to impose the curfew”.
• On August 12, J-K Police and CRPF men barged into the premises of the District Hospital in Baramulla. “They fired inside the hospital,” Dr Nisar Ahmad, an orthopaedic surgeon at the hospital told The Indian Express. “We rushed out of the Operation Theatre. We were frightened for our lives”.
• On August 12, police and CRPF men stopped an ambulance and beat patients and their attendants after dragging them out during a pitched battle with protestors at Qamarwari in Srinagar city.
• On August 13, an ambulance of the Jhelum Valley hospital — an associate hospital of the SKIMS — was fired upon by the CRPF near Boatman Colony in the city outskirts while it was ferrying a patient with bullet wounds. “The CRPF men first opened fire at our ambulance and then charged in and broke the windscreens with rifle-butts. Then they started beating us, even the patient was hit,” said Mushtaq Ahmad, in charge of immunization at the Jhelum hospital. “There was an Inspector accompanying them”. Driver of the ambulance Mohammad Shafi said: “It has never happened in these years.”
• On August 13, the J-K Police opened fire at the entrance of the Casualty ward of the SMHS hospital in Srinagar, where a large angry crowd of relatives of the injured had gathered. “The people are infuriated and when they saw a police vehicle inside the hospital compound, they attacked it. The police opened fire. But nobody was injured,” SMHS Medical Superintendent Dr Qureshi said.
DGP Khuda said that they were investigating all incidents of attacks on ambulances and hospitals. Speaking to The Indian Express, Inspector General of J-K Police S M Sahai said that the police have taken up the August 12 Rambagh incident with authorities at the highest level. “After we got reports that an officer was there, we have already taken action,” he said. “We are probing every case where we received reports of excesses”.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
عوامی بغاوت پر فورسز کا قہر
سرینگراورپلوامہ میں فائرنگ،100سے زائد زخمی،مزید2افرادجاں بحق سابق وزیرکا مکان ،پولیس چوکیاں،بنکراورگاڑیاں نذرآتش
شوکت حمید ،ایوب جاوید
سرینگر//”مظفرآباد چلو “پروگرام ناکام بنانے اور احتجاج کو کچلنے کیلئے فورسزکی فائرنگ سے زخمی ہوئے مزید2نوجوان زخموںکی تاب نہ لاتے ہوئے دم توڑ بیٹھے اس طرح گذشتہ 2روز کے دوران جاں بحق ہونے والے افرادکی تعداد27تک پہنچ گئی ہے ۔اس دوران شہر سرینگر کے ڈاﺅن ٹاﺅن علاقے اور پلوامہ میں درجنوں مقامات پر احتجاجی جلوسوں کو منتشر کرنے کےلئے سی آر پی ایف نے بے دردانہ طریقے سے لاٹھی چارج کیا اور گولیاں چلائیں جس کے نتیجے میں 100سے زائد افراد زخمی ہوئے۔ پلوامہ میں ایک سابق وزیرکے مکان کو نذرِآتش کیاگیا جبکہ پوری وادی میں کئی فورسز کے بنکراور پولیس چوکیوں کے علاوہ پولیس کی گاڑیوں کو پھونک ڈالاگیا۔ تفصیلات کے مطابق 11اگست کو باغ مہتاب میں فورسز کی فائرنگ سے زخمی ہوا فیصل احمد ڈار ولد شوکت احمد ڈار ساکنہ نوہٹہ بدھ کو اسپتال میں زخموں کی تاب نہ لاکر جاںبحق ہوگیا۔ فیصل احمد کے جاں بحق ہونے کی خبرجونہی نوہٹہ پہنچی تو وہاں کہرام مچ گیا پورے نوہٹہ اور ملحقہ علاقوں میں کشیدگی پھیل گئی۔اس موقعہ پر نوجوانوں نے سڑکوں پر نکل کر ایک بار پھراحتجاجی مظاہرے شروع کئے اور سی آر پی ایف اہلکاروںپر زبردست پتھراو
¿ شرو ع کیا۔جس کے بعد یہاں سے ایک جلوس نکالا گیا تاہم سی آرپی ایف اہلکاروں نے جلوس کو منتشر کرنے کے لاٹھی چارج کیا اور ٹیر گیس کے گولے داغے۔ بعد میں نوجوان کی تجہیز وتکفین کے بعد ہزاروں لوگوں نے اس کی نمازہ جنازہ پڑھی اور اشکبار آنکھوں کے ساتھ اسے سپرد خاک کیا گیا۔رعناواری کے قریب فورسز کی فائرنگ سے زخمی ہوا حفیظ اللہ بابا ولد محمدجمال ساکنہ برتھنہ قمرواری بھی اسپتال میںزخموںکی تاب نہ لاتے ہوئے دم توڑ بیٹھا۔اس کی میت جب اس کے آبائی گھر پہنچائی گئی تو یہاں قیامت صغریٰ بپا ہوگئی ۔اس طرح 11اگست کو مظفرآباد چلو اور اسکے اگلے دن یعنی 12اگست کوانتہائی سخت کرفیو کے باوجودعوامی جلسے جلوسوں کو ناکام بنانے کے لئے فورسز کی اندھا دھند فائرنگ سے جاں بحق ہونے والوں کی تعداد27ہوگئی ہے۔کل شام بسنت باغ سرینگر میں سی آر پی ایف اہلکاروں نے اس وقت فائرنگ کی جب یہاں کچھ لوگ گھروں سے باہر آئے اور احتجاجی جلوس نکالنے کی کوشش کی ۔اس موقعہ پر فورسز اہلکاروں نے اندھا دھند فائرنگ کی ۔جس کے نتیجے میں حیات احمد ولد فاروق احمد ،شبنم ،پروینہ اور ضمیر احمد ولد غلام رسول گولیاں لگنے سے زخمی ہوئے ۔انہیں شدید زخمی حالت میں اسپتال لے جایا گیا۔اس واقعے کے بعد گاﺅ کدل ،بسنت باغ اور مائسمہ میں لوگوں کا ہجوم سڑکوں پر نکل آیا اور فورسز کے خلاف مظاہرے گئے ،فورسز نے مظاہرین کو تتر بتر کرنے کیلئے زبردست ٹیر گیس شلنگ کی اور شام دیر گئے تک علاقے میں حالات کشیدہ تھے ۔اس سے پہلے سرینگر میں کل صبح8بجے انتظامیہ نے کرفیو میں 11 بجے تک ڈھیل دینے کا اعلان کیا جس میں بعد میںوقفے وقفے شام تک توسیع کی گئی۔ سولنہ، رام باغ ، نٹی پورہ، چھانپورہ، باغ مہتاب میںکل صبح سے ہی احتجاجی مظاہروں کا سلسلہ شروع ہوا اور پولیس اور مظاہرین کے درمیان جھڑپیں ہوئیں۔مائسمہ میں لوگ سڑکوں پر بیٹھ گئے اور ہاتھوں میں سیاہ پرچم لیکر آزادی کے حق میں نعرے بلند کئے ۔شہر خاص کے نوہٹہ، خانیار، راجوری کدل،بہوری کدل، فتح کدل، بمنہ، بٹہ مالو اورصفاکدل میںمظاہروں کے دوران پتھراو
¿،ٹیر گیس شلنگ اورلاٹھی چارج کے واقعات پیش آئے۔ بمنہ میں مظاہرین نے سی آر پی ایف پر زبردست سنگباری کی جس کے نتیجہ میں کئی اہلکار زخمی ہوگئے جبکہ جواب میںسی آرپی ایف نے گولیاں چلائیں جس کے نتیجے میں دوافراد زخمی ہوئے ۔ امام مسجد سمیت کئی افراد کے لہولہان ہونے کے بعد مظاہرین اور زیادہ مشتعل ہوگئے اور امام مسجد کو گولی مار کر زخمی کرنے کی خبر پورے بمنہ اور ملحقہ علاقوں میں پھیل گئی جس کے بعد ہزاروں کی تعداد میںلوگ اپنے گھروں سے باہر آگئے اور انہوں نے زبردست احتجاجی مظاہرے شروع کئے۔ اس دوران ہزاروںلوگوں نے ایک جلوس نکالا جس دوران جلوس میں شامل نوجوانوں نے مشتعل ہوکر بمنہ میں قائم سرینگر ڈیولپمنٹ اتھارٹی کے آفس،ایک جپسی اور کار کو نذر آٹش کرڈالا جبکہ مظاہرین نے پولیس و سی آر پی ایف پرزبردست سنگباری کی اور پولیس اسٹیشن پر دھاوا بولنے کی کوشش کی ۔ نوہٹہ سرینگر میںبھی لوگوں نے پرتشد د احتجاجی مظاہرے کئے جبکہ خانیار سے ہزاروں کی تعداد میںلوگوں نے ایک جلوس نکالا جس لالچوک سرینگر کے ایم ڈی اڈہ پہنچنے میں کامیاب ہوگیا تاہم اس موقعہ پر پولیس نے مظاہرین کو منتشر کرنے کے لئے لاٹھی چارج کیا اور اشک آور گیس کے گولے جس کے نتیجہ میں نصف درجن کے قریب افراد زخمی ہوگئے۔ صفا کدل سرینگر میں مشتعل مظاہرین نے ایک پولیس اہلکار کو پکڑ کر اس کی شدید مارپیٹ کی جبکہ اس کا سکوٹر بھی نذر آتش کیا گیا۔ مشتعل ہجوم نے صفاکدل تھانے پر زبردست پتھراﺅ کیااور پولیس نے جوابی کارروائی میں مظاہرین پر اشک آور گولوں کے ساتھ ساتھ ہوائی فائرنگ بھی کی ۔فتح کدل سرینگر میں بھی نوجوانوں کی ایک ٹولی نے پولیس اسٹےشن پر پتھراﺅ کر کے اسے نقصان پہنچانے کی کوشش کی۔ تاہم پولیس نے نوجوانوں پر زبردست لاٹھی چارج کر کے ان پر اشک آور گےس کے گولوں کی برسات کی لیکن ہجوم منتشر نہیں ہوا جس کے بعد پولیس نے فائرنگ کر دی اور گولی لگنے کے نتےجے میں 2نوجوان زخمی ہوئے جنہیں صدر اسپتال منتقل کیا گےا ۔ رعناواری میں بھی پولیس اسٹےشن پر پتھراﺅ کیا گےا ۔کرن نگر میں لوگوں کے ایک بھاری جلوس نے سی آر پی ایف کے بنکر پر دھاﺅا بول کر اسے منہدم کر دےا جس کے جواب میں فورسز نے مظاہرین پر زبردست لاٹھی چارج کر کے کئی افراد کو زخمی کر دےا۔ نوہٹہ میں اس وقت حالات کشیدہ ہوگئے جب باغ مہتاب میں کل زخمی ہوئے فےصل احمد کی لاش وہاں پہنچائی گئی تو لوگوں کی ایک بڑی تعداد نے وہاں احتجاجی مظاہرے کئے اور لاش کو جلوس سمےت ملہ کھاہ پہنچاےا جہاں اسے سپرد خاک کیا گےا ۔مذکورہ نوجوان اپنے ننہال باغ مہتاب گیا تھا جہاں سی آر پی ایف نے ایک جلوس پر فائرنگ کی ۔کنہ کدل میں بھی فورسز اور مشتعل نوجوانوں کے مابےن ٹکراﺅ کی صورتحال پیدا ہو گئی اور یہ ٹکراﺅ دیکھتے ہی دیکھتے جھڑپوں میں تبدیل ہو گےا ۔مشتعل نوجوانوں نے جگہ جگہ پر فورسز اہلکاروں پر زبردست پتھراﺅ کیا جس کے بعد فورسز اہلکاروں نے گھروں میں توڑ پھوڑ کر ڈالی اور سامان تہس نہس کر دےا ۔لوگوں کے مطابق فورسز اہلکار اس قدر مشتعل تھے کہ انہوں نے کئی مکانوں کے شےشے چکنا چور کر دیئے اور پوری بستی میں ادھم مچا دی ۔رامباغ میں کل شام زم زم کمپلیکس کے قریب سی آر پی ایف اہلکاروں نے گھروں میں گھس کر مرد وزن کی پٹائی کی اور مکانوں کے شیشے توڑ ڈالے ۔بٹہ مالو،نٹی پورہ ،بائی پاس ، بسنت باغ ،برتھنہ اورگاﺅ کدل میں بھی مظاہرین اور فورسز و پولیس اہلکاروں کے مابےن جھڑپیں ہوئیں ۔اس دو ران کل صبح ڈےموکریٹک پولٹیکل مومنٹ کی طرف سے ایک جلوس نکالا گےا جس کی قےادت تنظیم کے سینئر لیڈر عبدالرشیدڈار اور یار محمد خان کر رہے تھے ۔جلوس جونہی بربرشاہ ،نئی سڑک،بسنت باغ،گاﺅ کدل سے ہوتا ہوا ایم ڈی اڈہ پہنچا تو پولیس نے جلوس پر دھاوا بول کران پر زبردست لاٹھی چارج کیا اور ٹیرشلینگ کی بوچھاڑ کر دی جس کے نتےجے میں 20افراد زخمی ہو گئے ۔ بربرشاہ میں نوجوانوں کی ٹولیاں مشتعل ہوئیں اور انہوں نے سی آر پی ایف اور پولیس اہلکاروں پر زبردست پتھراﺅ کیا جس کے نتےجے میں فورسز نے ان پر لاٹھی چارج کیا اور مقامی لوگوں کے مطابق فورسز اہلکاروں نے رہائشی مکانوں کی توڑ پھوڑ کر ڈالی جس کے نتےجے میں علاقہ میں کشیدگی پھیل گئی ہے۔ڈلگیٹ میں خواتین نے ایک جلوس نکلا جس کے بعد وہاں کشیدگی پھیل گئی ۔اس دوران بیلو پلوامہ میں کل شام اسوقت حالات نے کشیدگی اختیار کی جب علاقے میں قائم سی آر پی ایف کیمپ سے وابستہ اہلکار بستی میں داخل ہوئے اور وہاں ادھم مچادی، فورسز کے اہلکاروں نے گھروں میں داخل ہوکر مکینوں کو بے دردی سے زد کوب کیا اور رہائشی مکانات کو شدید نقصان پہنچایا۔ فورسزاہلکاروں نے جامع مسجد بیلو کو بھی شدید نقصان پہنچایا جبکہ فیاض احمد وانی کی ٹاٹا سومو گاڑی بھی تباہ کی گئی۔ سی آرپی ایف نے عاشق حسین میر، غلام قادر وانی، محمد سلطان وانی اور خورشید احمد ڈار کی ہڈی پسلی ایک کردی جسکے بعد علاقے کے لوگ سڑکوں پر نکل آئے اور پنچائت گھر کو آگ لگادی۔ مشتعل لوگوں نے کیمپ کا گھیراﺅ کرنے کی کوشش کی جسکے بعد فورسز نے فائرنگ کرکے 30افراد کو زخمی کیاجن میں مشتاق احمد ڈار ،فینسی ،عبدالمجید ڈار ،مشتاق احمد ،حنیفہ بیگم اور فاروق احمد ڈار شامل ہیں۔ زخمیوں کو سرینگر کے مختلف اسپتالوں میں داخل کیا گیا۔جہاں 4کی حالت تشویشناک ہے ۔اس واقعے کے بعد راجپورہ اور دیگر دیہات میں لوگ مشتعل ہوئے اور شیخ آرہ میں ممبر اسمبلی ممبر سید بشیر احمدکے رہایشی مکان کو نذر آتش کیاجبکہ پلوامہ قصبے میں احتجاجی مظاہرے ہوئے ۔راجپورہ میں پولیس نے مظاہرین کو تتر بتر کرنے کیلئے ہوائی فائرنگ کی ۔مقامی لوگوں نے کشمیر عظمیٰ کو بتایا کہ سی آر پی ایف کے اہلکاروں نے علاقے میں 2 روز سے جاری پر امن احتجاجی مظاہروں کا بدلہ کیلئے بستی پر ہلہ بول دیا۔ آخری اطلاعات آنے تک علاقے میں احتجاجی مظاہروں کا سلسلہ جاری تھا۔ کل شام جب پلوامہ سے زخمیوں کو سرینگر لایا جارہا تھا تو کاکہ پورہ اور بادام باغ میں فورسز نے گاڑیوں کو روک لیا اور انہیں اسپتال جانے سے روک لیا۔اس دوران جب زخمیوں کو صدر اسپتال لایا گیا تو یہاں رات کے 8بجے پولیس نے کیجولٹی میں فائرنگ کی ۔جس کے نتیجے میں پورے اسپتال میں افرا تفری مچ گئی اور اسپتال میں داخل کئی مریض بے ہوش ہوگئے۔ضلع کے کاکہ پورہ، مورن ،نائنہ ترال، مندورہ اور پرچھو دیہات میں بھی لوگوں نے فورسز پر توڑ پھوڑ اور مار دھاڑ کے الزامات عائد کرکے حکام سے ان واقعات کی تحقیقات کا مطالبہ کیا ہے۔ترال سے سید اعجاز نے اطلاع دی ہے کہ مندورہ ترال میں حالات اسوقت کشیدہ ہوگئے جب وہاں لوگوں نے شیخ عزیز کی غائبانہ نمازِ جنازہ ادا کرنے کی کوشش کی۔ اس موقعہ پر سی آر پی ایف کے اہلکار وہاں نمودار ہوئے اور اُنہوں نے لوگوں پر دھاوا بول دیا جسکے نتیجے میں لوگ مسجد میں پناہ لینے پر مجبور ہوئے۔ سی آر پی ایف اہلکاروں نے مسجد پر بھی دھاوا بول دیا اور اس کی کھڑکیاں اور دروازے توڑ ڈالیں اور لوگوں کی شدید مارپیٹ کی جس کے نتیجے میں سجاد احمد گنائی، ہلال احمد راتھر ، غلام حسن راتھر، یونس احمد ، سلیم یوسف اور امتیاز احمد بٹ نامی نوجوان شدید طور پر زخمی ہوئے۔ شکار گاہ ترال سے ہزاروں لوگوں مشتمل ایک جلوس نکالاگیا اور جب جلوس ہائن کے مقام پر پہنچ گیا تو پولیس ٹاسک فورس اور سی آر پی ایف اہلکاروں نے جلوس کو منتشر کرنے کےلئے لاٹھی چارج کیا اور آنسوگیس کے گولے پھینکے جس کے نتیجے میں 2افراد شدیدطورپر زخمی ہوئے جبکہ کئی افراد کا شدید زد و کوب کیاگیا۔نودل ترال سے ایک اور جلوس نکالاگیا اور جب لوگ بجہ کول کے نزدیک پہنچ گیا تو اس موقعہ پر سی آرپی ایف نے لوگوں پر شلنگ کی جسکے نتیجے میں درجنوں افراد زخمی ہوئے۔ امیراآباد ترال میں بھی ایسا ہی واقعہ پیش آیا۔ کل ترال میں ہوئے تشدد آمیز واقعات کے دوران 35افراد زخمی ہوئے۔ سوپور سے کشمیر عظمیٰ کے نامہ نگار غلام محمد نے اطلاع دی ہے کہ سوپور میں مسلسل کرفیو کی وجہ سے عوامی زندگی مفلوج ہو کر رہ گئی، ضروریات زندگی کی چیزوں کی زبردست قلت پائی جارہی ہے ۔اگرچہ وادی کے دیگر علاقوں میں کرفیو میں ڈھیل دی گئی تاہم سوپور میں کوئی نرمی نہیں برتی گئی۔اس دوران ہائیگام اور دوسرے علاقوں سے سبزی کے ٹرک سوپور لائے گئے۔بٹہ پورہ میں جونہی ایک ٹرک پہنچ گیا تو ایس ٹی ایف ٹرک کو اپنے ساتھ لیا۔جس کے بعد لوگوں نے جلوس نکالا ۔جلوس میں شامل لوگوں نے شیو سینا کے بال ٹھاکرے کو پتلا نذر آتش کیاجس کے بعد فورسز نے ٹیر گیس شلنگ اور ہوائی فائرنگ کی۔ایس ٹی ایف اہلکار سوپور میں داخل ہوئی اور وہاں موجود لوگوں کی مارپیٹ کی۔ایس ٹی ایف نے پورے قصبے میں خوف ودہشت مچاکراخبار فروشوں پر ٹوٹ پڑے اور انکی زبردست مارپیٹ کرکے اخبار فروخت کرنے سے روک لیا۔اس دوران سوپور کے اندرونی علاقوں سے بھی جلوس نکالے گئے اور فورسز نے انہیں روکنے کیلئے ٹیر گیس شلنگ اور ہوائی فائرنگ کی۔چرار شریف سے غلام قادر بیدار نے اطلاع دی ہے کہ چرار شرےف میں لوگوں کی ایک بڑی تعداد نے جلوس نکالا۔پولیس نے اس موقعہ پر مظاہرین کو منتشر کرنے کےلئے پہلے لاٹھی چارج کیا اور اشک آور گےس کے گولے داغے جس کے جواب میں مشتعل ہجوم نے پولیس اہلکاروں پر زبردست سنگباری کی اور اس سنگباری کے نتےجے میں6پولیس اہلکار شدید زخمی ہو گئے جبکہ پولیس اہلکاروں کی جوابی کارروائی میں 19 افراد زخمی ہوئے ۔ مظاہرین اس قدر مشتعل ہوئے اور انہوں نے وہاں اولڈ پولیس اسٹےشن پر دھاوا بول کر اسے نذر آتش کر دےا ۔اس موقعہ پر پولیس اسٹےشن کی حفاظت پر مامور اہلکار کھڑیوں سے چھلانگ لگا کر جان بچانے میں کامیاب ہو گئے ۔گاندربل سے کشمیر عظمیٰ کے نامہ نگار نے اطلاع دی ہے کہ مینگام، وتہ لار، ہاری پورہ سے جلوس نکالا گیا اور مختلف علاقوں جن میں وائل، نونر، سرژ، گراج اور دھوبی پورہ شامل ہیں، کے لوگ جلوس میں شامل ہوتے گئے اور بیہامہ چوک گاندربل پہنچ کر جلوس میں شامل لوگوں کی تعداد 10ہزار تک پہنچ گئی جو بی جے پی اور شیو سینا کے خلاف اور آزادی کے حق میں نعرے بازی کررہے تھے۔ جلوس میں شامل لوگوں نے بیہامہ چوک اور توحید چوک میں کھمبوں پر سبز پرچم نصب کئے۔ بعدمیں جلوس ایک بجے پرامن طور پر منتشر ہوا۔ اسی اثناءمیں چھترگل، وُسن سے بھی قریب1500لوگوں پر مشتمل جلوس بیہامہ پہنچا جہاں انہوںنے ڈی سی آفس گاندربل پر سبز پرچم نصب کرنا چاہا تاہم گاندربل کے تحصیلداراور ایس ایچ او کے سمجھانے بجھانے کے بعد لوگوںنے ڈی سی آفس کے متصل عمارت میں سبز جھنڈا نصب کیا اور پرامن طور پر منتشر ہوئے۔ دریںا ثناءزخمی ہوئے اعجاز احمد ماگرے کو صورہ سے رخصت کرنے کے بعد اسے جلوس کی صورت میں گھر پہنچایا گیا۔ناگہ بل میں مشتعل لوگوں نے پولیس گھارت پر دھاوا بول دیا اور وہاں موجود پولیس اہلکاروں کو بھگادیا۔کولگام سے نمائندے نے اطلاع دی ہے کہ ضلع کولگام کے کیلم حابلش، محمد پورہ، مالون، پہلو، کاڈڑ، کھڈونی، قیموہ میں ہزاروں لوگوںنے جلوس نکالا اور کولگام بازار میں جمع ہوکر آزادی کے حق اور انتہا پسند جماعتوں کے خلاف نعرے بازی کی۔ کولگام کے عیدگاہ میں پولیس اور فورسز کی فائرنگ سے جاں بحق ہوئے افراد کی غائبانہ نماز جنازہ ادا کی گئی۔ بعدمیںمظاہرین پرامن طور پر منتشر ہوئے۔ ادھر بجبہاڑہ میں مظاہرین نے DFOمجسٹریٹ اور DFOپلوامہ کے گھروں کی توڑ پھوڑ کی جبکہ میونسپل ٹاﺅن پنچایت نیشنل بنک اور دیگر کئی سرکاری عمارتوں پر شدید پتھراﺅ کیا۔ مظاہرین نے سنگم بجبہاڑہ میں دہلی پبلک سکول کی عمارت پر بھی حملہ کرکے وہاں توڑ پھوڑ کی۔بارہمولہ سے کشمیر عظمیٰ کے نامہ نگار الطاف بابا نے اطلاع دی ہے کہ بارہمولہ میں کل شام 5بجے سے 7بجے تک کرفیو میں ڈھیل دی گئیجس کے دوران اولڈ ٹاون برج کے قریب احتجاجی جلوس نکالا اور نعرے لگائے ۔بانڈی پورہ میںگذشتہ روز ہوئی ہلاکتوں کے خلاف کل بھی احتجاج جاری رہا۔اس دوران جوالا پورہ بڈگام میں بھی لوگوں نے احتجاجی مظاہرے کئے۔
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سرینگر//”مظفرآباد چلو “پروگرام ناکام بنانے اور احتجاج کو کچلنے کیلئے فورسزکی فائرنگ سے زخمی ہوئے مزید2نوجوان زخموںکی تاب نہ لاتے ہوئے دم توڑ بیٹھے اس طرح گذشتہ 2روز کے دوران جاں بحق ہونے والے افرادکی تعداد27تک پہنچ گئی ہے ۔اس دوران شہر سرینگر کے ڈاﺅن ٹاﺅن علاقے اور پلوامہ میں درجنوں مقامات پر احتجاجی جلوسوں کو منتشر کرنے کےلئے سی آر پی ایف نے بے دردانہ طریقے سے لاٹھی چارج کیا اور گولیاں چلائیں جس کے نتیجے میں 100سے زائد افراد زخمی ہوئے۔ پلوامہ میں ایک سابق وزیرکے مکان کو نذرِآتش کیاگیا جبکہ پوری وادی میں کئی فورسز کے بنکراور پولیس چوکیوں کے علاوہ پولیس کی گاڑیوں کو پھونک ڈالاگیا۔ تفصیلات کے مطابق 11اگست کو باغ مہتاب میں فورسز کی فائرنگ سے زخمی ہوا فیصل احمد ڈار ولد شوکت احمد ڈار ساکنہ نوہٹہ بدھ کو اسپتال میں زخموں کی تاب نہ لاکر جاںبحق ہوگیا۔ فیصل احمد کے جاں بحق ہونے کی خبرجونہی نوہٹہ پہنچی تو وہاں کہرام مچ گیا پورے نوہٹہ اور ملحقہ علاقوں میں کشیدگی پھیل گئی۔اس موقعہ پر نوجوانوں نے سڑکوں پر نکل کر ایک بار پھراحتجاجی مظاہرے شروع کئے اور سی آر پی ایف اہلکاروںپر زبردست پتھراو
¿ شرو ع کیا۔جس کے بعد یہاں سے ایک جلوس نکالا گیا تاہم سی آرپی ایف اہلکاروں نے جلوس کو منتشر کرنے کے لاٹھی چارج کیا اور ٹیر گیس کے گولے داغے۔ بعد میں نوجوان کی تجہیز وتکفین کے بعد ہزاروں لوگوں نے اس کی نمازہ جنازہ پڑھی اور اشکبار آنکھوں کے ساتھ اسے سپرد خاک کیا گیا۔رعناواری کے قریب فورسز کی فائرنگ سے زخمی ہوا حفیظ اللہ بابا ولد محمدجمال ساکنہ برتھنہ قمرواری بھی اسپتال میںزخموںکی تاب نہ لاتے ہوئے دم توڑ بیٹھا۔اس کی میت جب اس کے آبائی گھر پہنچائی گئی تو یہاں قیامت صغریٰ بپا ہوگئی ۔اس طرح 11اگست کو مظفرآباد چلو اور اسکے اگلے دن یعنی 12اگست کوانتہائی سخت کرفیو کے باوجودعوامی جلسے جلوسوں کو ناکام بنانے کے لئے فورسز کی اندھا دھند فائرنگ سے جاں بحق ہونے والوں کی تعداد27ہوگئی ہے۔کل شام بسنت باغ سرینگر میں سی آر پی ایف اہلکاروں نے اس وقت فائرنگ کی جب یہاں کچھ لوگ گھروں سے باہر آئے اور احتجاجی جلوس نکالنے کی کوشش کی ۔اس موقعہ پر فورسز اہلکاروں نے اندھا دھند فائرنگ کی ۔جس کے نتیجے میں حیات احمد ولد فاروق احمد ،شبنم ،پروینہ اور ضمیر احمد ولد غلام رسول گولیاں لگنے سے زخمی ہوئے ۔انہیں شدید زخمی حالت میں اسپتال لے جایا گیا۔اس واقعے کے بعد گاﺅ کدل ،بسنت باغ اور مائسمہ میں لوگوں کا ہجوم سڑکوں پر نکل آیا اور فورسز کے خلاف مظاہرے گئے ،فورسز نے مظاہرین کو تتر بتر کرنے کیلئے زبردست ٹیر گیس شلنگ کی اور شام دیر گئے تک علاقے میں حالات کشیدہ تھے ۔اس سے پہلے سرینگر میں کل صبح8بجے انتظامیہ نے کرفیو میں 11 بجے تک ڈھیل دینے کا اعلان کیا جس میں بعد میںوقفے وقفے شام تک توسیع کی گئی۔ سولنہ، رام باغ ، نٹی پورہ، چھانپورہ، باغ مہتاب میںکل صبح سے ہی احتجاجی مظاہروں کا سلسلہ شروع ہوا اور پولیس اور مظاہرین کے درمیان جھڑپیں ہوئیں۔مائسمہ میں لوگ سڑکوں پر بیٹھ گئے اور ہاتھوں میں سیاہ پرچم لیکر آزادی کے حق میں نعرے بلند کئے ۔شہر خاص کے نوہٹہ، خانیار، راجوری کدل،بہوری کدل، فتح کدل، بمنہ، بٹہ مالو اورصفاکدل میںمظاہروں کے دوران پتھراو
¿،ٹیر گیس شلنگ اورلاٹھی چارج کے واقعات پیش آئے۔ بمنہ میں مظاہرین نے سی آر پی ایف پر زبردست سنگباری کی جس کے نتیجہ میں کئی اہلکار زخمی ہوگئے جبکہ جواب میںسی آرپی ایف نے گولیاں چلائیں جس کے نتیجے میں دوافراد زخمی ہوئے ۔ امام مسجد سمیت کئی افراد کے لہولہان ہونے کے بعد مظاہرین اور زیادہ مشتعل ہوگئے اور امام مسجد کو گولی مار کر زخمی کرنے کی خبر پورے بمنہ اور ملحقہ علاقوں میں پھیل گئی جس کے بعد ہزاروں کی تعداد میںلوگ اپنے گھروں سے باہر آگئے اور انہوں نے زبردست احتجاجی مظاہرے شروع کئے۔ اس دوران ہزاروںلوگوں نے ایک جلوس نکالا جس دوران جلوس میں شامل نوجوانوں نے مشتعل ہوکر بمنہ میں قائم سرینگر ڈیولپمنٹ اتھارٹی کے آفس،ایک جپسی اور کار کو نذر آٹش کرڈالا جبکہ مظاہرین نے پولیس و سی آر پی ایف پرزبردست سنگباری کی اور پولیس اسٹیشن پر دھاوا بولنے کی کوشش کی ۔ نوہٹہ سرینگر میںبھی لوگوں نے پرتشد د احتجاجی مظاہرے کئے جبکہ خانیار سے ہزاروں کی تعداد میںلوگوں نے ایک جلوس نکالا جس لالچوک سرینگر کے ایم ڈی اڈہ پہنچنے میں کامیاب ہوگیا تاہم اس موقعہ پر پولیس نے مظاہرین کو منتشر کرنے کے لئے لاٹھی چارج کیا اور اشک آور گیس کے گولے جس کے نتیجہ میں نصف درجن کے قریب افراد زخمی ہوگئے۔ صفا کدل سرینگر میں مشتعل مظاہرین نے ایک پولیس اہلکار کو پکڑ کر اس کی شدید مارپیٹ کی جبکہ اس کا سکوٹر بھی نذر آتش کیا گیا۔ مشتعل ہجوم نے صفاکدل تھانے پر زبردست پتھراﺅ کیااور پولیس نے جوابی کارروائی میں مظاہرین پر اشک آور گولوں کے ساتھ ساتھ ہوائی فائرنگ بھی کی ۔فتح کدل سرینگر میں بھی نوجوانوں کی ایک ٹولی نے پولیس اسٹےشن پر پتھراﺅ کر کے اسے نقصان پہنچانے کی کوشش کی۔ تاہم پولیس نے نوجوانوں پر زبردست لاٹھی چارج کر کے ان پر اشک آور گےس کے گولوں کی برسات کی لیکن ہجوم منتشر نہیں ہوا جس کے بعد پولیس نے فائرنگ کر دی اور گولی لگنے کے نتےجے میں 2نوجوان زخمی ہوئے جنہیں صدر اسپتال منتقل کیا گےا ۔ رعناواری میں بھی پولیس اسٹےشن پر پتھراﺅ کیا گےا ۔کرن نگر میں لوگوں کے ایک بھاری جلوس نے سی آر پی ایف کے بنکر پر دھاﺅا بول کر اسے منہدم کر دےا جس کے جواب میں فورسز نے مظاہرین پر زبردست لاٹھی چارج کر کے کئی افراد کو زخمی کر دےا۔ نوہٹہ میں اس وقت حالات کشیدہ ہوگئے جب باغ مہتاب میں کل زخمی ہوئے فےصل احمد کی لاش وہاں پہنچائی گئی تو لوگوں کی ایک بڑی تعداد نے وہاں احتجاجی مظاہرے کئے اور لاش کو جلوس سمےت ملہ کھاہ پہنچاےا جہاں اسے سپرد خاک کیا گےا ۔مذکورہ نوجوان اپنے ننہال باغ مہتاب گیا تھا جہاں سی آر پی ایف نے ایک جلوس پر فائرنگ کی ۔کنہ کدل میں بھی فورسز اور مشتعل نوجوانوں کے مابےن ٹکراﺅ کی صورتحال پیدا ہو گئی اور یہ ٹکراﺅ دیکھتے ہی دیکھتے جھڑپوں میں تبدیل ہو گےا ۔مشتعل نوجوانوں نے جگہ جگہ پر فورسز اہلکاروں پر زبردست پتھراﺅ کیا جس کے بعد فورسز اہلکاروں نے گھروں میں توڑ پھوڑ کر ڈالی اور سامان تہس نہس کر دےا ۔لوگوں کے مطابق فورسز اہلکار اس قدر مشتعل تھے کہ انہوں نے کئی مکانوں کے شےشے چکنا چور کر دیئے اور پوری بستی میں ادھم مچا دی ۔رامباغ میں کل شام زم زم کمپلیکس کے قریب سی آر پی ایف اہلکاروں نے گھروں میں گھس کر مرد وزن کی پٹائی کی اور مکانوں کے شیشے توڑ ڈالے ۔بٹہ مالو،نٹی پورہ ،بائی پاس ، بسنت باغ ،برتھنہ اورگاﺅ کدل میں بھی مظاہرین اور فورسز و پولیس اہلکاروں کے مابےن جھڑپیں ہوئیں ۔اس دو ران کل صبح ڈےموکریٹک پولٹیکل مومنٹ کی طرف سے ایک جلوس نکالا گےا جس کی قےادت تنظیم کے سینئر لیڈر عبدالرشیدڈار اور یار محمد خان کر رہے تھے ۔جلوس جونہی بربرشاہ ،نئی سڑک،بسنت باغ،گاﺅ کدل سے ہوتا ہوا ایم ڈی اڈہ پہنچا تو پولیس نے جلوس پر دھاوا بول کران پر زبردست لاٹھی چارج کیا اور ٹیرشلینگ کی بوچھاڑ کر دی جس کے نتےجے میں 20افراد زخمی ہو گئے ۔ بربرشاہ میں نوجوانوں کی ٹولیاں مشتعل ہوئیں اور انہوں نے سی آر پی ایف اور پولیس اہلکاروں پر زبردست پتھراﺅ کیا جس کے نتےجے میں فورسز نے ان پر لاٹھی چارج کیا اور مقامی لوگوں کے مطابق فورسز اہلکاروں نے رہائشی مکانوں کی توڑ پھوڑ کر ڈالی جس کے نتےجے میں علاقہ میں کشیدگی پھیل گئی ہے۔ڈلگیٹ میں خواتین نے ایک جلوس نکلا جس کے بعد وہاں کشیدگی پھیل گئی ۔اس دوران بیلو پلوامہ میں کل شام اسوقت حالات نے کشیدگی اختیار کی جب علاقے میں قائم سی آر پی ایف کیمپ سے وابستہ اہلکار بستی میں داخل ہوئے اور وہاں ادھم مچادی، فورسز کے اہلکاروں نے گھروں میں داخل ہوکر مکینوں کو بے دردی سے زد کوب کیا اور رہائشی مکانات کو شدید نقصان پہنچایا۔ فورسزاہلکاروں نے جامع مسجد بیلو کو بھی شدید نقصان پہنچایا جبکہ فیاض احمد وانی کی ٹاٹا سومو گاڑی بھی تباہ کی گئی۔ سی آرپی ایف نے عاشق حسین میر، غلام قادر وانی، محمد سلطان وانی اور خورشید احمد ڈار کی ہڈی پسلی ایک کردی جسکے بعد علاقے کے لوگ سڑکوں پر نکل آئے اور پنچائت گھر کو آگ لگادی۔ مشتعل لوگوں نے کیمپ کا گھیراﺅ کرنے کی کوشش کی جسکے بعد فورسز نے فائرنگ کرکے 30افراد کو زخمی کیاجن میں مشتاق احمد ڈار ،فینسی ،عبدالمجید ڈار ،مشتاق احمد ،حنیفہ بیگم اور فاروق احمد ڈار شامل ہیں۔ زخمیوں کو سرینگر کے مختلف اسپتالوں میں داخل کیا گیا۔جہاں 4کی حالت تشویشناک ہے ۔اس واقعے کے بعد راجپورہ اور دیگر دیہات میں لوگ مشتعل ہوئے اور شیخ آرہ میں ممبر اسمبلی ممبر سید بشیر احمدکے رہایشی مکان کو نذر آتش کیاجبکہ پلوامہ قصبے میں احتجاجی مظاہرے ہوئے ۔راجپورہ میں پولیس نے مظاہرین کو تتر بتر کرنے کیلئے ہوائی فائرنگ کی ۔مقامی لوگوں نے کشمیر عظمیٰ کو بتایا کہ سی آر پی ایف کے اہلکاروں نے علاقے میں 2 روز سے جاری پر امن احتجاجی مظاہروں کا بدلہ کیلئے بستی پر ہلہ بول دیا۔ آخری اطلاعات آنے تک علاقے میں احتجاجی مظاہروں کا سلسلہ جاری تھا۔ کل شام جب پلوامہ سے زخمیوں کو سرینگر لایا جارہا تھا تو کاکہ پورہ اور بادام باغ میں فورسز نے گاڑیوں کو روک لیا اور انہیں اسپتال جانے سے روک لیا۔اس دوران جب زخمیوں کو صدر اسپتال لایا گیا تو یہاں رات کے 8بجے پولیس نے کیجولٹی میں فائرنگ کی ۔جس کے نتیجے میں پورے اسپتال میں افرا تفری مچ گئی اور اسپتال میں داخل کئی مریض بے ہوش ہوگئے۔ضلع کے کاکہ پورہ، مورن ،نائنہ ترال، مندورہ اور پرچھو دیہات میں بھی لوگوں نے فورسز پر توڑ پھوڑ اور مار دھاڑ کے الزامات عائد کرکے حکام سے ان واقعات کی تحقیقات کا مطالبہ کیا ہے۔ترال سے سید اعجاز نے اطلاع دی ہے کہ مندورہ ترال میں حالات اسوقت کشیدہ ہوگئے جب وہاں لوگوں نے شیخ عزیز کی غائبانہ نمازِ جنازہ ادا کرنے کی کوشش کی۔ اس موقعہ پر سی آر پی ایف کے اہلکار وہاں نمودار ہوئے اور اُنہوں نے لوگوں پر دھاوا بول دیا جسکے نتیجے میں لوگ مسجد میں پناہ لینے پر مجبور ہوئے۔ سی آر پی ایف اہلکاروں نے مسجد پر بھی دھاوا بول دیا اور اس کی کھڑکیاں اور دروازے توڑ ڈالیں اور لوگوں کی شدید مارپیٹ کی جس کے نتیجے میں سجاد احمد گنائی، ہلال احمد راتھر ، غلام حسن راتھر، یونس احمد ، سلیم یوسف اور امتیاز احمد بٹ نامی نوجوان شدید طور پر زخمی ہوئے۔ شکار گاہ ترال سے ہزاروں لوگوں مشتمل ایک جلوس نکالاگیا اور جب جلوس ہائن کے مقام پر پہنچ گیا تو پولیس ٹاسک فورس اور سی آر پی ایف اہلکاروں نے جلوس کو منتشر کرنے کےلئے لاٹھی چارج کیا اور آنسوگیس کے گولے پھینکے جس کے نتیجے میں 2افراد شدیدطورپر زخمی ہوئے جبکہ کئی افراد کا شدید زد و کوب کیاگیا۔نودل ترال سے ایک اور جلوس نکالاگیا اور جب لوگ بجہ کول کے نزدیک پہنچ گیا تو اس موقعہ پر سی آرپی ایف نے لوگوں پر شلنگ کی جسکے نتیجے میں درجنوں افراد زخمی ہوئے۔ امیراآباد ترال میں بھی ایسا ہی واقعہ پیش آیا۔ کل ترال میں ہوئے تشدد آمیز واقعات کے دوران 35افراد زخمی ہوئے۔ سوپور سے کشمیر عظمیٰ کے نامہ نگار غلام محمد نے اطلاع دی ہے کہ سوپور میں مسلسل کرفیو کی وجہ سے عوامی زندگی مفلوج ہو کر رہ گئی، ضروریات زندگی کی چیزوں کی زبردست قلت پائی جارہی ہے ۔اگرچہ وادی کے دیگر علاقوں میں کرفیو میں ڈھیل دی گئی تاہم سوپور میں کوئی نرمی نہیں برتی گئی۔اس دوران ہائیگام اور دوسرے علاقوں سے سبزی کے ٹرک سوپور لائے گئے۔بٹہ پورہ میں جونہی ایک ٹرک پہنچ گیا تو ایس ٹی ایف ٹرک کو اپنے ساتھ لیا۔جس کے بعد لوگوں نے جلوس نکالا ۔جلوس میں شامل لوگوں نے شیو سینا کے بال ٹھاکرے کو پتلا نذر آتش کیاجس کے بعد فورسز نے ٹیر گیس شلنگ اور ہوائی فائرنگ کی۔ایس ٹی ایف اہلکار سوپور میں داخل ہوئی اور وہاں موجود لوگوں کی مارپیٹ کی۔ایس ٹی ایف نے پورے قصبے میں خوف ودہشت مچاکراخبار فروشوں پر ٹوٹ پڑے اور انکی زبردست مارپیٹ کرکے اخبار فروخت کرنے سے روک لیا۔اس دوران سوپور کے اندرونی علاقوں سے بھی جلوس نکالے گئے اور فورسز نے انہیں روکنے کیلئے ٹیر گیس شلنگ اور ہوائی فائرنگ کی۔چرار شریف سے غلام قادر بیدار نے اطلاع دی ہے کہ چرار شرےف میں لوگوں کی ایک بڑی تعداد نے جلوس نکالا۔پولیس نے اس موقعہ پر مظاہرین کو منتشر کرنے کےلئے پہلے لاٹھی چارج کیا اور اشک آور گےس کے گولے داغے جس کے جواب میں مشتعل ہجوم نے پولیس اہلکاروں پر زبردست سنگباری کی اور اس سنگباری کے نتےجے میں6پولیس اہلکار شدید زخمی ہو گئے جبکہ پولیس اہلکاروں کی جوابی کارروائی میں 19 افراد زخمی ہوئے ۔ مظاہرین اس قدر مشتعل ہوئے اور انہوں نے وہاں اولڈ پولیس اسٹےشن پر دھاوا بول کر اسے نذر آتش کر دےا ۔اس موقعہ پر پولیس اسٹےشن کی حفاظت پر مامور اہلکار کھڑیوں سے چھلانگ لگا کر جان بچانے میں کامیاب ہو گئے ۔گاندربل سے کشمیر عظمیٰ کے نامہ نگار نے اطلاع دی ہے کہ مینگام، وتہ لار، ہاری پورہ سے جلوس نکالا گیا اور مختلف علاقوں جن میں وائل، نونر، سرژ، گراج اور دھوبی پورہ شامل ہیں، کے لوگ جلوس میں شامل ہوتے گئے اور بیہامہ چوک گاندربل پہنچ کر جلوس میں شامل لوگوں کی تعداد 10ہزار تک پہنچ گئی جو بی جے پی اور شیو سینا کے خلاف اور آزادی کے حق میں نعرے بازی کررہے تھے۔ جلوس میں شامل لوگوں نے بیہامہ چوک اور توحید چوک میں کھمبوں پر سبز پرچم نصب کئے۔ بعدمیں جلوس ایک بجے پرامن طور پر منتشر ہوا۔ اسی اثناءمیں چھترگل، وُسن سے بھی قریب1500لوگوں پر مشتمل جلوس بیہامہ پہنچا جہاں انہوںنے ڈی سی آفس گاندربل پر سبز پرچم نصب کرنا چاہا تاہم گاندربل کے تحصیلداراور ایس ایچ او کے سمجھانے بجھانے کے بعد لوگوںنے ڈی سی آفس کے متصل عمارت میں سبز جھنڈا نصب کیا اور پرامن طور پر منتشر ہوئے۔ دریںا ثناءزخمی ہوئے اعجاز احمد ماگرے کو صورہ سے رخصت کرنے کے بعد اسے جلوس کی صورت میں گھر پہنچایا گیا۔ناگہ بل میں مشتعل لوگوں نے پولیس گھارت پر دھاوا بول دیا اور وہاں موجود پولیس اہلکاروں کو بھگادیا۔کولگام سے نمائندے نے اطلاع دی ہے کہ ضلع کولگام کے کیلم حابلش، محمد پورہ، مالون، پہلو، کاڈڑ، کھڈونی، قیموہ میں ہزاروں لوگوںنے جلوس نکالا اور کولگام بازار میں جمع ہوکر آزادی کے حق اور انتہا پسند جماعتوں کے خلاف نعرے بازی کی۔ کولگام کے عیدگاہ میں پولیس اور فورسز کی فائرنگ سے جاں بحق ہوئے افراد کی غائبانہ نماز جنازہ ادا کی گئی۔ بعدمیںمظاہرین پرامن طور پر منتشر ہوئے۔ ادھر بجبہاڑہ میں مظاہرین نے DFOمجسٹریٹ اور DFOپلوامہ کے گھروں کی توڑ پھوڑ کی جبکہ میونسپل ٹاﺅن پنچایت نیشنل بنک اور دیگر کئی سرکاری عمارتوں پر شدید پتھراﺅ کیا۔ مظاہرین نے سنگم بجبہاڑہ میں دہلی پبلک سکول کی عمارت پر بھی حملہ کرکے وہاں توڑ پھوڑ کی۔بارہمولہ سے کشمیر عظمیٰ کے نامہ نگار الطاف بابا نے اطلاع دی ہے کہ بارہمولہ میں کل شام 5بجے سے 7بجے تک کرفیو میں ڈھیل دی گئیجس کے دوران اولڈ ٹاون برج کے قریب احتجاجی جلوس نکالا اور نعرے لگائے ۔بانڈی پورہ میںگذشتہ روز ہوئی ہلاکتوں کے خلاف کل بھی احتجاج جاری رہا۔اس دوران جوالا پورہ بڈگام میں بھی لوگوں نے احتجاجی مظاہرے کئے۔
Midnight protests rock Srinagar, Governor says replacing CRPF IG: The Indian Express
J&K: Musharraf speech refers to Kashmir situation, India slams Pak for saying it will raise it with UN
Srinagar, New Delhi, August 13: In chaotic scenes in Srinagar an hour before midnight Wednesday, people, responding to calls made over loudspeakers of mosques, poured into the streets in protest after security forces allegedly barged into some houses in downtown localities and assaulted people.
There was confusion all around with hundreds packing the streets and chanting slogans. There were unconfirmed reports that CRPF personnel had entered homes in Rozabal, Safakdal, Kamangarpora and Zaina Kadal — the security forces are already under fire for the manner in which protestors have been dealt with in the last three days.
As the authorities tried to persuade people to return to their homes, Governor N N Vohra told The Indian Express: “We have sought the immediate replacement of the Inspector General of CRPF. We are trying our level best to calm people. It is in nobody’s interest”.
The police, however, said that apart from one incident in the evening they did not have reports of security forces breaking into homes. “We know of one such incident. The other incidents are not true,” said Srinagar SSP Syed Ahfad-ul-Mujtaba.
Security forces were trying to avoid moving into the city to break up the protests. “We do not want to create a scene. We will let them stay out,” a senior police officer told The Indian Express.
Meanwhile, the spat between India and Pakistan over the J&K situation got uglier today after New Delhi issued its third statement in a week, describing Islamabad’s call for international involvement in Kashmir as “gratuitous and illegal”. The Ministry of External Affairs said the remarks by Pakistan’s leaders and Foreign office spokesmen were “objectionable” and “factually wrong”.
But late tonight, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, in his address on the eve of the country’s independence day, again referred to the situation in Kashmir, saying Pakistan shared the grief of the families of those killed in the Valley.
Earlier today, in a language reminiscent of the bitter past, Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Sadiq called upon the international community, in particular “United Nations, Organisation of the Islamic Conference and Human Rights organisations, to take notice of the gross violation of human rights of Kashmiri people, unwarranted violence against them and their economic blockade perpetrated by extremist elements and impress upon India to observe restrain and rein in the extremist elements that are seeking economic destruction of the Kashmiri people.”
In New Delhi, Navtej Sarna, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, hit back, saying “the Government of India finds deeply objectionable the series of remarks by the official spokesman and leaders in Pakistan on recent events in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.”
“We are witnessing a recurrence of Pakistani rhetoric and allegations that are factually wrong and that bear no relationship to reality. To call for international involvement in the sovereign internal affairs of India is gratuitous, illegal and only reflects reversion to a mindset that has led to no good consequences for Pakistan in the past.”
“It is not too late for Pakistani leaders and spokesmen to desist from the course of action that they have recently embarked upon, and we would urge them to do so forthwith,” Sarna said.
Srinagar, New Delhi, August 13: In chaotic scenes in Srinagar an hour before midnight Wednesday, people, responding to calls made over loudspeakers of mosques, poured into the streets in protest after security forces allegedly barged into some houses in downtown localities and assaulted people.
There was confusion all around with hundreds packing the streets and chanting slogans. There were unconfirmed reports that CRPF personnel had entered homes in Rozabal, Safakdal, Kamangarpora and Zaina Kadal — the security forces are already under fire for the manner in which protestors have been dealt with in the last three days.
As the authorities tried to persuade people to return to their homes, Governor N N Vohra told The Indian Express: “We have sought the immediate replacement of the Inspector General of CRPF. We are trying our level best to calm people. It is in nobody’s interest”.
The police, however, said that apart from one incident in the evening they did not have reports of security forces breaking into homes. “We know of one such incident. The other incidents are not true,” said Srinagar SSP Syed Ahfad-ul-Mujtaba.
Security forces were trying to avoid moving into the city to break up the protests. “We do not want to create a scene. We will let them stay out,” a senior police officer told The Indian Express.
Meanwhile, the spat between India and Pakistan over the J&K situation got uglier today after New Delhi issued its third statement in a week, describing Islamabad’s call for international involvement in Kashmir as “gratuitous and illegal”. The Ministry of External Affairs said the remarks by Pakistan’s leaders and Foreign office spokesmen were “objectionable” and “factually wrong”.
But late tonight, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, in his address on the eve of the country’s independence day, again referred to the situation in Kashmir, saying Pakistan shared the grief of the families of those killed in the Valley.
Earlier today, in a language reminiscent of the bitter past, Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Sadiq called upon the international community, in particular “United Nations, Organisation of the Islamic Conference and Human Rights organisations, to take notice of the gross violation of human rights of Kashmiri people, unwarranted violence against them and their economic blockade perpetrated by extremist elements and impress upon India to observe restrain and rein in the extremist elements that are seeking economic destruction of the Kashmiri people.”
In New Delhi, Navtej Sarna, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, hit back, saying “the Government of India finds deeply objectionable the series of remarks by the official spokesman and leaders in Pakistan on recent events in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.”
“We are witnessing a recurrence of Pakistani rhetoric and allegations that are factually wrong and that bear no relationship to reality. To call for international involvement in the sovereign internal affairs of India is gratuitous, illegal and only reflects reversion to a mindset that has led to no good consequences for Pakistan in the past.”
“It is not too late for Pakistani leaders and spokesmen to desist from the course of action that they have recently embarked upon, and we would urge them to do so forthwith,” Sarna said.
Firing to disperse or kill? Greater Kashmir
Bullets Hit Protestors’ Chest, Head, Abdomen, Heart
NASEER A GANAI
Srinagar, Aug 13: Doctors in different hospitals say causalities due to bullet injuries were higher as bullets have been fired at upper parts of the body including chest, heart and head. They say the troops and police resorted to target killing of protestors.
“Yesterday, we operated upon a number of persons having received bullet injuries. We also operated upon 15 seriously wounded, among them several died. I tell you most people have been shot at from very close range and above the waist causing maximum causalities,” said a consultant at SMHS Hospital.
“I can understand what would have happened outside. Inside the hospital, in the causality ward police fired teargas shells,” said Dr Idrees. Six persons who were brought dead to the hospital including Imtiyaz Ahmad Bhat of Lasjan, Imran Qayoom Wani of Baghi Mehtab, Qamran Mehboob, Faisal Showkat and others had been shot at upper parts including neck and chest.
Reports said 29 people have been killed in past two days. Doctors describe the shooting above waist as “target killing.” Bullet injuries in chest, neck and head could not be described as firing in self-defence, said a doctor working in Soura Medical Institute. He said most of the people who were in critical condition have been hit at neck, chest and head. He said a person brought from Bemina this morning had been hit in head.
A senior official of the Medical Institute Soura said 50 persons who have received bullets have undergone major surgeries in past two days. The official said most of the patients who have been operated upon were in critical condition. “This is grim situation. I should tell you frankly that half of the people who have gone through major surgeries are in extremely critical condition. Some are on ventilators. We should pray for their survival,” said a doctor working in the Institute.
Doctors in valley hospitals have cancelled their leaves and are in hospitals for past four days continuously looking after the injured. Eight persons have died in past two days in the Medical Institute. “Among the eight, some were brought dead and some died after operation,” officials said.
Doctors said had troops and police fired below the waist the causalities would have been far less. “In that case it causes less damage than target killing,” doctors say.
Rouf Majeed, presently admitted in the SMHS hospital, has been shot in his shoulder. Doctors looking after him said that he has been shot with pistol. “I was in a protest when army’s JAKLI troops fired at us. I received a bullet and I was brought to hospital by people,” he said. He said three other persons have received serious injuries in their chest and head and they have been shifted to SKIMS.
Nazir Ahmad of Sumbal had received a bullet in the abdomen. Apart from bullets, tear gas shells have been fired directly at people. Rouf Majeed admitted in the SMHS has been hit at chest with a tear gas shell. “Had it been hit at heart, it would have been fatal,” doctors attending him said. Another person, Gowhar Bhat of Dalgate, admitted in the SMHS, has been hit at private parts with tear gas shell.
NASEER A GANAI
Srinagar, Aug 13: Doctors in different hospitals say causalities due to bullet injuries were higher as bullets have been fired at upper parts of the body including chest, heart and head. They say the troops and police resorted to target killing of protestors.
“Yesterday, we operated upon a number of persons having received bullet injuries. We also operated upon 15 seriously wounded, among them several died. I tell you most people have been shot at from very close range and above the waist causing maximum causalities,” said a consultant at SMHS Hospital.
“I can understand what would have happened outside. Inside the hospital, in the causality ward police fired teargas shells,” said Dr Idrees. Six persons who were brought dead to the hospital including Imtiyaz Ahmad Bhat of Lasjan, Imran Qayoom Wani of Baghi Mehtab, Qamran Mehboob, Faisal Showkat and others had been shot at upper parts including neck and chest.
Reports said 29 people have been killed in past two days. Doctors describe the shooting above waist as “target killing.” Bullet injuries in chest, neck and head could not be described as firing in self-defence, said a doctor working in Soura Medical Institute. He said most of the people who were in critical condition have been hit at neck, chest and head. He said a person brought from Bemina this morning had been hit in head.
A senior official of the Medical Institute Soura said 50 persons who have received bullets have undergone major surgeries in past two days. The official said most of the patients who have been operated upon were in critical condition. “This is grim situation. I should tell you frankly that half of the people who have gone through major surgeries are in extremely critical condition. Some are on ventilators. We should pray for their survival,” said a doctor working in the Institute.
Doctors in valley hospitals have cancelled their leaves and are in hospitals for past four days continuously looking after the injured. Eight persons have died in past two days in the Medical Institute. “Among the eight, some were brought dead and some died after operation,” officials said.
Doctors said had troops and police fired below the waist the causalities would have been far less. “In that case it causes less damage than target killing,” doctors say.
Rouf Majeed, presently admitted in the SMHS hospital, has been shot in his shoulder. Doctors looking after him said that he has been shot with pistol. “I was in a protest when army’s JAKLI troops fired at us. I received a bullet and I was brought to hospital by people,” he said. He said three other persons have received serious injuries in their chest and head and they have been shifted to SKIMS.
Nazir Ahmad of Sumbal had received a bullet in the abdomen. Apart from bullets, tear gas shells have been fired directly at people. Rouf Majeed admitted in the SMHS has been hit at chest with a tear gas shell. “Had it been hit at heart, it would have been fatal,” doctors attending him said. Another person, Gowhar Bhat of Dalgate, admitted in the SMHS, has been hit at private parts with tear gas shell.
36 killed in 3 days :Rising Kashmir
4 protestors shot dead in Rajpora, Pulwama
Mosque damaged, ex-MLA’s house set ablaze
Abid Bashir
Srinagar, Aug 13: At least four protestors were killed when police and paramilitary CRPF personnel fired on peaceful demonstrators at Rajpora in Pulwama on Wednesday, raising the death toll to 36. The CRPF personnel also damaged the Jamia Masjid after protestors took shelter in the mosque to escape bullets and tear gas shells.
At least 10000 people took to roads at Rajpora, Pulwama and tried to march towards the residence of slain Huriyat leader, Sheikh Abdul Aziz to pay homage to him.
An eyewitness, Shameem Ahmad, who was a part of the procession told Rising Kashmir that when the protestors reached near Rajpora chowk, they were intercepted by CRPF and police personnel, who were deployed in strength in the area. “As the processionists tried to march ahead, the cops fired dozens of tear gas shells and resorted to cane charge to disperse the agitating people, who were raising anti-India, pro-freedom and pro-Pakistan slogans,” the eyewitness said.
At least 22 persons were injured in the police and CRPF action. The injured were shifted to local hospitals, where from the critically injured persons were referred to Srinagar hospitals for specialised treatment. Later in the evening, four of the critically injured persons succumbed to injuries.
The eyewitness said during the chaos some people took shelter in the Jamia Masjid. “The troopers entered the Masjid and broke down its window panes and doors and whisked away the people who had taken refuge there. The cops manhandled and beat up many persons”, added Ahmad.
The protestors also set afire the residential house of ex-PDP MLA, Syed Bashir.
City continues to be on boil
Hafizullah Baba of Qamarwari, who was injured on Tuesday in police and CRPF firing, succumbed to injuries at SKIMS. Two others, Mehrajudin of Bandipore and Faisal Ahmad of Shampora, Nowhatta also expired.
The hospital authorities confirmed all the three deaths.
The funeral of the trio was held at Jamia Masjid, Srinagar, which was attended by thousands of people. They were later buried in martyr’s graveyard Iddgah amid tears and sobs.
After the curfew was relaxed, people in Qamarwari, Rajouri Kadal, Saraf Kadal, Nawab Bazar, Nowhatta, Khanyar, Kani Kadal came out on roads and staged massive protests. The protestors were raising pro-freedom, pro-Pakistan and anti-India slogans.
A group of irate mob tried to set afire CRPF bunkers at Nawab bazar, Fateh Kadal, Basant bagh and near DC office Srinagar but were prevented by cops. Police resorted to aerial firing and resorted to tear-gas shelling to disperse the agitating mob.
At Kani Kadal and Fateh Kadal areas in old city, the cops resorted to aerial firing and lobbed tear-gas canisters to quell demonstrators, who tried to set afire the police stations. Two people including a teenager identified as Suhail Ahmad received bullet injuries in their legs and were shifted to SMHS hospital for treatment.
The protests at Bemina near by-pass took violent turn where angry youth set ablaze Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) building and an oil tanker. Eye-witnesses said that a group of youth turned violent and set-afire SDA building. It suffered extensive damage in the fire incident.
An oil tanker passing through the area was also set afire near JVC hospital, Bemina by a strong mob.
In the Bemina area, the angry youth intercepted two policemen travelling in a bike. After coming to know that the duo were policemen, the youth caught hold of them and beat them mercilessly. They also tried to set afire their motorbike. The CRPF personnel deployed in the area fired tear gas shells and resorted to cane charge and rescued the cops. Half a dozen persons were injured in the CRPF action.
Meanwhile, angry protestors at Bagh-e-Mehtab tried to force their entry into Guroo complex, where the families of protected persons and SOG men are putting up. People, who were protesting against killing of three persons in the area yesterday, tried to setafire the complex. The protestors fought pitched battles with police and CRPF personnel, who fired tear gas shells and resorted to cane charge to disperse them.
The ding dong battles between the police and protestors continued in city throughout the day.
Director General of Police (DGP) Kuldeep Khoda informed that 22 incidents of protests took place in Kashmir on Wednesday. “The situation is under control normalcy will soon return to Kashmir,” Khoda said.
DFO Lidder thrashed
A strong mob raising pro-freedom and anti-India slogans thrashed District Forest Officer (DFO) Lidder division Ghulam Ahmad Bader. Reports said that the agitators caught hold of him and manhandled him. “He was beaten by the mob,” reports said.
Reports further said that a mob damaged a restaurant at Dara Shakoo, Bijebhera in Islamabad district. The municipal committee of Bijbehara too was attacked by people.
Meanwhile, scores of demonstrations took place in South Kashmir to protest against the firing on peaceful and unarmed protestors in Kashmir.
Protests continue in North too
Thousands of people took to roads at Sopore town and staged massive protest demonstration. Raising pro-freedom and anti-India slogans, the protestors were condemning the killing of unarmed and peaceful protestors in Kashmir. The police fired tear gas shells and resorted to cane charging to disperse the strong mob of people. At least three persons were injured in the police action and were hospitalised.
The clashes between police and protestors were also reported from Khawajabagh and Khanpora, Baramulla. The cops used force to disperse the agitating people.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people defied curfew restrictions in Handwara and other areas in border district of Kupwara and staged anti-government slogans. The protestors were demanding action against the troopers responsible for killing the unarmed protestors during peaceful demonstrations in Kashmir. “It is totally barbaric,” said the protestors.
Funeral processions and tears
Three persons, who succumbed to injuries on Wednesday, were buried in martyrs graveyard Iddgah. Thousands of people amid shrieks and cries attended their Nimaz-e-Jinaza.
The funeral prayers in absentia were offered in several places of Valley for the persons killed in protest demonstrations in Kashmir during past three days. People were writhing in pail and praying for peace to the departed souls.
“It is barbaric act and the troopers who fired on peaceful protestors are not humans,” alleged the people.
Pak flag hoisted in KU
The students putting up in various hostels of the University of Kashmir (KU) marched in the University campus and hoisted the Pakistani flags at Moulana Rumi gate and the Vice Chancellor’s office.
The students also removed the board of the Gandhi Bhawan and raised anti-India, pro-freedom and pro-Pakistan slogans.
Mosque damaged, ex-MLA’s house set ablaze
Abid Bashir
Srinagar, Aug 13: At least four protestors were killed when police and paramilitary CRPF personnel fired on peaceful demonstrators at Rajpora in Pulwama on Wednesday, raising the death toll to 36. The CRPF personnel also damaged the Jamia Masjid after protestors took shelter in the mosque to escape bullets and tear gas shells.
At least 10000 people took to roads at Rajpora, Pulwama and tried to march towards the residence of slain Huriyat leader, Sheikh Abdul Aziz to pay homage to him.
An eyewitness, Shameem Ahmad, who was a part of the procession told Rising Kashmir that when the protestors reached near Rajpora chowk, they were intercepted by CRPF and police personnel, who were deployed in strength in the area. “As the processionists tried to march ahead, the cops fired dozens of tear gas shells and resorted to cane charge to disperse the agitating people, who were raising anti-India, pro-freedom and pro-Pakistan slogans,” the eyewitness said.
At least 22 persons were injured in the police and CRPF action. The injured were shifted to local hospitals, where from the critically injured persons were referred to Srinagar hospitals for specialised treatment. Later in the evening, four of the critically injured persons succumbed to injuries.
The eyewitness said during the chaos some people took shelter in the Jamia Masjid. “The troopers entered the Masjid and broke down its window panes and doors and whisked away the people who had taken refuge there. The cops manhandled and beat up many persons”, added Ahmad.
The protestors also set afire the residential house of ex-PDP MLA, Syed Bashir.
City continues to be on boil
Hafizullah Baba of Qamarwari, who was injured on Tuesday in police and CRPF firing, succumbed to injuries at SKIMS. Two others, Mehrajudin of Bandipore and Faisal Ahmad of Shampora, Nowhatta also expired.
The hospital authorities confirmed all the three deaths.
The funeral of the trio was held at Jamia Masjid, Srinagar, which was attended by thousands of people. They were later buried in martyr’s graveyard Iddgah amid tears and sobs.
After the curfew was relaxed, people in Qamarwari, Rajouri Kadal, Saraf Kadal, Nawab Bazar, Nowhatta, Khanyar, Kani Kadal came out on roads and staged massive protests. The protestors were raising pro-freedom, pro-Pakistan and anti-India slogans.
A group of irate mob tried to set afire CRPF bunkers at Nawab bazar, Fateh Kadal, Basant bagh and near DC office Srinagar but were prevented by cops. Police resorted to aerial firing and resorted to tear-gas shelling to disperse the agitating mob.
At Kani Kadal and Fateh Kadal areas in old city, the cops resorted to aerial firing and lobbed tear-gas canisters to quell demonstrators, who tried to set afire the police stations. Two people including a teenager identified as Suhail Ahmad received bullet injuries in their legs and were shifted to SMHS hospital for treatment.
The protests at Bemina near by-pass took violent turn where angry youth set ablaze Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) building and an oil tanker. Eye-witnesses said that a group of youth turned violent and set-afire SDA building. It suffered extensive damage in the fire incident.
An oil tanker passing through the area was also set afire near JVC hospital, Bemina by a strong mob.
In the Bemina area, the angry youth intercepted two policemen travelling in a bike. After coming to know that the duo were policemen, the youth caught hold of them and beat them mercilessly. They also tried to set afire their motorbike. The CRPF personnel deployed in the area fired tear gas shells and resorted to cane charge and rescued the cops. Half a dozen persons were injured in the CRPF action.
Meanwhile, angry protestors at Bagh-e-Mehtab tried to force their entry into Guroo complex, where the families of protected persons and SOG men are putting up. People, who were protesting against killing of three persons in the area yesterday, tried to setafire the complex. The protestors fought pitched battles with police and CRPF personnel, who fired tear gas shells and resorted to cane charge to disperse them.
The ding dong battles between the police and protestors continued in city throughout the day.
Director General of Police (DGP) Kuldeep Khoda informed that 22 incidents of protests took place in Kashmir on Wednesday. “The situation is under control normalcy will soon return to Kashmir,” Khoda said.
DFO Lidder thrashed
A strong mob raising pro-freedom and anti-India slogans thrashed District Forest Officer (DFO) Lidder division Ghulam Ahmad Bader. Reports said that the agitators caught hold of him and manhandled him. “He was beaten by the mob,” reports said.
Reports further said that a mob damaged a restaurant at Dara Shakoo, Bijebhera in Islamabad district. The municipal committee of Bijbehara too was attacked by people.
Meanwhile, scores of demonstrations took place in South Kashmir to protest against the firing on peaceful and unarmed protestors in Kashmir.
Protests continue in North too
Thousands of people took to roads at Sopore town and staged massive protest demonstration. Raising pro-freedom and anti-India slogans, the protestors were condemning the killing of unarmed and peaceful protestors in Kashmir. The police fired tear gas shells and resorted to cane charging to disperse the strong mob of people. At least three persons were injured in the police action and were hospitalised.
The clashes between police and protestors were also reported from Khawajabagh and Khanpora, Baramulla. The cops used force to disperse the agitating people.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people defied curfew restrictions in Handwara and other areas in border district of Kupwara and staged anti-government slogans. The protestors were demanding action against the troopers responsible for killing the unarmed protestors during peaceful demonstrations in Kashmir. “It is totally barbaric,” said the protestors.
Funeral processions and tears
Three persons, who succumbed to injuries on Wednesday, were buried in martyrs graveyard Iddgah. Thousands of people amid shrieks and cries attended their Nimaz-e-Jinaza.
The funeral prayers in absentia were offered in several places of Valley for the persons killed in protest demonstrations in Kashmir during past three days. People were writhing in pail and praying for peace to the departed souls.
“It is barbaric act and the troopers who fired on peaceful protestors are not humans,” alleged the people.
Pak flag hoisted in KU
The students putting up in various hostels of the University of Kashmir (KU) marched in the University campus and hoisted the Pakistani flags at Moulana Rumi gate and the Vice Chancellor’s office.
The students also removed the board of the Gandhi Bhawan and raised anti-India, pro-freedom and pro-Pakistan slogans.
Pakistan to approach UN, OIC over Kashmir situation :Rising kashmir
Islamabad, Aug 13: Pakistan on Wednesday said it had begun approaching global bodies like the UN over the "deteriorating situation" in Jammu and Kashmir, ignoring India's warning that such statements amount to "clear interference" in its internal affairs and will undermine the composite dialogue process.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said Islamabad is "deeply concerned over the deteriorating situation" in the Indian state that is "resulting in loss of life and property of the Kashmiri people".
Earlier, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi described the police action in Jammu and Kashmir as the "excessive and unwarranted use of force" against people, drawing strong reaction from India, which said such statements constitute clear interference in internal affairs of an integral part of the country.
Replying to a question on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the spokesman said Pakistan has "set in motion" the process to call on the "international community, in particular the UN, Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and human rights organisations to take notice".
The world community and global organisation would also be asked to "impress upon India to observe restraint and rein in the extremist elements that are seeking economic destruction of the Kashmiri people", Sadiq said.
Replying to a question on India's assertion that Pakistan's statements on the Kashmir issue could affect the composite dialogue process, Sadiq said Jammu and Kashmir was a "disputed territory" according to UN resolutions.
The composite dialogue process too "considers Kashmir a disputed territory" and the Kashmir issue was the "second item on the agenda of the dialogue process", the spokesman said.
"It is important that an enabling environment, free of violence, is created to sustain the peace process and address the long-standing dispute of Jammu and Kashmir," Sadiq said.
He also asserted that the situation in Kashmir would not affect the composite dialogue.
"Diplomacy is about talking to each other, it is about reaching out to each other for solutions through talks, and we will continue with that path," Sadiq said.
The spokesman also referred to the death of Kashmiri separatist leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz during a protest and described it as "tragic and extremely unfortunate".
He said, "The government of Pakistan condemns the excessive and unwarranted use of force against the people of (Jammu and Kashmir)." PTI
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said Islamabad is "deeply concerned over the deteriorating situation" in the Indian state that is "resulting in loss of life and property of the Kashmiri people".
Earlier, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi described the police action in Jammu and Kashmir as the "excessive and unwarranted use of force" against people, drawing strong reaction from India, which said such statements constitute clear interference in internal affairs of an integral part of the country.
Replying to a question on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the spokesman said Pakistan has "set in motion" the process to call on the "international community, in particular the UN, Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and human rights organisations to take notice".
The world community and global organisation would also be asked to "impress upon India to observe restraint and rein in the extremist elements that are seeking economic destruction of the Kashmiri people", Sadiq said.
Replying to a question on India's assertion that Pakistan's statements on the Kashmir issue could affect the composite dialogue process, Sadiq said Jammu and Kashmir was a "disputed territory" according to UN resolutions.
The composite dialogue process too "considers Kashmir a disputed territory" and the Kashmir issue was the "second item on the agenda of the dialogue process", the spokesman said.
"It is important that an enabling environment, free of violence, is created to sustain the peace process and address the long-standing dispute of Jammu and Kashmir," Sadiq said.
He also asserted that the situation in Kashmir would not affect the composite dialogue.
"Diplomacy is about talking to each other, it is about reaching out to each other for solutions through talks, and we will continue with that path," Sadiq said.
The spokesman also referred to the death of Kashmiri separatist leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz during a protest and described it as "tragic and extremely unfortunate".
He said, "The government of Pakistan condemns the excessive and unwarranted use of force against the people of (Jammu and Kashmir)." PTI
13 Muslim protesters killed in Indian Kashmir: INTERNATIONAL Herald Tribune
The Associated Press
Published: August 12, 2008
SRINAGAR, India: Indian forces shot and killed at least 13 Muslim protesters on Tuesday as tens of thousands of people defied a blanket curfew in Indian Kashmir, the bloodiest day in nearly two months of unrest that has rocked this long-troubled Himalayan region.
Police and protesters battled each other through clouds of bullets, tear gas and rocks, while in New Delhi, politicians again failed to find a solution to the crisis that threatens to shred the last tenuous threads binding the predominantly Muslim region of Kashmir to Hindu-majority India.
Angry Muslims took to the streets of cities and towns across Kashmir in spite of the first total curfew imposed on the region in 18 years to protest Monday's killing of a prominent separatist leader, Sheikh Abdul Aziz, and four others.
In Srinagar, the main city in Indian Kashmir, about 100,000 people gathered at Martyrs Graveyard for Aziz's funeral, vowing to fulfill his legacy and achieve independence for Kashmir from India.
Violence has roiled the region since June 23, when Muslims and Hindus began tit-for-tat protests over a government proposal to transfer land to a Hindu shrine in India's only Muslim-majority state.
Today in Asia - Pacific
Violence follows deaths in Muslim-majority Kashmir
Beijing's protest zones: Apply at your own risk
3 aid workers and their driver killed in Afghanistan
The protests have reinforced anti-Indian feeling in Kashmir just as Indian forces appeared to be gaining an upper hand in their nearly two decade fight against the region's separatist rebels.
Huge crowds attended Aziz's funeral, setting tires alight and waving green Islamic flags. Chants of "We want freedom," and "Blood for blood," rang through the cemetery.
"Our struggle for complete independence from India will continue. No power on earth can deter us from achieving this," Mirwaiz Omer Farooq, another separatist political leader, told the crowds who huddled together in the rain, straining to hear the speeches delivered without microphones.
"It's a do or die for us. India can take as many lives of Kashmiris as it can, but it must leave," said Rafiq Ahmed, a protester waiving green flag.
Six protesters were killed in several incidents Tuesday in Srinagar, police said. Two more died in Nagbal village on the city's outskirts and three others were killed in Paribal, a village 40 miles to the north, they said.
Two protesters died in Jammu, the only Hindu-majority city in the region, when police opened fire at an angry Muslim mob that attacked Hindu shops and homes, said Sudhanshu Pandey, a senior government official.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, which have fought two of their three wars over the region and both claim it in its entirety.
More than a dozen Islamic militant groups have been fighting since 1989 for Kashmir's independence or its merger with Pakistan.
More than 68,000 people have been killed in the fighting.
Aziz was killed Monday when police fired into a large crowd of Muslims attempting to march to the Pakistan-controlled portion of Kashmir to protest a blockade by Hindus of the highway linking the Kashmir Valley with the rest of India.
The Hindus had blocked the roads to protest to the government's decision not to allocate land to a Hindu shrine in the region, after initially saying it would. The reversal came after protests by Muslims, who accused the government of trying to change Kashmir's demographics in favor of Hindus.
Traders say the region faces shortages of food and medicine because of the blockade, and complain that hundreds of truckloads of Kashmiri fruit are spoiling because they cannot be delivered.
On Tuesday the government announced that the road was now clear.
However, it said it was open to the idea of traders exporting their products across the border to neighboring Pakistan - a move that would further reduce Kashmir's ties to India.
"However, a decision in the matter can be taken only through mutual arrangements between India and Pakistan," the Home Ministry said in a statement, warning against unilateral action.
Published: August 12, 2008
SRINAGAR, India: Indian forces shot and killed at least 13 Muslim protesters on Tuesday as tens of thousands of people defied a blanket curfew in Indian Kashmir, the bloodiest day in nearly two months of unrest that has rocked this long-troubled Himalayan region.
Police and protesters battled each other through clouds of bullets, tear gas and rocks, while in New Delhi, politicians again failed to find a solution to the crisis that threatens to shred the last tenuous threads binding the predominantly Muslim region of Kashmir to Hindu-majority India.
Angry Muslims took to the streets of cities and towns across Kashmir in spite of the first total curfew imposed on the region in 18 years to protest Monday's killing of a prominent separatist leader, Sheikh Abdul Aziz, and four others.
In Srinagar, the main city in Indian Kashmir, about 100,000 people gathered at Martyrs Graveyard for Aziz's funeral, vowing to fulfill his legacy and achieve independence for Kashmir from India.
Violence has roiled the region since June 23, when Muslims and Hindus began tit-for-tat protests over a government proposal to transfer land to a Hindu shrine in India's only Muslim-majority state.
Today in Asia - Pacific
Violence follows deaths in Muslim-majority Kashmir
Beijing's protest zones: Apply at your own risk
3 aid workers and their driver killed in Afghanistan
The protests have reinforced anti-Indian feeling in Kashmir just as Indian forces appeared to be gaining an upper hand in their nearly two decade fight against the region's separatist rebels.
Huge crowds attended Aziz's funeral, setting tires alight and waving green Islamic flags. Chants of "We want freedom," and "Blood for blood," rang through the cemetery.
"Our struggle for complete independence from India will continue. No power on earth can deter us from achieving this," Mirwaiz Omer Farooq, another separatist political leader, told the crowds who huddled together in the rain, straining to hear the speeches delivered without microphones.
"It's a do or die for us. India can take as many lives of Kashmiris as it can, but it must leave," said Rafiq Ahmed, a protester waiving green flag.
Six protesters were killed in several incidents Tuesday in Srinagar, police said. Two more died in Nagbal village on the city's outskirts and three others were killed in Paribal, a village 40 miles to the north, they said.
Two protesters died in Jammu, the only Hindu-majority city in the region, when police opened fire at an angry Muslim mob that attacked Hindu shops and homes, said Sudhanshu Pandey, a senior government official.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, which have fought two of their three wars over the region and both claim it in its entirety.
More than a dozen Islamic militant groups have been fighting since 1989 for Kashmir's independence or its merger with Pakistan.
More than 68,000 people have been killed in the fighting.
Aziz was killed Monday when police fired into a large crowd of Muslims attempting to march to the Pakistan-controlled portion of Kashmir to protest a blockade by Hindus of the highway linking the Kashmir Valley with the rest of India.
The Hindus had blocked the roads to protest to the government's decision not to allocate land to a Hindu shrine in the region, after initially saying it would. The reversal came after protests by Muslims, who accused the government of trying to change Kashmir's demographics in favor of Hindus.
Traders say the region faces shortages of food and medicine because of the blockade, and complain that hundreds of truckloads of Kashmiri fruit are spoiling because they cannot be delivered.
On Tuesday the government announced that the road was now clear.
However, it said it was open to the idea of traders exporting their products across the border to neighboring Pakistan - a move that would further reduce Kashmir's ties to India.
"However, a decision in the matter can be taken only through mutual arrangements between India and Pakistan," the Home Ministry said in a statement, warning against unilateral action.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
IFJ alarmed at targeting of media in Kashmir :Rising kashmir
Srinagar, Aug 12: The International Federation of Journalists on Tuesday said it is alarmed to learn of journalists and media organisations being targeted in the recent civil disturbances in Kashmir.
A statement of the IFJ issued today said that according to reports received from sources in the state capital of Srinagar, police personnel on August 9 seized all copies of an Urdu-language daily, Etalaat, for allegedly carrying the report of a village being razed by a mob in the Jammu region of the state.
A statement of the IFJ issued today said that according to reports received from sources in the state capital of Srinagar, police personnel on August 9 seized all copies of an Urdu-language daily, Etalaat, for allegedly carrying the report of a village being razed by a mob in the Jammu region of the state.
Reports have also been received that the staff of the English-language daily, Rising Kashmir, were warned by state authorities not to carry certain kinds of reports and that the Jammu offices of another English-language daily, Greater Kashmir, were attacked by mobs, the statement said.
The IFJ has learnt with great concern that one of the best-known journalists from Kashmir has had to travel through the Jammu region using a false identity card, for fear of being attacked on grounds of his religious identity, the IFJ said.
The IFJ endorses the call issued after a conclave of Srinagar’s most senior journalists on August 9, that the state authorities should adopt a policy of complete transparency with the media and the general public in Kashmir, about recent events of violence and lawlessness in the Jammu region.
“We call upon the state government not to intrude into the domain of press freedom and to ensure adequate protection for journalists and media offices in Jammu and Kashmir,” said the IFJ Asia Pacific.
“We are particularly anxious to see that journalists’ freedom of movement, safety, and ability to report on important news stories are not abridged in any way.”
The IFJ has learnt with great concern that one of the best-known journalists from Kashmir has had to travel through the Jammu region using a false identity card, for fear of being attacked on grounds of his religious identity, the IFJ said.
The IFJ endorses the call issued after a conclave of Srinagar’s most senior journalists on August 9, that the state authorities should adopt a policy of complete transparency with the media and the general public in Kashmir, about recent events of violence and lawlessness in the Jammu region.
“We call upon the state government not to intrude into the domain of press freedom and to ensure adequate protection for journalists and media offices in Jammu and Kashmir,” said the IFJ Asia Pacific.
“We are particularly anxious to see that journalists’ freedom of movement, safety, and ability to report on important news stories are not abridged in any way.”
کشمیر: 13 مظاہرین ہلاک، کرفیو جاری
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| پولیس کا کہنا ہے کہ کرفیو کے باوجود جموں سے دو سو کلومیٹر دور واقع کشتواڑ میں ہندوؤں اور مسلمانوں کے درمیان تصادم ہوا ہے |
ہندوستان کے زیرانتظام کشمیر کے مختلف شہروں میں منگل کو پولیس اور مظاہرین کے درمیان تازہ تصادم میں کم از کم تیرہ افراد ہلاک اور متعدد زخمی ہوئے ہيں۔وادی میں حالات تاحال کشیدہ ہیں اور مظاہرے جاری ہیں۔ادھر جموں میں بھی ہندو مسلم جھڑپوں کے دوران دو افراد ہلاک ہوئے ہیں۔
’تحریک آزادیِ کشمیر‘ کا نیا شہید
گزشتہ روز فائرنگ سے ہلاک ہونے والے حریت رہنما عبدالعزیز کی تدفین کے موقع پر بھی پولیس اور مظاہرین کے درمیان تصادم ہوا لیکن مظاہرین ان کی میت مزارِ شہدا لے گئے جہاں ان کی تدفین ہوئی۔
واضح رہے کہ پیر کو کنٹرول لائن عبور کرنے کی غرض سے شروع کیے جانے والے ’مظفرآباد مارچ‘ کے دوران فوج کی فائرنگ سےعلیٰحدگی پسند اتحاد حریت کانفرنس کے رہنما شیخ عبدالعزیز سمیت کم از کم چھ افراد ہلاک ہوگئے تھے۔
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| اڑی سے ملنے والی اطلاعات کے مطابق تقریباً ڈیڑھ ہزار افراد کنٹرول لائن کی طرف مارچ کر رہے ہیں۔ پورے خطے میں فوج بڑی تعداد میں موجود ہے۔ |
پیر سے ہی پوری وادی میں کرفیو نافذ ہے۔ تاہم بعض شہروں سے کرفیو کی خلاف وزریوں کے ساتھ ساتھ زبردست احتجاج کی خبریں آ رہی ہیں۔
شمالی ضلع بانڈی پورہ میں مظاہرین کو منتشر کرنے کے لیے فوج نے گولی چلائی جس میں چار افراد ہلاک اور دیگر پانچ زخمی ہوئے ہیں جبکہ پولیس نے سرینگر کے نواحی علاقے رینواری اور لاسجن میں بھی مظاہرین پر فائرنگ کی ہے جس میں تین افراد ہلاک ہوئے ہیں۔ بارہ مولہ میں ایک اور لنگیٹ میں دو افراد پولیس فائرنگ سے ہلاک ہوئے ہیں اور سات افراد کے زخمی ہونے کی اطلاعات ہیں۔
حریت رہنما شیخ عبدالعزیز کی ہلاکت کے بعد پوری وادی میں مظاہروں میں شدت آئی ہے۔
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| شیخ عبدالعزیز کے جنازے کے وقت مظاہرین شدید اشتعال میں تھے اور انہوں نے سکیورٹی کو خاطر میں نہ لاتے ہوئے میت کو مزارِ شہدا تک پہنچایا |
اطلاعات کے مطابق بڑی تعداد میں لوگ سرینگر کی جامع مسجد کے احاطے میں جمع ہوئے اور انہوں نے شیخ عبدالعزیز کی جنازے کی تیاریاں کیں۔
شیخ عزیز پینتیس سال قبل قائم شدہ علیٰحدگی پسند گروپ پیپلز لیگ کے ساتھ وابستہ رہے ہیں اور اُنیس سو نوے میں مسلح شورش شروع ہوتے ہی لیگ کے عسکری بازو الجہاد کے ’چیف کمانڈر‘ بن گئے۔ ان کا تعلق ضلع پلوامہ کے پانپور قصبہ سے تھا۔
اس دوران اڑی سے ملنے والی اطلاعات کے مطابق تقریباً ڈیڑھ ہزار افراد کنٹرول لائن کی طرف مارچ کر رہے ہیں۔ پورے خطے میں فوج بڑی تعداد میں موجود ہے۔
مقامی باشندے خواجہ ریاض احمد نے بتایا کہ مظاہرین کنٹرول لائن سے محض تین کلو میٹر کی دوری پر ہیں۔ انہوں نے یہ بھی بتایا کہ مظاہرین نے فوج کے محاصرے کو توڑ کر جنگل پاور سٹیشن پر بھی حملہ کرنے کی کوشش کی ہے۔
پچھلے کئی ہفتوں سے جموں سے اشیائے ضرورت کی درآمد اور سرینگر۔جموں شاہراہ پر میوہ ٹرکوں کی نقل وحمل معطل ہونے کے خلاف وادی کے میوہ تاجروں نےعلیٰحدگی پسند گروپوں کی حمایت سے مظفرآباد مارچ کا اہتمام کیا تھا۔
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| منگل کے روز کئی مقامات پر پولیس اور مظاہرین کے درمیان آنکھ مچولی ہوتی رہی |
ادھر جموں سے بی بی سی کی نامہ نگار بینو جوشی کے مطابق ہندوستان کے زیر انتظام جموں و کشمیر کے جموں خطے میں بھی شری امرناتھ شرائن بورڈ سے واپس لی گئی اراضی کے خلاف مظاہرے جاری ہيں اور اس دوران ایک فرد ہلاک اور ایک درجن سے زیادہ افراد زخمی ہوئے ہیں۔
پولیس کا کہنا ہے کہ کرفیو کے باوجود جموں سے دو سو کلومیٹر دور واقع کشتواڑ میں ہندوؤں اور مسلمانوں کے درمیان تصادم ہوا ہے۔ دونوں فریقین ایک دوسرے کے املاک پر حملے کر رہے ہيں اور گھروں کو آگ بھی لگا ر ہے ہيں جس سے کئی مکانات اور گاڑیوں کو نقصان پہنچا ہے۔
حکام کا کہنا ہے ان جھڑپوں میں ایک مسلمان ہلاک ہوگیا ہے اور بعد ازاں بھیڑ کو منتشر کرنے اور حالات کو قابو میں کرنے کے لیے پولیس نے ہوائی فائرنگ بھی کی ہے۔ لیفٹینٹ کرنل ایس ڈی گوسوامی نے کہا کہ فوج کو مقامی حکام کے کہنے کے بعد حالات پر قابو پانے کے لیے کشتواڑ بھیج دیا گيا ہے۔
Fifteen killed as Kashmir land row boils
By Sheikh Mushtaq
SRINAGAR (Reuters) - Police shot dead at least 13 people in Kashmir on Tuesday as Muslim protests against what they termed an economic blockade by Hindus over a land row began to morph into independence calls, officials said.
Violence swept up the neighbouring Hindu-dominated Jammu region as well, where two people were killed and several injured when thousands of Hindu and Muslim protesters clashed with each other and with police.
In Kashmir, at least 200 people, including 85 policemen, were hurt and 13 protesters killed in a dozen separate incidents of police firing a day after a separatist leader was killed by police while trying to lead Muslim traders into Pakistan.
Muslim protesters shouted slogans against the government as Kashmir's main separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, buried senior leader Sheikh Aziz, among the four people killed by police as he led Monday's march.
"This is not protest against land transfer, in fact this is anger against India," Pakiza Dar, a college teacher, yelled.
"Down with security forces, we want freedom," others shouted.
The land row has sparked some of Kashmir's worst religious riots in recent years. At least 20 people have been killed and hundreds injured.
The dispute began after the Kashmir government promised to give forest land to the trust that runs Amarnath, a cave shrine visited by Hindu pilgrims. Many Muslims were enraged.
The government then backed down, angering many Hindus in Jammu and polarising Indian Kashmir, which is split between the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley and the Hindu-dominated region around Jammu city.
The row has severely curbed trade between the two areas, and prompted Kashmir traders to try and sell their goods in neighbouring Pakistan.
The protests have widened to become pro-independence rallies, some of the biggest since a separatist revolt against New Delhi broke out in the region 20 years ago.
RISK TO PEACE PROCESS
On Tuesday, some 20,000 Muslims defied a curfew in Bandipora, about 60 km north of Srinagar to protest against Monday's killings.
Analysts said the protests had brought the focus back on Kashmir and endangered a sputtering 2004 peace process between India and Pakistan that had helped bring down violence.
"I see this will have a bad impact and considering that Pakistan is going through a bad turmoil now, the overall impact on the peace process will not be very positive," said C. Uday Bhaskar, a senior strategic analyst.
Experts said political groups were trying to gain mileage ahead of general elections next year, with the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, shepherding the Hindu cause in Jammu and separatists fuelling anti-India feelings in Kashmir.
India reacted angrily to a statement by Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, condemning "excessive and unwarranted force" in Kashmir.
"Such statements by leaders of a foreign country do not help the situation. Nor do they contribute to creating the atmosphere necessary for the dialogue process between India and Pakistan to move forward," India's foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement.
Indian authorities also denied there was any economic blockade and said lorries, guarded by policemen and soldiers, were plying the region's main 300-km highway, the only land link between Kashmir valley and the rest of India.
The Indian government said it was trying to find a solution through negotiations and help traders sell their goods across the border in Pakistan.
(Additional reporting by Ashok Pahalwan, Nigam Prusty and C.K. Nayak)
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