Srinagar:They smoke it, sniff it, eat it, inject it and temporarily escape into a deceptive world.Be it a way to fight personal crisis, means to wipe the mental scars or just a sign of being cool, the youth in Kashmir have fallen into the net of drugs, with such cases increasing by 35-40 per cent in the last few years.Dr Arshad Hussain, a psychiatrist at the Government Psychiatric Diseases Hospital (GPDH), Kashmir, says the menace of drug addiction has gripped the city, with mostly youngsters falling into the trap."There is no doubt that drug abuse has increased in Kashmir. Historically, a low drug addiction zone, Kashmir has lost its innocence. The statistics now are alarming. Mostly youth in the 18-35 age group have fallen in the trap. Deaths are reported in young men because of opioid use," Hussain said.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Lawyers in Kashmir Stage Pro-Freedom March
Fayaz Wani
Srinagar:Lawyers on Thursday took out a pro-freedom march in Indian-administered Kashmir to protest against the growing human rights violations being allegedly perpetrated by Indian troopers in the region. Carrying placards and banners, the lawyers including some female lawyers marched through busy streets in the city centre. Chanting pro-freedom, pro-Islamic and anti-India slogans, the protesting lawyers were against Indian troopers and the policemen involved in killing of Kashmiris. Addressing the lawyers, Kashmir Bar Association president Mian Abdul Qayoom vowed to continue the struggle for 'right to self determination.' "This struggle is pious. Every person, from children, to old men and women has made sacrifices. Now it is our responsibility to safeguard it and take it to logical conclusion," he said adding "The United Nations has passed a resolution to allow us to decide our own future and everybody should fight for it. The world body should intervene and pressurize India to stop human rights violations being perpetrated by its soldiers in Kashmir," he said. The Bar president condemned the police crackdown of the separatist leaders. "Police have arrested 80 year old separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani--this shows the frustration of government," he said. He demanded release of all Kashmiri prisoners languishing in Indian jails, withdrawal of Indian soldiers from Kashmir and handing over of all national natural resources to Kashmir.
Srinagar:Lawyers on Thursday took out a pro-freedom march in Indian-administered Kashmir to protest against the growing human rights violations being allegedly perpetrated by Indian troopers in the region. Carrying placards and banners, the lawyers including some female lawyers marched through busy streets in the city centre. Chanting pro-freedom, pro-Islamic and anti-India slogans, the protesting lawyers were against Indian troopers and the policemen involved in killing of Kashmiris. Addressing the lawyers, Kashmir Bar Association president Mian Abdul Qayoom vowed to continue the struggle for 'right to self determination.' "This struggle is pious. Every person, from children, to old men and women has made sacrifices. Now it is our responsibility to safeguard it and take it to logical conclusion," he said adding "The United Nations has passed a resolution to allow us to decide our own future and everybody should fight for it. The world body should intervene and pressurize India to stop human rights violations being perpetrated by its soldiers in Kashmir," he said. The Bar president condemned the police crackdown of the separatist leaders. "Police have arrested 80 year old separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani--this shows the frustration of government," he said. He demanded release of all Kashmiri prisoners languishing in Indian jails, withdrawal of Indian soldiers from Kashmir and handing over of all national natural resources to Kashmir.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Army Col gunned down by militants in N Kashmir
A senior Indian army officer has been killed in a gun battle with separatist militants in Indian-administered Kashmir. Colonel Neeraj Sood was "leading his troops" when he was gunned down by militants in Lolab area, the army said. He is the highest ranking officer to be killed by militants in Kashmir in 2010. A spokesman for the Indian army said the operations against militants, launched by Col Sood before he was killed, is still on in the forested areas of Lolab, north of the capital, Srinagar. It is not clear whether the militants have suffered any casualties in the clashes.
Monday, June 21, 2010
I want to communicate idea of India to Kashmiri youth: Faisal
NEW DELHI: For the young men in the troubled Kashmir Valley now there are images other than the shadowy militant. "For them my selection is an event," says this year's IAS topper Shah Faisal. "It has given them the confidence and faith in the institutions," he told TOI on Monday. The young medical practitioner from the remote Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, sees the emotional integration of the Valley with the national mainstream as a time-consuming process. "It's a long-term goal which cannot be achieved in one day," he explains. Though he does not want to see himself as a `role model' for the Kashmiri youths living in the shadow of the gun, Faisal agrees he could be a motivating factor for them. "My success strengthens the faith of the Kashmiri youth in the institution of the UPSC," he says. Travelling to different parts of the country as part of his probation, Faisal admits that his topper tag will go a long way in breaking the stereotypes about the Kashmiri youth. "Trust building," he points out, is an important exercise. Asked about his objective as an IAS probationer, he says, "I want to convey the idea of India as I understand it." As a member of the elite cadre, he says, it is important to explode a few myths about the `steel frame'. "I want to bust the myth that IAS officers are insensitive, cut off from the people," he says. He is clear that in an age when specialists and technocrats are in demand, civil servants also have an important job to do. "A district magistrate has so many jobs to do, he just cannot be a specialist," Faisal says. He admits corruption in the administration is a major issue and thinks there is an urgent need for remedial measures.
Half-widow struggling to sustain family
Bandipore,June 21: Haleema Begum, 35 is selling vegetables to sustain her five children after her husband went missing in 2003. “I hope that my husband will return, but presently am struggling hard to make the ends meet,” she said adding that educating the children had become a Herculean task due to financial constraints.Haleema’s husband Manzoor Ahmad Baba 38, a carpet weaver left for Srinagar from his home at Bankoot on January 20, 2003 and never returned. “I and my relatives visited the army camps, jails and interrogation centers to ascertain Manzoor’s whereabouts, but failed to trace him,” she said adding the repeated pleas made to the senior police officials of the districts also failed to bear any fruits. “Except hollow promises, these officials did not lend me any help in tracing my husband,” she said. “The State Human Rights Commission also refused to pursue my case,” Haleema added. “I approached police station Bandipora to get the death certificate of my husband, but the officials demanded Rs 5, 000,” she added. She said the government failed to extend any financial support. “I made numerous representations to the concerned officials seeking financial help, but my pleas fell on deaf ears,” she said. TARIQ RASOOL
Kashmiris are like with angels
Srinagar, June 20: Comparing Kashmiris with angels, the Speaker Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar was all praise for the people of State.Lauding the beauty of the State, she said no one can like to miss the breathtaking valleys, rivers, meadows and fruits of the valley.Praising the diversity in culture and religions in the State, she said the shrines are visited by pilgrims from across the world while Kashmir has been the most-preferred place for regional poets and lyricists to write on.Meira also praised Kashmir’s artists who she said, “possess matchless craft amidst beautiful place and people.”She said, “People of Kashmir are like angels. I salute them and wish them luck and prosperous lives.”
Srinagar, June 20: Comparing Kashmiris with angels, the Speaker Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar was all praise for the people of State.Lauding the beauty of the State, she said no one can like to miss the breathtaking valleys, rivers, meadows and fruits of the valley.Praising the diversity in culture and religions in the State, she said the shrines are visited by pilgrims from across the world while Kashmir has been the most-preferred place for regional poets and lyricists to write on.Meira also praised Kashmir’s artists who she said, “possess matchless craft amidst beautiful place and people.”She said, “People of Kashmir are like angels. I salute them and wish them luck and prosperous lives.”
Surrendered militants to get SRO-43 benefits
Srinagar, June 21: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today approved the extension of benefits of SRO-43 to the surrendered militants. The Chief Minister took this decision while chairing a high level meeting of officers of Home, Finance and General Administration Departments here. The Minister for Finance, Abdul Rahim Rather was also present in the meeting.Omar directed the concerned departments to urgently formulate a proposal in this regard for preferring the same to the Central Government for funding the scheme.By this decision any surrendered militant if killed by any militant will be entitled to the ex-gratia relief and job opportunity to his next of kin. The next of kin of such surrendered militants will also be entitled to the cash compensation of Rs. 4 lakhs in lieu of the job.The meeting was attended among others by the Chief Secretary, S. S. Kapur, Financial Commissioner, Home, Saumel Verghese , Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Khursheed Ahmad Ganai, Commissioner/Secretary, GAD, Basharat Ahmad Dhar, Commissioner/Secretary, Finance Sudhanshu Panday and other senior officers.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
The most complicated aspect of Kashmir issue is leadership
Bashir Assad
Although the separatist leadership in Kashmir often describe the ongoing resistance as a conscious movement aimed at the liberation of the land from an “illegal occupation” their policy, if any, is driven by a deeper fear of Indian and Pakistani establishments and their approach has been characterised by a series of instant but occasional moves ,lacking a coherent strategy or a planned end game. Since the inception of militancy in 1989, the so called resistance leadership pursued ad hocism and does not have a clearly thought out endgame. Although Kashmiri leaders, are proactive in acting swiftly over the developments mostly in connection to the human rights violations by the security forces, Kashmiris are watching with extra caution. These leaders apart from raising their voice against the rights violations, only issue statements that smack of traditional rhetoric. given their own motivations, there is not much these leaders can do with regards to the overall Kashmir problem. Therefore, rhetoric apart, Kashmiri leaders cannot afford to cease the opportunity, whatsoever, but it might retreat to its traditional position; here is no denying the fact, that deep-rooted animosity and distrust have often precluded amicable dialogue between the parties, the deep-seated disagreement has become progressively more hostile because interestingly it has now become linked to selfish motivations at internal level though in its external ramifications it still continues to be the issues of national pride and national identity. Motivations more often make agreements difficult and never allow any forward moment. I would like to make a point here in very simple terms. Every body, familiar with the genesis of the Kashmir problem seem to be in agreement in disregarding the notion that the conflict in Kashmir is conflated with the broader dispute between India and Pakistan. Yes, it is only one side of the coin, but the real, and arguably more destabilizing, "Kashmir conflict" is the dispute between New Delhi and the state of Kashmir. In response to repression, oppression, non-governance, rigged elections, in-sensitivities of the Indian state towards the democratic and fundamental rights of the people of the state and disregard to the constitutional provisions and institutional decay , a popular anti-Indian separatist insurgency took hold in Kashmir during 1989. This is the essence of the modern problem in Kashmir and this is where from the separatists leaders trace their origin. Anyway, the Indian response to the new emerging situation was very harsh, brute and coercive. It is, of course, a well recognized and intellectually, well argued statement that the failure of institutional mechanisms for resolving political problems leads to the adoption of coercive and military strategies, with adverse consequences, In a poly-ethnic state like Jammu and Kashmir , the use of the army against particular ethnic group virtually results in communalization of the armed forces, this doctrine was practised to the fullest in Kashmir. However, political mobilization in Kashmir and Indian response to it lack direction and the mobilization has become political wilderness and the response to it-state terrorism. But interestingly both catalyse on gross human rights violations with Kashmiri leadership showing their presence by agitating and the state by committing. Since the Amarnath Shrine Board Land row in 2008, political analysts believe that the reaction from the people against any state misadventure is spontaneous and the leadership in Kashmir follow suite. Interestingly, both unionists and separatists are driven by the spontaneity of political mobilization which is always the net result of the failure of democratic institutions in tackling the situations. The only difference is unionists yield to the public pressure and the separatists consolidate on it. So it can be argued, the mobilization in Kashmir is from the public itself lacking political direction. Let me offer explanation to this point in another way.The failure of successive regimes in Kashmir to accommodate rising political demands within an institutional context culminated in political violence. The violence was more acute given the poly-ethnic character of the society. The political discontent in Kashmir encountered few institutional channels for expressing political dissent. In the meantime a new political leadership emerged in the state having divergent views and varying political background and ideological orientations. However, there was unanimity as for the opposition to the Indian rule in Jammu and Kashmir was concerned and it was this agreement that insurgency was so intensive that at one point of time the authority of the Indian state virtually collapsed in the state. On the other hand the state evolved a strategy from its experience of defeating insurgent movements in the neighbouring state of Punjab and in India's north-eastern states. Irrespective of its theoretical and policy significance, Indian state employed brute form of counter insurgency and earned disrepute first, among the people of the state and then in internationally. The leadership however failed in bargaining and exhausted many opportunities and occasions in chaos. At a certain point the offer form the Indian state to the leadership was political in nature as its authority was totally missing and it was ready for a give and take game. And now the conditions put forth by the Kashmiri leadership for a dialogue are about the issues consequential to the armed insurgency. From release of political detenues to the revocation of draconian laws, from demilitarization to freedom of expression, from respect to human rights to free passage to the dislocated people to the state, the demands are purely in the post militancy context. The failure of the leadership can be gauged from the fact that such demands are coming only after as many as eighty thousand people were consumed by the armed insurgency and counter insurgency. Secondly the demands are being made in a indistinguishable manner without invoking a proper mechanism.Across the board, the growing impression is that separatist leaders were placating for their own political purpose and popularity, rather than displaying the concrete leadership qualities needed to properly handle the issues concerning the people. Moreover, the average Kashmiri believe that one or the other is placating to either India or Pakistan. A charge that has legitimacy at face value making their very credentials dubious.In my individual opinion the most complicated aspect of the Kashmir issue is leadership itself because the response time and again continues to be the most unfortunate for those who claim a leadership role in such an intricate issue. What we have seen in other parts of the globe where righteous struggles were witnessed, the leadership has had the ability to comprehend the entire dynamics and then having competence to work for desired results. In this particular, from the day one entire leadership continues to be entrenched in the belief that let the people pay heavy price for little achievable. Lets be honest in passing a judgement, what interest would India or Pakistan have in allowing the creation of the next failed state because leadership did not have the intellectual capacity, understanding or realization that it takes a lot more than wanting freedom to achieve freedom.
Over 35 thousand Kashmiris rendered refugees
Srinagar, June 20 : In occupied Kashmir, the unabated Indian state terrorism during the last twenty-one years has forced over thirty five thousand Kashmiris to live outside the territory as refugees. A report released by the Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of World Refugee Day, today, revealed that a big number of the Kashmiri refugees lived in the refugee camps in Azad Jammu and Kashmir while many of them lived in Pakistan and in the European countries. The report pointed out that due to the Indian atrocities meted out to the struggling Kashmiris since 1947, over two million people had taken refuge in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan and in the UK.
جنوبی کشمیر میں جنسی اسکینڈل کا پردہ فاش، غیر ریاستی خاتون گرفتار
پولیس نے جنوبی کشمیر میں آج ایک جنسی اسکینڈل کو طشت از بام کرکے ایک غیر ریاستی خاتون کی گرفتاری عمل میں لائی گئی جبکہ پولیس نے نیٹ ورک سے جڑے لوگوں کی بڑے پیمانے پر تلاش شروع کر دی ہے۔ اس دوران گرفتارشدہ خاتون کی تفتیش کے دوران سنسنی خیز انکشافات متوقع ہیں۔ذرائع سے معلوم ہوا ہے کہ کچھ عرصہ قبل شوپیان پولیس کو اس بات کی اطلاعات موصول ہو رہی تھی کہ شوپیان کے مضافات میں بے راہ روی عروج پر پہنچ چکی ہے جہاں ایک منظم نیٹ ورک کے تحت نوجوان لڑکیوں کو بہلا پھسلا کر انہیں تشدد کا نشانہ بنایا جا رہا ہے۔ چنانچہ اطلاع ملتے ہی پولیس نے اس سلسلے میں تجربہ کار اور اعلیٰ پولیس افسران کی قیادت میں خصوصی ٹیمیں تشکیل دی اور اس نیٹ ورک کا پردہ فاش کرنے کیلئے اپنے ذرائع کو متحرک کر دیا۔ ذرائع نے بتایا کہ کئی دنوں تک چھان بین کرنے کے بعد پولیس کو آج اس وقت پہلی کامیابی حاصل ہوئی جب انہوں نے ایک مصدقہ اطلاع ملنے پر داچھو ناگہ بل زینہ پورہ میں محمد اسماعیل شاہ ولد رشید شاہ کے رہائش گاہ پر اچانک چھاپہ مارا جس دوران پولیس کی چھاپہ مار ٹیم نے محمد اسماعیل شاہ کی اہلیہ کو گرفتار کرکے سلاخوں کے پیچھے دھکیل دیا تاہم ذرائع کے مطابق اس موقعے پر محمد اسماعیل پولیس کو چکمہ دیکر فرار ہونے میں کامیاب ہوا۔ ذرائع نے مزید کہا کہ مذکورہ گرفتار شدہ خاتون نے تفتیش کے دوران جنسی اسکینڈل کے حوالے سے پولیس کے سامنے سنسنی خیز انکشاف کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ اس اسکینڈل میں غلام نبی ڈار ساکن عرو پورہ ناگہ بل، نثار احمد ساکن حیدر گنڈ، مختار احمد شیخ اور پنہ شیخ ساکنان ناگہ بل زینہ پورہ سمیت 5نوجوان ملوث ہیں جبکہ اس دھندے میں سوگن ، کلورہ اور پلوامہ سے تعلق رکھنے والے کئی خواتین بھی شامل ہیں۔ چنانچہ پولیس نے ابتدائی چھان بین کے تحت معاملے کی نسبت کیس زیر ایف آئی آر نمبر59/10زیر دفعات 2,3,4,5اورایمارل ٹریفکنگ ایکٹ1956کے تحت کیس درج کرکے نوجوانوں کو گرفتار کرنے کیلئے چھاپہ مار کاروائیوں کا سلسلہ شروع کر دیا ہے۔ پولیس نے بتایا کہ ابتدائی تحقیقات سے پتہ چلا ہے کہ محمد اسماعیل نامی شہری نے کچھ برس قبل بہار سے تعلق رکھنے والی خاتون کے ساتھ شادی رچائی تھی جس کے بعد میاںبیوی داچھو ناگہ بل زینہ پورہ میں رہائش پذیر ہوئے اور اسی اثناء میں میاں بیوی نے مل کر اپنے ہی گھر میں جنسی دھندہ شروع کیا۔پولیس ذرائع نے بتایا کہ نیٹ ورک سے کئی دیگر لوگ بھی ملوث ہیں اور ان کا پتہ لگانے کیلئے بڑے پیمانے پر کاروائی شروع کی گئی ہے۔ یہاں یہ بات قابل ذکر ہے کہ گذشتہ روز بٹنڈہ جموں میں پولیس نے اسی طرح کے ایک اور جنسی اسکینڈل کا طشت از بام کرتے ہوئے کئی خواتین سمیت نصف درجن افراد کو گرفتارکرکے سلاخوں کے پیچھے دھکیل دیا۔
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Anupam Kher saddened with Kashm
Mumbi: From unruly crowds to actors walking out, director Dholakia and producer Bunty Walia have had their hands full. Interestingly, Anupam Kher, who appears to play a Muslim leader in the film, is a Kashmiri Brahmin. He says going back to the region to film for Lamhaa left him quite upset and saddened. “For me, it was a completely different experience as compared to Rahul or Sanjay. For me, it was an emotional transformation. I remember Kashmir hassle-free, army-free, gun-free, bullet-free, bombs-free. And when I land there for the shoot of Lamhaa, right until Pahelgaon, we only see destruction. We only see fear. This wasn’t only with Kashmiri Brahmins – they had to leave that place - but also for Muslims. It was very sad,” says the legendary actor.The senior star says that despite his emotional upheaval, he had to take control of his feelings and shoot for the movie. “Cinema teaches you to separate yourself from human issues, and makes you do things where a common man does not reach. So, I had to separate from my emotional trauma and perform, but the ultimate feeling was of sadness,” he says.The actor can’t help but ask questions of the government, who hasn’t really done much to help the people of the region. “A long time back, Omar’s father, Mr. Farookh Abdullah, had come to my house, and he said 'You people must shoot in Kashmir.' And he came to Bombay, in my house, with 10 commandos. And he expected us to shoot in Kashmir without any forces. I see the irony of that there,” he says with a sad smile.The jungle laws of Kashmir
Drop-gates and concertina blockades emerge on most of the city roads, especially in the so called down town, whenever there is a possibility of public protests . Civilian movement is brought to a halt, so much so that even ambulances and journalists have a tough day out. Police and paramilitary men rule the lanes. The routine justification for these oft-repeated exercises is that it helps in containing escalation of tensions. Otherwise, officials say, angry protesters will attack security men leading to casualties on both sides.
But the problem in Kashmir is that while a curfew is imposed, it is not declared officially. The local newspapers describe the strange law and order management as an ‘undeclared curfew’ or ‘curfew like restrictions’ Curfew is not new to Kashmir, as the turbulent nineties have seen some of the longest and worst ones. Undeclared curfew, however, is a new trend, started by the ‘uncontroversial’ N N Vohra soon after he replaced S K Sinha as governor at the peak of the Amarnath land agitation in 2008. While Ghulam Nabi Azad government crumbled under the weight of the agitation, Vohra managed his days with the innovation. Paramilitary men beating early birds in the city became the routine method to announce an undeclared curfew. People expected the practice to go away with the civilian government taking over in January 2009. But the young CM seems to be at ease with the practice. Barring occasional statements, the civil society has been unable to stand up against this violation that not only takes the population hostage but also adds an element of uncertainty to life. This is not the only instance of Kashmir suffering on account of law and order implementation. Even the laws in vogue seem to be loaded against the people of the land.
The Public Safety Act (PSA) introduced by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah after returning to power in 1975 is one of the most misused laws. Abdullah had justified the law then, saying it would be used against timber smugglers, but it continues to be the major way out to keep people behind bars without a reason.
The act provides for detention of two years without a trial, and in practice authorities have slapped PSA repeatedly on people to keep them locked for as long as 14 years, and in most cases repeated it as soon a court quashes a PSA.
The section 10(a) of the Act, which may not have parallel anywhere in the civilised world says that the order of detention (under PSA usually signed by the district magistrate) cannot be deemed to be invalid even if the grounds of such detention are vague, non-existent , not relevant and not connected with the person to be detained. That essentially means that a person can even be detained on vague, irrelevant grounds or even if he is not connected to anything at all. Last year, when a lawmaker told the state legislature that the turbulence in the state owes much of its origin to “misuse, abuse and overuse of the PSA” and sought its amendments , the law minister replied the law was required for “running the affairs of the state” ! Along with the undeclared curfews the government is trying to quell street protests by booking alleged stone pelters under PSA and, concurrently , murder charges were also levelled. A good number of teenagers including some minors were booked under this law. Recently a young boy was booked under PSA apparently for being in love with a police officer’s daughter. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA ) makes another bleak reference to the laws that make contemporary J&K . Offering absolute immunity to securitymen, this law has converted counterinsurgency into a lucrative business in which blood sell cheap. Soldiers get innocuous individuals, kill them far away from their homes, dub them militants to claim cash and promotions. This is a standard practice with all forces that operate in Kashmir and the recent expose is just tip of an iceberg.
Politicians across Kashmir’s ideological landscape agree that this law must go as early as possible. Recommendations by many federal government committees also advocate its removal . Nevertheless, there are tough laws that will help fight militancy in absence of AFSPA. But things are unlikely to change given the strong resistance from the armed forces. Lt Gen B S Jamwal, who leads the prestigious Northern Command, recently drew parallel between the AFSPA and the religious books and described it as a holy law for the armed forces. And when its comes to the central government, it also has a record of preferring the security set-up over the people in Kashmir. Welcome to paradise!
Kashmir's Silent, Sorrowful Widows
SRINAGAR: In Kashmir, subject of a long-drawn dispute between India and Pakistan, 10,000 widows reportedly live in reclusiveness, while some unconfirmed sources say the figure could be three times more as many fear exposing their status due to the social stigma attached to being a widow.
Heart-wrenching stories are all alike around Kashmir - mothers wailing over their dead sons or wives mourning over their husbands killed, and wandering forlorn fatherless children - all because the head of the family or the male offspring has been killed by government security forces or armed separatist militants. In remote southern Kashmir, about 50km away from the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) capital of Srinagar, dozens of widows live in poverty, depression and fear which haunts them of the past violence that messed up their once-peaceful rural existence.
Shareefa (not her real name), 35, lives with her four teenage children and her 89-year-old mother-in-law in Dabrun village, about three kilometres from Anantnag, in southern Kashmir, a place also labelled as the "land of widows" among the locals. Shareefa is a widow. "They (the army) accused him (her husband) of ferrying militants. Our whole family was arrested. They wanted a big ransom and even verbally abused our daughters. So, my husband joined the militants out of anger. He was killed in a gun battle with the forces," said Shareefa, relating her story. Almost seven years after losing her husband, Shareefa remains unmarried, just for the sake of her school-going children whom she supports by toiling away at menial jobs around her remote village. It is mid-summer noon in Shareefa's village, once a hotbed for militancy. There is a strange eerie silence around the surrounding houses, mostly walled by concrete bricks, as families tend to huddle among themselves, even though militancy is on the wane now.
Inside a low-roofed typical Kashmiri brick house, a family of three graduate sisters and their widowed mother are still trying to reconcile with their ill-fated past, after having lost their father, the family's sole breadwinner, about a decade ago.
"My father worked as a tailor in this village. During a morning army operation he was picked up because he had a long beard. And about 3pm, we received his dead body," recounted Najmag (not her real name), an unemployed commerce graduate, the second daughter in the family.
Now, she has to compete along with 700,000 jobless people in Kashmir, another socio-economic chaos due to the prolonged political crisis, which has damaged the region's economy.
In an adjacent impoverished village, Rafiqa (not her real name), another widow, lives with horrific memories of her husband's death during the height of the militancy. Even her older son quivers when he speaks about that fateful and horrifying night. "Unidentified men came to my house and took my husband away. Two days later, he was found killed in the forest, about 10km away from our house," said Rafiqa, with a sadness clearly visible in her tear-glistened hazel-coloured eyes. She is only in her 30s. "His death took away our happiness. Even seven years later, I still have panic attacks at night. My father asked me to remarry but I refused because of my four children," said Rafiqa, who poured out her sufferings in her native Kashmiri language.
Last month, Rafiqa, who shares her father's ramshackle home, managed to secure a job as an office assistant in the nearby district office. That will pay her about RM100 a month and augment her paltry family's kitty, to which her 16-year-old son, who was forced to leave school due to poverty, also contributes from his earnings as a casual worker.
As outcasts in a traditional and conservative society, the financially-ruined widows have been prone to suffer from psychological disorder, a serious health predicament that has gone unnoticed for years in rural villages, as social workers say. "Many widows, who receive little emotional support, have lived with depression for the past eight to 10 years after the death of their husbands. They have severe symptoms that have gone untreated.
"Most of them depend on their families and in-laws. They live depressing lives and never remarry. Neither do they have access to mental health care," said Nasir Amin, a psycho-social counsellor with Action Aid Network, who makes regular visits to these rural villages.
The painful voices of the widows and their children would astound any right-thinking person, yet their plight is hardly heard of in the outside world, perhaps drowned out by the harsh cold winds of the Himalayan mountains.
Heart-wrenching stories are all alike around Kashmir - mothers wailing over their dead sons or wives mourning over their husbands killed, and wandering forlorn fatherless children - all because the head of the family or the male offspring has been killed by government security forces or armed separatist militants. In remote southern Kashmir, about 50km away from the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) capital of Srinagar, dozens of widows live in poverty, depression and fear which haunts them of the past violence that messed up their once-peaceful rural existence.
Shareefa (not her real name), 35, lives with her four teenage children and her 89-year-old mother-in-law in Dabrun village, about three kilometres from Anantnag, in southern Kashmir, a place also labelled as the "land of widows" among the locals. Shareefa is a widow. "They (the army) accused him (her husband) of ferrying militants. Our whole family was arrested. They wanted a big ransom and even verbally abused our daughters. So, my husband joined the militants out of anger. He was killed in a gun battle with the forces," said Shareefa, relating her story. Almost seven years after losing her husband, Shareefa remains unmarried, just for the sake of her school-going children whom she supports by toiling away at menial jobs around her remote village. It is mid-summer noon in Shareefa's village, once a hotbed for militancy. There is a strange eerie silence around the surrounding houses, mostly walled by concrete bricks, as families tend to huddle among themselves, even though militancy is on the wane now.
Inside a low-roofed typical Kashmiri brick house, a family of three graduate sisters and their widowed mother are still trying to reconcile with their ill-fated past, after having lost their father, the family's sole breadwinner, about a decade ago.
"My father worked as a tailor in this village. During a morning army operation he was picked up because he had a long beard. And about 3pm, we received his dead body," recounted Najmag (not her real name), an unemployed commerce graduate, the second daughter in the family.
Now, she has to compete along with 700,000 jobless people in Kashmir, another socio-economic chaos due to the prolonged political crisis, which has damaged the region's economy.
In an adjacent impoverished village, Rafiqa (not her real name), another widow, lives with horrific memories of her husband's death during the height of the militancy. Even her older son quivers when he speaks about that fateful and horrifying night. "Unidentified men came to my house and took my husband away. Two days later, he was found killed in the forest, about 10km away from our house," said Rafiqa, with a sadness clearly visible in her tear-glistened hazel-coloured eyes. She is only in her 30s. "His death took away our happiness. Even seven years later, I still have panic attacks at night. My father asked me to remarry but I refused because of my four children," said Rafiqa, who poured out her sufferings in her native Kashmiri language.
Last month, Rafiqa, who shares her father's ramshackle home, managed to secure a job as an office assistant in the nearby district office. That will pay her about RM100 a month and augment her paltry family's kitty, to which her 16-year-old son, who was forced to leave school due to poverty, also contributes from his earnings as a casual worker.
As outcasts in a traditional and conservative society, the financially-ruined widows have been prone to suffer from psychological disorder, a serious health predicament that has gone unnoticed for years in rural villages, as social workers say. "Many widows, who receive little emotional support, have lived with depression for the past eight to 10 years after the death of their husbands. They have severe symptoms that have gone untreated.
"Most of them depend on their families and in-laws. They live depressing lives and never remarry. Neither do they have access to mental health care," said Nasir Amin, a psycho-social counsellor with Action Aid Network, who makes regular visits to these rural villages.
The painful voices of the widows and their children would astound any right-thinking person, yet their plight is hardly heard of in the outside world, perhaps drowned out by the harsh cold winds of the Himalayan mountains.
Snouts in place, Kashmir glaciers lose thickness
Srinagar: The footprints of climate change are becoming increasingly visible in Jammu and Kashmir – a phenomenon borne out by a scientific investigation which concludes that glaciers are melting due to average temperature increase in this Himalayan region. The situation is particularly of deep concern for Pakistan, the lower riparian on Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers fed by glaciers in Kashmir.Interestingly, the glaciers are showing a differential response to increase in temperature even in the same micro-climatic regime, say scientists at Kashmir University.In a research study focused on status of glaciers, changes and causes, the Geology and Geophysics Department of Kashmir University further concluded that average precipitation in this Himalayan region has also shown a declining trend.The ongoing research study, funded by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) since 2006, focuses on two river basins – Suru, a tributary of Indus in Zanskar mountain range in Ladakh, and Lidder, a tributary of Jhelum river that runs south to north in Kashmir valley. Along with the Chenab, the Indus and Jhelum form the western rivers of the Indus basin and provide for Pakistan's water requirements under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty."We have studied data of the last 40 years. Fourteen smaller glaciers in Suru valley have already vanished and the overall loss is about 16.43 percent," says Dr. Shakeel Romshoo, a System Analysis Expert and an Associate Professor at Geology and Geophysics Department who heads the ISRO funded project studying the effects of climate change in Jammu and Kashmir.Since 1969, the glacier cover in Suru Basin which has around 360 glaciers, has been reduced from 567 sq kilometers to 474 sq kilometers, Dr Romshoo says. "But different glaciers are responding differently to global climatic change. While the lengths of some glaciers have reduced, some have shown reduction in depth or thickness even if their snouts have remained in the same place as earlier," he explains.The study shows that the length of Kangrez glacier near Parkhache village in Zanskar region has not changed. However, the glacier has shown almost 15 metre reduction in thickness. In other glaciers, named S1 and S3 in the study, the researchers noted a decrease of 1 km and 1.5 km in length respectively. The snouts of other glaciers, named S2 and S4, have shown no change in length but changes in thickness have been noted."We have collaborated date from satellite imagery of past and present, data from metrology and hydrology and water discharge data besides collecting field data about these glaciers," says Romshoo.In Lidder basin, the study found an increase in water discharge. Researchers link this increase to climate change that affects Kolhai Glacier that feeds the Lidder river. "Precipitation in Lidder basin is decreasing while the temperature is increasing. As a result, water discharge in Lidder is also increasing. It is a safe conclusion that water discharge is increasing due to excessive melting of glaciers. There are also drastic changes in snowfall patterns in this basin," says Romshoo.The study revealed that water discharge in the river has increased by an average of 2000 cusecs pr year since 1979. The characteristic temperature curve in Lidder valley too shows a steep upward trend. "The temperature increase in the basin over the last 100 years was one degree centigrade. The increase is more rapid in last 30 years," says Romshoo.Out of the 24 watersheds of Jhelum River, Lidder is the only river that has shown an increase in discharge. The discharge in 19 others is already showing a decrease as precipitation in these basins is also decreasing.Researchers at Kashmir University say that the melting of glaciers at such a rate is going to affect different economic activities including agriculture and hydropower generation besides causing drinking water problems in some areas. Kolhai glacier also feeds ground water resources and its melting is bound to have an impact in Kashmir valley where the population uses water from natural springs for domestic use as well as agricultural purposes.However, a greater worry is the impact on agriculture and hydel power generation in Pakistan where water intensive farming almost entirely depends on the perennial flow from these glaciers. Scientists say that the increase in average discharge will eventually reach a peak before a downward trend brings the water discharge levels in these rivers plunging down, thus affecting agriculture and other economic activities.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Kahmir Duniya ki sabse khatarnak jagah
Lamhaa’ promo in Censor troubleMUMBI;It’s not just nudity that’s a matter of concern for the Censor Board; controversial dialogues or mere words can also ring the alarm bells. The latest to run into hot water is the Lamhaa movie promo for reasons that may or may not be justified, depending upon one’s point of view. The movie’s promo was recently rejected by the board because of its controversial content. It only got the green signal only after several changes that were suggested by the revising committee. And as Rahul Dholakia, director of the film tells a daily, one major change was of the word ‘sabse’. One dialogue described Kashmir as “Duniya ki sabse khatarnak jagah”. Now, the word ‘sabse’ has been deleted. Gauzing the response to the promo, Rahul Dholakia is obviously worried, because if the promo has raised eyebrows what will happen to the film. Lamha, based on the troubled paradise Kashmir, stars Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu and Kunal Kapoor in the lead roles.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Valley streets have turned killing fields: Mufti
Srinagar, June 14: Expressing his deep concern over the fast deteriorating public order in the State, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Monday asserted that the streets in Srinagar and other parts of Valley have turned as ‘killing fields’. He asked the government to look beyond cosmetics, photo ops, bullet and bayonet and address people’s problems seriously.Terming the present coalition as a ‘cosmetic dispensation’, Mufti in a statement issued here said the government was concerned only about managing the fallout of misgovernance and atrocities rather than working with any vision, agenda or a heart. “The more it looks up to galleries the more it gets cut off from the roots fuelling anger, alienation and instability,” he said.PDP patron said instead of understanding the pain and problems of people and trying to reduce them, the government had brought the state to a virtual anarchy in a matter of months. “While the streets in Srinagar and other parts of the valley have become killing fields, law and order has crumbled in other parts of the state as well with development being nobody’s business. In Jammu the criminals have taken over threatening life and property while the use of brutal force on the students at BGS University is another pointer to the emerging chaotic conditions,” he said. Regretting that the mishandling of the situation and government’s careless attitude on governance front had caused all round difficulties, Mufti cautioned it could get out of control if the drift remained unaddressed. “All sections of society are dissatisfied and collapse of administration was being sought to be made good through thoughtless and excessive use of force against unarmed youth. No government can handover itself and public affairs to police and hope to carry along the people in the process of governance and development” he said.He said government’s inability to deliver had resulted in wasting the gains of previous years which were made through a painstaking process in which the people had participated with conviction and hope. “It is sad that at a time when relations between India and Pakistan had taken a positive turn the managers of the State had succeeded in reversing the process when it matters the most. India and Pakistan can achieve pretty little unless the people of the State repose confidence into their efforts as had happened after 2002 elections. J&K will have to lead the process of resolution and friendship. I don’t see that happening as long as innocent people are killed, opposition muzzled and all dissent crushed with the use of brutal force and laws like AFSPA and PSA” Mufti said. |
Kashmir — waiting for justice
Ali Sukhanver
India can chain my limbs but she cannot shackle my heart; India can break my bones but she cannot crush my will and determination, Jalil Andrabi, the Ex-Chairman, Kashmir Commission of Jurists uttered these words in Geneva, addressing the UN Sub Commission on Kashmir, on August 17, 1995. He is no more in this world but his words are still resounding in the blood-dripping valley of Kashmir providing an everlasting, never ending warmth and courage to the freedom-fighters in the Indian Held Kashmir. A few months after his address, he was picked up by notorious Indian Rashtria Rifles, tortured and finally killed in custody.
But his brutal murder could not suppress the blazing passion of the helpless Kashmiris and today after so many years, we can see the freedom movement still going on in a more zestful manner. In the Occupied Kashmir the Indian security forces are doing their best to curb and crush the freedom movement but the freedom fighters are more determined. Fake encounters, rapes, kidnapping and so many other ruthless weapons seem ineffective in front of their determination. The Kashmiris are determined to prove that they are not slaves; they are the masters of their own destiny.
Killing of innocent Kashmiris under the shield of ‘fake encounters’ has become a routine matter, says The Hindu on 15th of May ,2010.According to the details, a few Army men killed five civilians in a fake encounter in Jammu and Kashmir. They entered into a conspiracy to pick up a few innocent civilians and stage-managed an encounter to create the impression that militants responsible for the killing of 36 Sikhs on March 20, 2000 were neutralized. Their purpose behind this fake encounter was to get out of turn promotion and win cash awards. In another incident of the same nature earlier in Siachen, a few Indian army officers had constructed bunkers, and had them demolished by firing a rocket. They ordered soldiers to act to be video-graphed as dead soldiers. They made them swear before God that they would not reveal the fake killing.
All time increasing atrocities against the innocent people have made the social religious, economic and political life of Kashmiris very agonizing and painful. The Kashmiris are of the opinion that there could be no peace in the region unless the valley is in the cruel clutches of the Indian security Agencies. The government of India has provided a legal shelter to these atrocities through the inhuman law called Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). In fact this act was designed for the North Eastern Indian States in 1958 for a year but it is still very successfully being used in the Indian Held Kashmir.
The Indian army has been given a free hand to use AFSPA in the name of insurgency and militancy. International Commission on Human Rights has recently issued a report which points out the missing of more than ten thousand people in the last twenty years in the Indian Occupied territory of Kashmir. It is feared that most of these missing people have been killed in fake encounters. The commission has pointed out towards another very pathetic situation; the people killed in fake encounters and in police custody are usually buried in mass graves near Army and Police camps which are usually out of the access of media or the common public.
The Kashmir issue is a continuous bone of contention between the two nuclear countries Pakistan and India. The two countries are always in a state of war heading towards the brink of nuclear catastrophe just because of the Kashmir dispute. The confrontation on this issue is destroying peace of the whole of South-Asian region. The government of Pakistan has always been eager to settle the issue through negotiations and table talk. So many confidence building measures have been suggested to the Indian authorities but India never showed any positive gesture in this regard. Whenever there is a peace process going on between the two countries, India tries to disrupt it. The basic purpose behind this disruption is to keep Pakistan away from the demand of peace and prosperity of the Kashmiri people.
Unluckily the international community has been ignoring the human rights violation in the Occupied Kashmir for the last 63 years. During all this period the people of Kashmir have suffered senseless oppression at the hands of the occupying power. Thousands have been incarcerated; an untold number tortured or maimed. The families of over 10,000 people disappeared within the past twenty years, are still waiting for the return of their loved ones without knowing whether they are dead or alive. This entire tragic situation is simply because of the denial of the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir. The people of Kashmir need justice. They are silently looking towards all those forces which claim to be the care-takers of universal peace and harmony. Such forces must keep in their mind a time-tested principle, ‘Justice delayed, justice denied’.
AFSPA is ‘holy book’ for troops: Army
Srinagar, June 14: Describing Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) as a holy book for the armed forces, a senior army officer has defended the act and opposed its dilution or scrapping."I would like to say that the provisions of AFSPA are very pious to me and I think to entire Indian Army. We have religious books, there are certain guidelines which are given there, but all the members of the religion do not follow it, they break it also, does it imply that you remove the religious book or you remove this chap,” Northern Army Commander Lt Gen BS Jaswal was quoted as having said by NDTV.Referring to misuse of AFSPA, he said, “My take on it is to find someone guilty, take him to task but don't touch this pious document or provision of the Act giving the similarity to religious book”.Senior Army officials have been claiming that armed forces cannot operate without AFSPA in Jammu and Kashmir or in the Northeast. “We won’t be able to launch proactive operations, won’t be able to use force except in self-defence and won’t have powers to destroy ammunition dumps and IEDs,” they have been claiming.The separatist leaders, opposition PDP and human rights activists have been demanding its scrapping as the Act gives excessive powers to the soldiers. The Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has also said in recent past that there is a need to revoke the Act since it is prone to abuse.In its detailed reasoning to the government, the Army while defending AFSPA has said the legislators does not put the soldier above the law but places him under a different set of laws because he operates in different circumstances.“Sorry for saying this, lot of clichés get used in describing the Army, the circumstances under which Army functions is not known to people, that's why I said we want to feel the heat be there...to say that he is jury at that stage and he is the hangman, that jawan, I think we are stretching things a bit too far,” said Lt Gen Jaswal. General V K Singh, who took over as Army chief in April, has declared that “any dilution” in AFSPA will “impinge adversely on the manner in which armed forces operate” in counter-insurgency duties. |
KASHMIR-THE LAND OF PASSIONS
ALI SUKHANVER
“India can chain my limbs but she cannot shackle my heart; India can break my bones but she cannot crush my will and determination,” Jalil Andrabi, the Ex-Chairman, Kashmir Commission of Jurists uttered these words in Geneva, addressing the UN Sub Commission on Kashmir, on August 17, 1995. He is no more in this world but his words are still resounding in the blood-dripping valley of Kashmir providing an everlasting, never ending warmth and courage to the freedom-fighters in the Indian Held Kashmir. A few months after his address, he was picked up by notorious Indian Rashtria Rifles, tortured and finally killed in custody. But his brutal murder could not suppress the blazing passion of the helpless Kashmiris and today after so many years, we can see the freedom movement still going on in a more zestful manner. In the Occupied Kashmir the Indian security forces are doing their best to curb and crush the freedom movement but the freedom fighters are more determined. Fake encounters, rapes, kidnapping and so many other ruthless weapons seem ineffective in front of their determination. The Kashmiris are determined to prove that they are not slaves; they are the masters of their own destiny.
Killing of innocent Kashmiris under the shield of ‘fake encounters’ has become a routine matter, says The Hindu on 15th of May ,2010.According to the details, a few Army men killed five civilians in a fake encounter in Jammu and Kashmir. They entered into a conspiracy to pick up a few innocent civilians and stage-managed an encounter to create the impression that militants responsible for the killing of 36 Sikhs on March 20, 2000 were neutralized. Their purpose behind this fake encounter was to get out of turn promotion and win cash awards. In another incident of the same nature earlier in Siachen, a few Indian army officers had constructed bunkers, and had them demolished by firing a rocket. They ordered soldiers to act to be video-graphed as dead soldiers. They made them swear before God that they would not reveal the fake killing.
The helpless people of Machil area of Kupwara District would never be able to forget the intervening night of April 29 and 30, when three residents of Nadihal Rafiabad, Muhammad Shafi Lone, Shehzad Ahmed and Riyaz Ahmed were killed in a staged encounter. Their bodies were exhumed from a graveyard in Kalaroos, Kupwara and identified by their families According to the details, on the directions of Major Opinder of 4 Rajput Rifles, a trooper of Territorial Army, a former SPO and an army agent had motivated the youth to work as laborers for the army in lieu of handsome money. It is stated that later the youth were handed over to the army and subsequently killed in a fake encounter on the orders of the Major. During the investigation the army officials had claimed to have foiled an infiltration bid and recovered 5 AK rifles, over 200 rounds of ammunition and even Pakistani currency from the killed youth. The 4 Rajput Rifles unit of the army involved in the killing is yet to handover to the police the arms and ammunition, which it claimed to have recovered from the youth. The rage and fury over this fake encounter has created a lot of law and order disturbance in the area. People are demanding an open judicial inquiry of this fake encounter.
All time increasing atrocities against the innocent people have made the social religious, economic and political life of Kashmiris very agonizing and painful. The Kashmiris are of the opinion that there could be no peace in the region unless the valley is in the cruel clutches of the Indian security Agencies. The government of India has provided a legal shelter to these atrocities through the inhuman law called Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). In fact this act was designed for the North Eastern Indian States in 1958 for a year but it is still very successfully being used in the Indian Held Kashmir. The Indian army has been given a free hand to use AFSPA in the name of insurgency and militancy. International Commission on Human Rights has recently issued a report which points out the missing of more than ten thousand people in the last twenty years in the Indian Occupied territory of Kashmir. It is feared that most of these missing people have been killed in fake encounters. The commission has pointed out towards another very pathetic situation; the people killed in fake encounters and in police custody are usually buried in mass graves near Army and Police camps which are usually out of the access of media or the common public.
The Kashmiris are so helpless that they are unable even to protest against Indian atrocities. Those who raise their voices against the Indian cruelties have to face inexpressible torture and turmoil. They are pushed into dark and narrow prison cells without any reference or record. Their families are most of the time unaware of their being in the custody of the Indian army. It has also been reported that such protestors are so inhumanly tortured that they very often lose their lives. The atrocities chalked out by the Indian government in the Occupied Kashmir sometimes become unbearable even for the military officers. Inwardly so many of them don’t want to be a part of this viciousness and cruelty; the only door left open to them is to quit the army services. An increasing trend of army officers leaving the force mid-way has been very much alarming for the Indian government in the last five years. More than 1,000 officers quitted the army between 2005 and 2007. The number of officers who sought premature retirement in 2008 is reportedly more than a 1,000 — almost equal to the number who left in the past three years.
The Kashmir issue is a continuous bone of contention between the two nuclear countries Pakistan and India. The two countries are always in a state of war heading towards the brink of nuclear catastrophe just because of the Kashmir dispute. The confrontation on this issue is destroying peace of the whole of South-Asian region. The government of Pakistan has always been eager to settle the issue through negotiations and table talk. So many confidence building measures have been suggested to the Indian authorities but India never showed any positive gesture in this regard. Whenever there is a peace process going on between the two countries, India tries to disrupt it. The basic purpose behind this disruption is to keep Pakistan away from the demand of peace and prosperity of the Kashmiri people.
Unluckily the international community has been ignoring the human rights violation in the Occupied Kashmir for the last 63 years. During all this period the people of Kashmir have suffered senseless oppression at the hands of the occupying power. Thousands have been incarcerated; an untold number tortured or maimed. The families of over 10,000 people disappeared within the past twenty years, are still waiting for the return of their loved ones without knowing whether they are dead or alive. This entire tragic situation is simply because of the denial of the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir. The people of Kashmir need justice. They are silently looking towards all those forces which claim to be the care-takers of universal peace and harmony. Such forces must keep in their mind a time-tested principle, ‘Justice delayed, justice denied’.
“India can chain my limbs but she cannot shackle my heart; India can break my bones but she cannot crush my will and determination,” Jalil Andrabi, the Ex-Chairman, Kashmir Commission of Jurists uttered these words in Geneva, addressing the UN Sub Commission on Kashmir, on August 17, 1995. He is no more in this world but his words are still resounding in the blood-dripping valley of Kashmir providing an everlasting, never ending warmth and courage to the freedom-fighters in the Indian Held Kashmir. A few months after his address, he was picked up by notorious Indian Rashtria Rifles, tortured and finally killed in custody. But his brutal murder could not suppress the blazing passion of the helpless Kashmiris and today after so many years, we can see the freedom movement still going on in a more zestful manner. In the Occupied Kashmir the Indian security forces are doing their best to curb and crush the freedom movement but the freedom fighters are more determined. Fake encounters, rapes, kidnapping and so many other ruthless weapons seem ineffective in front of their determination. The Kashmiris are determined to prove that they are not slaves; they are the masters of their own destiny.
Killing of innocent Kashmiris under the shield of ‘fake encounters’ has become a routine matter, says The Hindu on 15th of May ,2010.According to the details, a few Army men killed five civilians in a fake encounter in Jammu and Kashmir. They entered into a conspiracy to pick up a few innocent civilians and stage-managed an encounter to create the impression that militants responsible for the killing of 36 Sikhs on March 20, 2000 were neutralized. Their purpose behind this fake encounter was to get out of turn promotion and win cash awards. In another incident of the same nature earlier in Siachen, a few Indian army officers had constructed bunkers, and had them demolished by firing a rocket. They ordered soldiers to act to be video-graphed as dead soldiers. They made them swear before God that they would not reveal the fake killing.
The helpless people of Machil area of Kupwara District would never be able to forget the intervening night of April 29 and 30, when three residents of Nadihal Rafiabad, Muhammad Shafi Lone, Shehzad Ahmed and Riyaz Ahmed were killed in a staged encounter. Their bodies were exhumed from a graveyard in Kalaroos, Kupwara and identified by their families According to the details, on the directions of Major Opinder of 4 Rajput Rifles, a trooper of Territorial Army, a former SPO and an army agent had motivated the youth to work as laborers for the army in lieu of handsome money. It is stated that later the youth were handed over to the army and subsequently killed in a fake encounter on the orders of the Major. During the investigation the army officials had claimed to have foiled an infiltration bid and recovered 5 AK rifles, over 200 rounds of ammunition and even Pakistani currency from the killed youth. The 4 Rajput Rifles unit of the army involved in the killing is yet to handover to the police the arms and ammunition, which it claimed to have recovered from the youth. The rage and fury over this fake encounter has created a lot of law and order disturbance in the area. People are demanding an open judicial inquiry of this fake encounter.
All time increasing atrocities against the innocent people have made the social religious, economic and political life of Kashmiris very agonizing and painful. The Kashmiris are of the opinion that there could be no peace in the region unless the valley is in the cruel clutches of the Indian security Agencies. The government of India has provided a legal shelter to these atrocities through the inhuman law called Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). In fact this act was designed for the North Eastern Indian States in 1958 for a year but it is still very successfully being used in the Indian Held Kashmir. The Indian army has been given a free hand to use AFSPA in the name of insurgency and militancy. International Commission on Human Rights has recently issued a report which points out the missing of more than ten thousand people in the last twenty years in the Indian Occupied territory of Kashmir. It is feared that most of these missing people have been killed in fake encounters. The commission has pointed out towards another very pathetic situation; the people killed in fake encounters and in police custody are usually buried in mass graves near Army and Police camps which are usually out of the access of media or the common public.
The Kashmiris are so helpless that they are unable even to protest against Indian atrocities. Those who raise their voices against the Indian cruelties have to face inexpressible torture and turmoil. They are pushed into dark and narrow prison cells without any reference or record. Their families are most of the time unaware of their being in the custody of the Indian army. It has also been reported that such protestors are so inhumanly tortured that they very often lose their lives. The atrocities chalked out by the Indian government in the Occupied Kashmir sometimes become unbearable even for the military officers. Inwardly so many of them don’t want to be a part of this viciousness and cruelty; the only door left open to them is to quit the army services. An increasing trend of army officers leaving the force mid-way has been very much alarming for the Indian government in the last five years. More than 1,000 officers quitted the army between 2005 and 2007. The number of officers who sought premature retirement in 2008 is reportedly more than a 1,000 — almost equal to the number who left in the past three years.
The Kashmir issue is a continuous bone of contention between the two nuclear countries Pakistan and India. The two countries are always in a state of war heading towards the brink of nuclear catastrophe just because of the Kashmir dispute. The confrontation on this issue is destroying peace of the whole of South-Asian region. The government of Pakistan has always been eager to settle the issue through negotiations and table talk. So many confidence building measures have been suggested to the Indian authorities but India never showed any positive gesture in this regard. Whenever there is a peace process going on between the two countries, India tries to disrupt it. The basic purpose behind this disruption is to keep Pakistan away from the demand of peace and prosperity of the Kashmiri people.
Unluckily the international community has been ignoring the human rights violation in the Occupied Kashmir for the last 63 years. During all this period the people of Kashmir have suffered senseless oppression at the hands of the occupying power. Thousands have been incarcerated; an untold number tortured or maimed. The families of over 10,000 people disappeared within the past twenty years, are still waiting for the return of their loved ones without knowing whether they are dead or alive. This entire tragic situation is simply because of the denial of the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir. The people of Kashmir need justice. They are silently looking towards all those forces which claim to be the care-takers of universal peace and harmony. Such forces must keep in their mind a time-tested principle, ‘Justice delayed, justice denied’.
Life in the shadow of gun
SRINAGAR: Till 1990, there were few guns in the Valley. But, soon enough, the situation changed. As the Kalashnikovs began to dominate the streets, Kashmir was flooded with uniformed men. In the last 20 years, a generation of Kashmiris has grown up with soldiers at every street corner; often, even in their living rooms. There are too many troops in Kashmir. There have been too many clashes between men with automatics and youth with stones. Many Kashmiris see the Army as one “of occupation”. Human rights activist Khurram Parvez says the police records 458 cases of pending civilian killings and rapes between 1990 and 2007 because the men in uniform cannot be prosecuted. “We want transparent and independent investigations into many encounters that took place in April-May 2010,” he says. Arshad Anderabi has spent 14 years fighting for justice for his dead brother Jaleel, a lawyer and prominent human rights activist. He alleges that Jaleel “was abducted by the major (Avtar Singh of the 103rd unit of the Territorial Army) on the airport road when he was driving home along with his wife. He was killed in cold blood and his body was dumped in the Jhelum”. The special investigation team that investigated Jaleel’s death found Major Singh responsible for the murder. But the major is now reportedly living in California and Jaleel’s family still waits for justice. Though the Indian army has been in the Valley since 1948, its presence was never as visible as after militancy began. K B Jandial, retired IAS officer and now a member of the state public service commission, says, “The army must put in place a system of checks and balances and rein in the troops who take the law into their own hands. This has diluted the forces’ achievement of almost destroying terrorism. Irresponsible actions of low rung-officers will harm India’s credentials as a democratic and secular nation.” There seem to be far too many Kashmiris who believe the Indian army is a ruthless force. Javid Iqbal, a respected doctor, says there is a huge trust deficit between the people and the army. “During the second world war, Churchill would often say ‘Indian Army any day’. That was a real tribute to the discipline and combat effectiveness of the forces. However, I wonder whether this attribute still holds for the army given the recent complaints of human rights violation.” The police says that there have been 51 allegations of rape against Indian army men in the last six years. Such allegations are deeply damaging to the army’s image. In 1991, about 100 women, including minors, the elderly, pregnant and disabled, were allegedly raped by a 4th Rajputana Rifles unit in Kunan Poshpora, Kupwara. “I am afraid that army could never restore its image in Kashmir given their behaviour with civilians here,” says Qurat-ul-Ain, a social activist. Of late, the army has been working on damage control through its humanitarian work. Colonel J S Brar, the defence spokesman here, says the Army is trying to win hearts and minds. “Under our Sadbavana programme, we are trying to alleviate, medicate, rejuvenate and ultimately uplift the quality of life of civilian population ,” he says. But considering the quantum of allegations against the army, many of the locals would regard this as too little and too late.
Kashmiri detainees facing inhuman treatment in jails
SRINAGAR (SANA): Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir has said that Kashmiri prisoners are facing inhuman treatment in many jails across the territory. A spokesperson of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat in a statement issued in Srinagar maintained that the superintendent of Udhampur jail had made the life of prisoners a hell. He said that the detainees were facing tough time. “Their life is under threat. All Muslim prisoners especially Hurriyat leaders are being suppressed and subjected to torture,” he said. The spokesman condemned the inhuman treatment meted out to the prisoners and urged the jail authorities to respect the rights of detainees. He also appealed to the Red Cross and other human rights organizations of the world to take a strong notice of the issue
AFSPA: An Act that defies the law?
Contrary to popular belief, India does not have an impressive record of ending insurgency. One result of this messy reality is that the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) exists in several parts of the country. It gives legal permission to the military to arrest or conduct a midnight search without a warrant on the basis of reasonable suspicion. Most statistical studies show that civil wars in the last century lasted a little over seven years on average. The shortest may have run for just a few days; the longest more than 30 years, according to trends in recent World Bank-funded studies. These findings were mostly based on the African experience, but the global measure of insurgencies isn’t very different. Civil wars that began before 1980 lasted 78 months or thereabouts, but those that started after 1980 had a longer lifespan of roughly 105 months. What of India’s record? It has been disturbingly poor. The Naga issue has been festering from before Independence, Kashmir since 1987, Manipur is on fire yet again and Assam hasn’t really been at peace for three decades. And Naxalism has risen from the ashes, with its deadly challenge to the state, unleashing a violence that devours more than a hundred lives a month. Punjab and Mizoram are the most prominent of India’s few successes in ending insurgency. But they are the exceptions. Even though the security forces, especially the military, have shown impressive ability in containing insurgency, the political leadership generally lets the status quo prevail rather than transforming the containment into permanent peace. This lack of political capability is now forcing the army to resist major troop reduction in Kashmir, despite a drop in violence. The Union home ministry had suggested the army move some of its Rashtriya Rifles battalions from J&K to Naxalite-ridden areas, but the Army, as a senior officer explains, has “contained the violence in Kashmir, and our security grid is working very effectively. What guarantee is there that permanent peace would be achieved in Kashmir, and that we won’t need to go back to manage a messed up situation?” Many within the security establishment believe New Delhi has failed to grasp the opportunity to create a lasting peace in Kashmir. As a result, the people of J&K are soon to complete two decades under AFSPA’s menacing shadow. In Nagaland, the act has been in existence since 1958, when it was first enacted by Parliament to contain Naga dissidence. It exists in the entire state of Assam since 1980, in all of Manipur outside Imphal municipal limits, in the hill districts of Tripura, in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tirap and Changlang districts and in a 20-km belt bordering Assam, and along another 20-KM belt of Meghalaya bordering Assam. Army officers insist that the legal protection offered by AFSPA is crucial to their success and is a prerequisite for anti-Naxal operational deployment. “It is necessary not to treat soldiers as mere policemen. The legal protection empowers them to act with far better determination. The results are there to be seen,” says a senior army officer. Imposition of AFSPA is invariably accompanied by a huge surge of military and paramilitary forces. Both reflect the state’s determination to facilitate the military containment of insurgency. Estimates vary, but the army’s Jammu-based 16 corps was, at one time, bigger than the British army. This, despite there being two other corps in the state as well. There are no specific numbers available, but around 5,00,000 security personnel are believed to be deployed in J&K, which has a population of just over one crore. That is a skewed security personnel to civilian population ratio and it gets worse in the Kashmir Valley. But the Indian state’s inability to grab the admittedly slim opportunities for peace is not limited to J&K. Forgotten battles are raging across the northeast. As a result, generations have grown up with a distorted sense of liberty and democracy in several states. To them, India is an illiberal democracy, defined by the military man’s right to open fire on crowds, search houses and individuals and control people’s daily lives using the authority that comes from the law of the land, aka the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. (TIMES OF INDIA)
Friday, June 11, 2010
Kashmir-born judge to receive British title
NEW DELHI: A Kashmir-born UK judge has been chosen to receive Britain’s highest honour, the Commander of the British Empire (CBE) title, from the Queen on the recommendation of the British prime minister “for bringing communities together”. Khursheed Drabu, a jurist and a former cricketer who played domestic cricket in India, is only the third Muslim and the first Kashmiri to receive this award. He would be honoured at a glittering ceremony from Queen Elizabeth in London on June 13 (Saturday). “Thank God, I am happy for having been acknowledged,” said Drabu, who was touring Srinagar when the news of his selection for the award reached him. Ironically, the Indian government has refused to give the visa to his wife Rifat to accompany him to Srinagar. “She was denied visa because she was born in Pakistan,” Drabu claimed. His wife was also included in the list of the most powerful Muslim women in Britain issued by the Times Magazine. Drabu said that unlike other judges, throughout his judicial career, he was allowed to do community-based work. “Both the Conservative and Labour parties allowed me to do community-based work. That helped me develop a good reputation in all the communities which in turn helped to bring them together,” he said. Drabu had also drafted the constitution of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) launched in 1997. He is currently the chairman of the MCB’s legal committee. An alumnus of the Srinagar SP College and the Aligarh Muslim University, Drabu represented Kashmir in India’s domestic cricket Ranji Trophy. Drabu was also the first Muslim judge in the British judiciary. Later, he rose to become the vice president of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal. “I have practiced in the fields of equality law, human rights and mental health law,” he said. iftikhar gilani
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Hindus reconnecting with deep roots in Jammu and Kashmir
Srinagar, June 6: Twenty years after nearly 400,000 Hindus fled Jammu and Kashmir, fearful of an anti-Hindu rhetoric from separatist militants, they are now reconnecting with their ancestral home.
It may be seen as a sign that after years of violence and turmoil, the Kashmir Valley is settling back to peace.M. L. Dhar, a 75-year-old Kashmiri Pandit who lives in New Delhi, recently returned to Jammu and Kashmir for the first time, and was astounded at the warm welcome that he received from the valley's Muslims."I have never been as peaceful as I have been here in the last seven days," The New York Times quoted Dhar, as saying.Meanwhile, the Muslim community of the state is also wondering if the religious divide was unwanted."They ran away, and we drove them out. Now they regret it, and we also regret the loss," said Gulam Rasoul, a retired police officer.He further quoted an old Kashmiri saying. "Kashmir is like a Mughal garden. If you have only one tree in the garden it will have no fragrance. When the Pandits left, the fragrance was gone."
Probe 2700 unmarked mass graves: IPTK
Srinagar, June 06: International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Kashmir (IPTK) Sunday reiterated its demand of conducting a probe into the presence of 2700 unnamed mass graves found across 55 villages in Bandipora, Baramulla and Kupwara districts of north Kashmir containing more than 2,943 bodies. The development comes after the expose of fake encounter of three youth of Nadihal Rafiabad in Machil sector on April 30. On April 30, army killed Shehzad Ahmad, Riyaz Ahmad and Muhammad Shafi in a fake encounter claiming them to be “infiltrating militants” from Pakistan. In a statement, IPTK also demanded a probe into the killings of 20 persons who army said were militants killed in different gunfights. “These cases require transparent and independent investigations.” The statement said that the State government and Government of India had not undertaken investigations into the findings of ‘Buried Evidence’ a report that revealed the presence of 2700 unnamed mass graves across north Kashmir in 2009. “The government is yet to act on its recommendations. Had GoI or the State government acted on the recommendations of ‘Buried Evidence’, the action might have generated constructive interventions into the continuing chain of extrajudicial executions by the Indian military and paramilitary.”
The IPTK statement said: “Shehzad Ahmad, Riyaz Ahmad and Muhammad Shafi were lured, kidnapped, involuntarily disappeared, and murdered by members of the Indian armed forces and state-sponsored militia. They were persuaded to leave their homes in Nadihal village in Baramulla for the 4 Rajputana Rifles Unit camp in Kalaroos Kupwara with the promise of paid employment for moving arms and ammunition along the LoC.
The IPTK statement said: “Shehzad Ahmad, Riyaz Ahmad and Muhammad Shafi were lured, kidnapped, involuntarily disappeared, and murdered by members of the Indian armed forces and state-sponsored militia. They were persuaded to leave their homes in Nadihal village in Baramulla for the 4 Rajputana Rifles Unit camp in Kalaroos Kupwara with the promise of paid employment for moving arms and ammunition along the LoC.
METHANE EMITS FROM WULAR
It’s usual biological process: Dr Romshoo
Bandipora, June 6: A non-governmental organization has observed methane gas bubbles in Wular Lake here, 70 kms north of Srinagar.A team of engineers associated with Kashmir Social and Environment Protection Coordination (KEPCO), a Valley-based NGO, said they found the lake releasing gases that catch abrupt fire. “Several parts of Wular lake are releasing gases which catch sudden fire during a close contact with inflammable material,” said a KEPCO spokesman, Taha Mubashir. “We visited the lake to find out the gas bubbles after locals informed us about the same. The gas bubbles are likely that of methane. But it has been hard to quantify how much gas is being released.” Fishermen from Kulhahama said they witnessed lake released gas bubbles for the past few years. “Earlier the bubbles would emanate from just one spot, but over the years the numbers of spots have increased,” said Javaid Ahmad, a resident. Experts, however, said it was a normal biological process. “It is the property of wetlands to release greenhouse methane gas and there are hundreds of such places in and around the Wular Lake releasing such gases,” said noted hydrologist of Kashmir, Dr Shakeel A Romshoo. “The anaerobic biological process going on inside the Lake and the continuous water logging is responsible for emanation of such gases. This little quantity of gas is not exploitable and hence cannot be stored for commercial purposes.”
Bandipora, June 6: A non-governmental organization has observed methane gas bubbles in Wular Lake here, 70 kms north of Srinagar.A team of engineers associated with Kashmir Social and Environment Protection Coordination (KEPCO), a Valley-based NGO, said they found the lake releasing gases that catch abrupt fire. “Several parts of Wular lake are releasing gases which catch sudden fire during a close contact with inflammable material,” said a KEPCO spokesman, Taha Mubashir. “We visited the lake to find out the gas bubbles after locals informed us about the same. The gas bubbles are likely that of methane. But it has been hard to quantify how much gas is being released.” Fishermen from Kulhahama said they witnessed lake released gas bubbles for the past few years. “Earlier the bubbles would emanate from just one spot, but over the years the numbers of spots have increased,” said Javaid Ahmad, a resident. Experts, however, said it was a normal biological process. “It is the property of wetlands to release greenhouse methane gas and there are hundreds of such places in and around the Wular Lake releasing such gases,” said noted hydrologist of Kashmir, Dr Shakeel A Romshoo. “The anaerobic biological process going on inside the Lake and the continuous water logging is responsible for emanation of such gases. This little quantity of gas is not exploitable and hence cannot be stored for commercial purposes.”
169 killed in J&K since Jan 2010
Victims include 33 soldiers, 107 militants, 29 civilians
Srinagar: At least 169 persons, including 33 Indian army and policemen, 107 militants and 29 civilians fell to violence during the first five months of 2010, official statistics reveal. January 6, 2010 witnessed the first major fidayeen (suicide) attack in Kashmir after a gap of two and a half years. A civilian, a policeman and two attackers were killed in the 27-hour long gunfight in the city centre, Lal Chowk. On February 23, militants attacked an army search party at Chinkipora, Sopore, some 55 kms north of Srinagar. At least four soldiers and a militant were killed in the fierce gunfight. In yet another fierce gunfight on March 30, five militants and four Indian soldiers were killed in mountainous Rajouri district.
Srinagar: At least 169 persons, including 33 Indian army and policemen, 107 militants and 29 civilians fell to violence during the first five months of 2010, official statistics reveal. January 6, 2010 witnessed the first major fidayeen (suicide) attack in Kashmir after a gap of two and a half years. A civilian, a policeman and two attackers were killed in the 27-hour long gunfight in the city centre, Lal Chowk. On February 23, militants attacked an army search party at Chinkipora, Sopore, some 55 kms north of Srinagar. At least four soldiers and a militant were killed in the fierce gunfight. In yet another fierce gunfight on March 30, five militants and four Indian soldiers were killed in mountainous Rajouri district.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Bipasha Basu, Sanjay Dutt Defend Kashmir Film
The cast members of a controversial Indian movie on Kashmir said they will not let politics get in the way of their art, whether its politics in India or Sri Lanka. Lamhaa is a film set in troubled Kashmir where a military investigator, played by Sanjay Dutt, investigates a blast in an unlikely partnership with a young, female Muslim leader, played by Bipasha Basu. In the process they learn about, “the corrupt nexus of politicians, intelligence, militancy and the crucifixion of idealistic and passionate people,” according to the movie’s press release. The film had to overcome local opposition as it was being shot. Its director, Rahul Dholakia, had to meet with local leaders in Kashmir to explain the story. Today the cast are facing pressure from the other side of the country to avoid promoting it at the International Film Academy event being held in Colombo, Sri Lanka this week. To show their anger at the way Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority has been treated by the government, the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce and other groups have pledged to avoid the films of any actor or director that shows up at the event here. The cast meembers of Lamhaa said from a stage in Colombo that some groups didn’t want their film to be made in the first place but they pushed forward despite the opposition. “We are here to celebrate cinema and cinema sees no religion, no culture,” said Bipasha Basu, who plays Aziza in the movie. “We are here to spread the message of entertainment.” Films that enlighten and educate can be used to calm tensions in places like Sri Lanka and Kashmir, they said. “We are a family of mixed religions,” said Mr. Dutt, who plays Vikram in the film. “The film industry gets people together.”
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Unidentified graves discovered in north Kashmir
396 slain persons buried still unknown
Sajjad wani
KALAROOS (KUPWARA) June 2: After the exhumation of three youth of Nadihal from grave yard here, who were killed in fake encounter by 4 Rajput regiment in Machil, and identification of another one, questions are now being raised about the claims by the security forces that rest of the 396 persons buried here are unidentified militants, killed in various encounters.Kalaroos village falls in Lolab valley and is perched between the dense mountains. This is the last big village near the Line of Control (LoC).The residents here said since the start of armed movement in valley, the Kalaroos Auqaf Committee has been performing the burial of all the persons who are shown killed on the Line of Control (LoC) in various encounters.The residents said that some of the buried men have been identified but most of them were unidentified. Code names given to them by the Army after handing them over to police is the only identification of the buried.Of more than 400 persons buried in the graveyard only four have been identified so far. Among the four are the three who were killed by army in Machil fake encounter and a youth, who was identified, last year from the identity card recovered from his possession.The caretaker of the graveyard is the local Auqaf Committee. “The exposure of killing of three men in fake encounter has exposed the functioning of the Army on the LoC,” said Ghulam Ahmad Bhat president Auqaf Committee. “We have apprehensions that army might have staged similar fake encounters in the past as well. These have come as a shock and there might be many people buried in this grave yard,” he added. Manzoor Ahmad who runs a shop near the graveyard said that in last November Army handed them three bodies for burial. “They looked like civilians from their physique. They too were brought from LoC after the killing,” Manzoor said. But their identity was not established.The residents said when the bodies of the three Nadihal youth were handed over to them, it did not seem that they were militants. “When police handed over bodies of these three boys to us for burial, we developed some suspicion as all the three bodies were clad in summer clothes and simple shoes. With fresh hair cuts and shaven faces these did not even look like militants who had spent some days in the mountains,” the residents said. “We are happy that truth has come out. Now, punishment should be given to all those who are involved in this brutal act.”Pertinently, the parents of the youth who identified their sons at the time of exhumation have demanded severe punishment for the Army officials and their sources for killing them. “We want counter insurgents and army officials who faked this encounter to be exposed. This is how some people stoop so low to earn money and promotion. We are unable to understand how innocent people are killed and dubbed as militants by the army,” they said.
Sajjad wani
KALAROOS (KUPWARA) June 2: After the exhumation of three youth of Nadihal from grave yard here, who were killed in fake encounter by 4 Rajput regiment in Machil, and identification of another one, questions are now being raised about the claims by the security forces that rest of the 396 persons buried here are unidentified militants, killed in various encounters.Kalaroos village falls in Lolab valley and is perched between the dense mountains. This is the last big village near the Line of Control (LoC).The residents here said since the start of armed movement in valley, the Kalaroos Auqaf Committee has been performing the burial of all the persons who are shown killed on the Line of Control (LoC) in various encounters.The residents said that some of the buried men have been identified but most of them were unidentified. Code names given to them by the Army after handing them over to police is the only identification of the buried.Of more than 400 persons buried in the graveyard only four have been identified so far. Among the four are the three who were killed by army in Machil fake encounter and a youth, who was identified, last year from the identity card recovered from his possession.The caretaker of the graveyard is the local Auqaf Committee. “The exposure of killing of three men in fake encounter has exposed the functioning of the Army on the LoC,” said Ghulam Ahmad Bhat president Auqaf Committee. “We have apprehensions that army might have staged similar fake encounters in the past as well. These have come as a shock and there might be many people buried in this grave yard,” he added. Manzoor Ahmad who runs a shop near the graveyard said that in last November Army handed them three bodies for burial. “They looked like civilians from their physique. They too were brought from LoC after the killing,” Manzoor said. But their identity was not established.The residents said when the bodies of the three Nadihal youth were handed over to them, it did not seem that they were militants. “When police handed over bodies of these three boys to us for burial, we developed some suspicion as all the three bodies were clad in summer clothes and simple shoes. With fresh hair cuts and shaven faces these did not even look like militants who had spent some days in the mountains,” the residents said. “We are happy that truth has come out. Now, punishment should be given to all those who are involved in this brutal act.”Pertinently, the parents of the youth who identified their sons at the time of exhumation have demanded severe punishment for the Army officials and their sources for killing them. “We want counter insurgents and army officials who faked this encounter to be exposed. This is how some people stoop so low to earn money and promotion. We are unable to understand how innocent people are killed and dubbed as militants by the army,” they said.
Suicides surge in conflict ridden Valley
Srinagar—In the last over twenty years, the number of suicide cases has surged in the Valley. Although experts believe there can be several reasons for suicide, the two-decade long conflict in Kashmir has swelled the numbers, more so in rural areas. Fifteen cases of attempt to suicide are registered every month at the SK Institute of Medical Sciences, which makes a total of 160-170 cases in the year 2009 alone. Falling in the age-group 19 to 28 years, most of the suicide victims turned out to be women. Official records show the SMHS Hospital received nearly 80 suicide cases in just 15 days the same year. In one such recent case, the sixteen-year-old son of a dentist was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his Rawalpora house. However, the family denied that the boy had taken the extreme step. Psychiatric consultant, Government Psychiatric Hospital, Srinagar, Dr Arshid Hussain, says when open aggression, anxiety or agitation is present in individuals suffering from depression, the risk of suicide increases drastically. “Other risk factors include previous suicide attempts, a family history of suicides or isolation. People who live alone or lack friends do not receive emotional support and often take to suicide,” he says. Maintaining that suicide is a multi-dimensional problem, he says “majority of the cases are due to depression. Psycho, social and environmental factors also play a role”. Dr Arshid says the present generation has lived through multiple trauma, insecurity and uncertainty. There is deregulation of the balance among various brain parts. Most of the victims consume fertilisers, chemicals or pesticides or simply jump into rivers. Prominent psychiatrist Dr Mushtaq Marghoob rules out any data collection to know the number or causes of suicides in Valley. “If anybody claims of having data, I personally believe it’s not correct. You have hospital data but again I don’t trust that,” he claims.
He says suicides are not being reported in the media. “Attempts at suicide are many but they hardly get reported in newspapers. You will hardly find a news about a 60-year-old committing suicide.” Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics for 2005 show the rate of suicide in the Muslim world as 0.1 to 0.2 per 100,000, but in Kashmir - again predominantly a Muslim state - the rate is 15.20 per 100,000 a year. The low rate of suicides is attributed to strong religious beliefs in those societies. Margoob does not believe that rural areas are more prone to suicide. “In villages religion acts as buffer. People curse youngsters but they are more reactive to certain things. It has been seen that people having lower level of lipids are more prone to impulsive behaviour,” he says.
He says suicides are not being reported in the media. “Attempts at suicide are many but they hardly get reported in newspapers. You will hardly find a news about a 60-year-old committing suicide.” Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics for 2005 show the rate of suicide in the Muslim world as 0.1 to 0.2 per 100,000, but in Kashmir - again predominantly a Muslim state - the rate is 15.20 per 100,000 a year. The low rate of suicides is attributed to strong religious beliefs in those societies. Margoob does not believe that rural areas are more prone to suicide. “In villages religion acts as buffer. People curse youngsters but they are more reactive to certain things. It has been seen that people having lower level of lipids are more prone to impulsive behaviour,” he says.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Jan-May: 33 troopers, 107 militants killed
Conflict 201029 civilians also fell to violence
Srinagar, May 31: At least 33 troopers, 107 militants and 29 civilians were killed in the violence related incidents across State after the onset of 2010, a local news gathering agency CNS reported.
Jan 02: Two BSF men injured in firing at Soura. One person allegedly killed by policemen at Kandi, Baramulla.Jan 05: A cop killed in IED blast at JIC Baramulla.Jan 06: Two militants, one civilian and a policeman killed in a Fidayeen attack at Lal Chowk. Jan 08: 22 persons injured in an encounter between militants and Army at Pampore.Jan 09: Paramilitary CRPF men kill teenage Inayat of Dalgate. Two persons were killed by unidentified gunmen at Kulgam and Sopore respectively.Jan 10: Two militants and a trooper killed in an encounter at Reasi.Jan 12: A civilian of Pulwama killed in crossfire. Another person dies in a mysterious blast at Kalaroos, Kupwara.Jan 14: A militant killed at Kulgam.Jan 15: A cop and a civilian killed in a militant ambush at Sopore. Four policemen, a political activist and one civilian were injured in the incident.Jan 17: A Pakistani infiltrator killed in RS Pora SectorJan 18: A militant killed in Poonch. Civilian killed after protests at Pattan.Jan19: 2 police officials and three constables injured in an IED blast at Tral.Jan 24: One Civilian killed in cross firing at Pulwama.Jan 29: Two troopers killed in a gunfight in Kishtiwar.Jan 31: 13-year old Wamiq Farooq of Rainwari killed in police shelling at Rajouri Kadal.Feb 04: Three militants and a trooper killed in gunfights at Poonch and Kishtwar. Feb 05: 16-year old Zahid Farooq of Brein, Nishtat killed by BSF patrol part at Nishat. A Pakistani infiltrator was killed in Samba sector on the same day.Feb 06: A police man and a civilian killed at Sopore. A Woman was also injured in the incident.Feb 09: A CID cop killed by militants.Feb 11: Two militants killed in Doda.Feb 12: Two militants killed in Kandi, Rajouri.Jan 15: A militant killed in Kalakote and two other in Kulgam.Feb 18: Four militants killed in different gunfights in Valley.Feb 23: Four army men and two militants killed in a fierce gun battle at Chinkipora, Sopore. Three troopers and one civilian were injured in the incident. 16 residential houses were demolished in the encounter.Feb 25: A government employee shot dead in Awantipora.Mar 03 : 4 militants and a trooper killed in Tral encounter. A trooper was also injured.Mar 08: 4 people including a militant and a child were killed across the State.Mar 12: SPO killed by gunmen at Jawahar Nagar.Mar 14: CRPF trooper was killed in a grenade explosion at Maharja Gunj. Two troopers were also killed while three civilians injured when militants attacked a patrol party at Sopore.Mar 16: A civilian and one police man were killed when militants attacked police party at Sopore bus stand.Mar 18: Two militants killed and one Lieutenant colonel injured in an encounter at Awanti Pora. One civilian was also killed in Sopore by the militants.Mar 24: Four troopers and a civilian killed at Keran sector.Mar 27: Four militants killed in different encounters at Kalakote, Rajouri.Mar 28: One infiltrator killed in Ramgarh sector of Jammu.Mar 30: 5 Millitants and 4 Army men killed in gunbattles at kalakote and Rajouri.Apr 04: Two militants killed in Keran sector. Another killed in Pulwama.Apr 07: An army man killed and a civilian injured in Handwara.Apr: A civilian drowned after CRPF men chased him during a protest demonstration at Sopore. An infiltrator was also killed in Ramgarh sector on the same.Apr 16: Army killed a civilian in Lolab in a fake encounter.Apr 16: Two militants killed in an encounter at kellarApril 21: Militants kill a policeman in Doda.Apr 23: NC Block president killed at Hajin. A a cable operator of Sopore also shot dead on the same day.Apr 24: A civilian allegedly killed by Army in Kellar. On the same day two militants were killed by army in an encounter at Doda.Apr 30: A civilian killed in stone pelting at Batamaloo. One militant killed in an encounter at Banihal. Three local youth were killed by Army in a fake encounter at Machil Sector on the same day. May 02: SPO kills himself after killing a Sub-Inspector at Kathua.May 04: Militants escape after killing two Army men in Bandipoa. A civilian was killed in Kangan by unidentified gunmen on the same day.May 09: Two militants killed while three managed to escape in an encounter at Handwara.May 12: A trooper was killed while other injured in a gunfight in forest area of Hiffad.May 13: An infiltrator killed in RS Pora sector. May 18: Two army men killed four injured in a gunfight with militants at LOC near Poonch.May 19: Three militants killed in Kellar while two others were killed in Doda gunfight.May 23: Unidentified gunmen shot dead Sopore Traders Federation President in apple town.May 26: Two militants killed in Tanghdar sector of Kupwara District.May 27: Pakistani militant dies in jail in Jammu. Police arrests people involved in Nadihal fake encounter.May 28: Bodies of youth killed in Nadihal Fake encounter, exhumed.May 31: Four militants killed in an encounter in Rafia-abad forests. Two militants killed in Lallad, Sopore while an HM commander shot dead by his colleague in Doda.
Srinagar, May 31: At least 33 troopers, 107 militants and 29 civilians were killed in the violence related incidents across State after the onset of 2010, a local news gathering agency CNS reported.
Jan 02: Two BSF men injured in firing at Soura. One person allegedly killed by policemen at Kandi, Baramulla.Jan 05: A cop killed in IED blast at JIC Baramulla.Jan 06: Two militants, one civilian and a policeman killed in a Fidayeen attack at Lal Chowk. Jan 08: 22 persons injured in an encounter between militants and Army at Pampore.Jan 09: Paramilitary CRPF men kill teenage Inayat of Dalgate. Two persons were killed by unidentified gunmen at Kulgam and Sopore respectively.Jan 10: Two militants and a trooper killed in an encounter at Reasi.Jan 12: A civilian of Pulwama killed in crossfire. Another person dies in a mysterious blast at Kalaroos, Kupwara.Jan 14: A militant killed at Kulgam.Jan 15: A cop and a civilian killed in a militant ambush at Sopore. Four policemen, a political activist and one civilian were injured in the incident.Jan 17: A Pakistani infiltrator killed in RS Pora SectorJan 18: A militant killed in Poonch. Civilian killed after protests at Pattan.Jan19: 2 police officials and three constables injured in an IED blast at Tral.Jan 24: One Civilian killed in cross firing at Pulwama.Jan 29: Two troopers killed in a gunfight in Kishtiwar.Jan 31: 13-year old Wamiq Farooq of Rainwari killed in police shelling at Rajouri Kadal.Feb 04: Three militants and a trooper killed in gunfights at Poonch and Kishtwar. Feb 05: 16-year old Zahid Farooq of Brein, Nishtat killed by BSF patrol part at Nishat. A Pakistani infiltrator was killed in Samba sector on the same day.Feb 06: A police man and a civilian killed at Sopore. A Woman was also injured in the incident.Feb 09: A CID cop killed by militants.Feb 11: Two militants killed in Doda.Feb 12: Two militants killed in Kandi, Rajouri.Jan 15: A militant killed in Kalakote and two other in Kulgam.Feb 18: Four militants killed in different gunfights in Valley.Feb 23: Four army men and two militants killed in a fierce gun battle at Chinkipora, Sopore. Three troopers and one civilian were injured in the incident. 16 residential houses were demolished in the encounter.Feb 25: A government employee shot dead in Awantipora.Mar 03 : 4 militants and a trooper killed in Tral encounter. A trooper was also injured.Mar 08: 4 people including a militant and a child were killed across the State.Mar 12: SPO killed by gunmen at Jawahar Nagar.Mar 14: CRPF trooper was killed in a grenade explosion at Maharja Gunj. Two troopers were also killed while three civilians injured when militants attacked a patrol party at Sopore.Mar 16: A civilian and one police man were killed when militants attacked police party at Sopore bus stand.Mar 18: Two militants killed and one Lieutenant colonel injured in an encounter at Awanti Pora. One civilian was also killed in Sopore by the militants.Mar 24: Four troopers and a civilian killed at Keran sector.Mar 27: Four militants killed in different encounters at Kalakote, Rajouri.Mar 28: One infiltrator killed in Ramgarh sector of Jammu.Mar 30: 5 Millitants and 4 Army men killed in gunbattles at kalakote and Rajouri.Apr 04: Two militants killed in Keran sector. Another killed in Pulwama.Apr 07: An army man killed and a civilian injured in Handwara.Apr: A civilian drowned after CRPF men chased him during a protest demonstration at Sopore. An infiltrator was also killed in Ramgarh sector on the same.Apr 16: Army killed a civilian in Lolab in a fake encounter.Apr 16: Two militants killed in an encounter at kellarApril 21: Militants kill a policeman in Doda.Apr 23: NC Block president killed at Hajin. A a cable operator of Sopore also shot dead on the same day.Apr 24: A civilian allegedly killed by Army in Kellar. On the same day two militants were killed by army in an encounter at Doda.Apr 30: A civilian killed in stone pelting at Batamaloo. One militant killed in an encounter at Banihal. Three local youth were killed by Army in a fake encounter at Machil Sector on the same day. May 02: SPO kills himself after killing a Sub-Inspector at Kathua.May 04: Militants escape after killing two Army men in Bandipoa. A civilian was killed in Kangan by unidentified gunmen on the same day.May 09: Two militants killed while three managed to escape in an encounter at Handwara.May 12: A trooper was killed while other injured in a gunfight in forest area of Hiffad.May 13: An infiltrator killed in RS Pora sector. May 18: Two army men killed four injured in a gunfight with militants at LOC near Poonch.May 19: Three militants killed in Kellar while two others were killed in Doda gunfight.May 23: Unidentified gunmen shot dead Sopore Traders Federation President in apple town.May 26: Two militants killed in Tanghdar sector of Kupwara District.May 27: Pakistani militant dies in jail in Jammu. Police arrests people involved in Nadihal fake encounter.May 28: Bodies of youth killed in Nadihal Fake encounter, exhumed.May 31: Four militants killed in an encounter in Rafia-abad forests. Two militants killed in Lallad, Sopore while an HM commander shot dead by his colleague in Doda.
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