DNA
SRINAGAR
Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairman Yasin Malik has been arrested in a crackdown on leaders in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK), Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said on Saturday.
“Strongly condemn the nocturnal crackdown on Jamate-Islami leadership and cadres, and the arrest of Yasin Malik,” Mirwaiz Umar Farooq writes on Twitter.
The Indian troops raided Malik’s Maisuma residence in Srinagar and lodged him at Kothibagh police station. The crackdown was launched against pro-freedom leaders and activists.
Dozens of other leaders and activists of Jamaat-e-Islami of the occupied territory were nabbed from their residences during nocturnal raids across held Kashmir.
According to Mehbooba Mufti, the president of the Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party, Hurriyat leaders and workers of the JI have been arrested over the past 24 hours.
In a post shared on Twitter, Mufti said: “Fail to understand such an arbitrary move which will only precipitate matters in J&K [occupied Jammu and Kashmir]. Under what legal grounds are their arrests justified? You can imprison a person but not his ideas.”
Senior Indian journalist Barkha Dutt also said that a mass crackdown on Kashmiri leaders was underway in IoK. She added that additional paramilitary [forces] had been requisitioned on an urgent basis.
Those arrested included JI Ameer, Dr Abdul Hamid Fayaz, Advocate Zahid Ali, Ghulam Qadir Lone, Abdur Rauf, Mudassir Ahmed, Abdul Salam, Bakhtawar Ahmed, Muhammad Hayat, Bilal Ahmed and Ghulam Muhammad Dar.
The Jamaat-e-Islami in a statement termed the crackdown “a well-designed conspiracy” to further escalate the already deteriorated situation in occupied Kashmir.
Malik’s arrest comes in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack that killed more than 40 paramilitary soldiers in IoK.
Following the attack, Indian authorities withdrew the “security cover” provided to five Kashmiri leaders, including Farooq, who is the chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.
Security cover for Shabir Shah, Hashim Qureshi, Bilal Lone and Abdul Ghani Bhat has also been removed.
On the other hand, India is airlifting 100 additional companies of paramilitary soldiers to Srinagar to be deployed in the occupied territory on urgent basis.
There has been a considerable build-up of Indian forces across occupied Kashmir after last week’s Pulwama incident in which over 40 soldiers were killed. Since then, the situation has been tense across the territory, especially in the Kashmir Valley.
Meanwhile, the JKLF leader Muhammad Yasin Malik has cautioned that continued harassment of Kashmiri students in outside states can push them towards militancy.
Before his arrest, Yasin Malik said majority of people who participated in 2008 and 2010 agitations were youth. “Those who picked up arms later were the youth who were subjected to harassment and torture. They didn’t go to Pakistan for arms training and still picked up guns to resist,” he said.
“The way videos of harassment and torture of Kashmiri students and businessmen…are coming to fore; those images are striking young minds in Kashmir again. Those who are watching these videos and the victims themselves are being pushed to the wall and left with no option to pick up arms.”
Malik said “if any one among those who were harassed or beaten in outside states picks up gun tomorrow, who would be blamed for it.” For the past one week, reports have been pouring in about harassment Kashmir students and businessmen in different states, following the car-bomb attack on a CRPF convoy in Lethpora on February 14 in which 40 troopers were killed.
“Will Government of India tomorrow accept that these boys joined militancy because of the oppression unleashed on them in various states,” the JKLF chief asked. He said that in recent past many Ph.D scholars picked up arms and were killed in encounters.
“They too had tales of oppression from the past,” Malik said. “When today career of our youth studying in various states is put at the stake by forcing them to flee after ruthless thrashing, these young students can take extreme step in desperation.”
Malik lashed out at various Indian news channels and accused them of “spewing venom” against Kashmiris. “The job of a journalist is to speak truth and present a true picture. But Indian media has its own interests,” he said.
Expressing concern over prevailing situation in south Kashmir over the past 10 days, Malik said all the villages across southern Kashmir have been converted into “hell” as people of all ages were being “subjected to harassment, commuters thrashed and properties damaged”.
“For all the oppression being unleashed on Kashmiris none other than the parties believing in electoral politics are responsible. It is these parties who ratified draconian laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Public Safety Act and set up task force as well,” he said.
“Be it National Conference or Congress, all are responsible for peoples’ miseries. The PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti recently started visiting homes of slain militants, but she forgot that it was she who in 2016 said whether young boys killed in forces firing had gone to buy toffee or milk from forces’ camps,” Malik said.
He cautioned people to remain alert about people seeking votes. “Today, people are shouldering coffins of their loved ones and tomorrow they will be asked to vote. It is people who need to remember the blood of youth and not betray it,” he said.
The JKLF chief rued denial of successive regimes to slain Jamiat-e-Ahlihadith chief Moulana Showkat Ahmed’s proposal for opening Transworld Muslim University, Karwan-e-Islami’s project for setting up Sheikhul Alam University and Kashmiri doctor’s proposal for opening state-of the art hospital in Kashmir.
“All the previous regimes didn’t grant permission for these ambitious projects. Today, our youth would not have been dependent on outside universities and colleges,” he said. =DNA
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Talks only way to resolve Kashmir: Mirwaiz tells New Delhi
SRINAGAR, FEB 23 (DNA) – Amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan, following Lethpora car-bomb attack on a CRPF convoy last week, Chairman Hurriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has cautioned that war wasn’t an option and only a sustained dialogue can resolve Kashmir issue.
He urged people of India to understand ground situation in Kashmir, saying people of the Valley were not fighting for any economic package or developmental schemes but a “legitimate birth right of right to self-determination”.
“New Delhi must understand that the talk about waging war against Pakistan would lead to destruction in entire sub-continent, as both the countries were nuclear powers,” Mirwaiz said.
“Kashmiris don’t support war between India and Pakistan but a resolution of the dispute by peaceful means. History is witness that many nations even after fighting wars, had to sit on a negotiation table to hammer out a solution of the issues,” said Mirwaiz whose security cover was recently withdrawn by the state government, following the deadly Lethpora attack in which 40 CRPF men were killed.
The Valley’s head priest said soon after the attack, the resistance leadership had stated that “every human life was precious, but at the same time maintained that Kashmiri people were being killed and booked under PSA on regular basis”.
“Isn’t Kashmir a political and human issue? Aren’t Kashmiri youth being pushed to wall and left with no choice other than to pick up arms?” Mirwaiz asked.
Mirwaiz, who is part of Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), said he has time and again stated that Kashmir can’t be solved militarily but politically. He took a dig at present dispensation at New Delhi for its “iron fist policy” on Kashmir and shelving the path followed by former Prime Ministers, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmmohan Singh.
“People of India who talk about war and revenge must see the reality that Kashmir is an internationally accepted issue and there are agreements and resolutions passed over it,” said Mirwaiz. “I want to convey to the people of India that Kashmir is not Bihar or Himachal or any other state but a disputed state, divided between India and Pakistan.”
Referring to harassment and attacks on Kashmiri students and businessmen in outside states, post Lethpora attack, Mirwaiz termed it “well planned conspiracy”. “This all started first from Jammu where dozens of vehicles were torched by forces who have always been anti-Kashmir and anti-Muslims from day one,” he said, adding this anti-Kashmir hatred later spread to other states of India.
Condemning the assault on Kashmiris, Mirwaiz demanded safe passage of every single Kashmiri back to the Valley, stating “if anything untoward happens to any Kashmiri, blame will be on the government of that particular state.”
About withdrawal of his security cover, Mirwaiz said that “New Delhi should understand that by removing his security, booking resistance leaders and caging Hurriyat leadership it can’t force us into submission.”
“If New Delhi feels that by withdrawing security cover of pro-freedom leaders, we would be forced to stop talking about Kashmir issue, they are badly mistaken,” he said.
He lauded role of Sikh community in Punjab and Jammu, especially that of Khalsa Aid International, to help Kashmiris in outside states to return to the Valley. =DNA
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Geelani blames Delhi for Kashmir being in ‘mess’
SRINAGAR, FEB 23 (DNA) – Hurriyat Conference (G) Chairman Ali Shah Geelani has said that Kashmir is the “basic issue of contention” between India and Pakistan.
“The unrealistic attitude of people sitting in Delhi regarding this globally accepted political dispute and dealing with it only militarily has brought death and destruction in the whole state,” Geelani said in a statement.
“And if this problem is not solved, not only subcontinent but global peace and stability will be under severe threat which may culminate into the world’s biggest human catastrophe,” Geelani said
“Jammu and Kashmir is not merely a territorial dispute between the two neighboring countries but is an issue of survival for more than 1.5 million people.
It has always threatened the peace of the whole sub-continent creating a situation of uncertainty and political turbulence leading to a war like situation whenever there is any incident on either side.
Unless this bone of contention is addressed according to the wishes and aspirations of its natives, permanent peace and stability will remain a distant dream,” Geelani said.
“Every state is a no go area for Kashmiris, where a witch-hunt of Kashmiris being on peak. The fascist forces through their uncontrolled goons derive sadistic pleasure by repeatedly threatening our existence.
Time and again such events prove, beyond doubt, that forceful and unholy togetherness can never cement any bonds between them. Such bonding is so fragile that even a slight breeze disrupts and disbands it,” he said.
He said, “The conscious, sincere, well read and visionary Indians are well aware of the fact that despite using iron hand, military might and vast intelligence network for last seven decades Delhi has failed to crush the sentiment.”
“We appeal to the global community including the conscious and patriotic Indians to come forward and raise their voice to safeguard Kashmiris and help their own nation,” Geelani said, adding that “If good sense does not prevail upon them, then biggest catastrophe of humanity is on cards and hardly matters which country mourns more deaths.”
Meanwhile, Geelani paid glowing tributes to two militants, who were killed in a gunfight in Sopore on Friday. =DNA
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Come for rescue of Kashmiris: Saghar urges UN
SRINAGAR, FEB 23 (DNA) – The former convener of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (AJK chapter) and senior vice president of Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party Mehmood Ahmed Saghar has urged the UN Secretary General to influence upon the Government of India to ensure safety of Kashmiri students and businessmen who in the wake of Pulwama attack are being hounded and attacked by boisterous mobs.
In a statement Saghar appealed the UN chief to take effective notice of the brutal attacks and protect lives and properties of hapless Kashmiris outside the Valley.
“It’s quite unfortunate that political demagogues and hate-mongers are busy in fostering prejudice, hatred and violence against Kashmiris,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Kashmiri leaders and organizations have denounced the attacks on Kashmiris across India and described it a dangerous trend, which is promoting hatred among humans.
Muhammad Yasin Malik in a statement issued in Srinagar said roads and institutions across India have been turned into war zones for the Kashmiris. Attacks by goons on Kashmiri students, businessmen and tourists are most condemnable and outrageous, he added.
The JKLF Chief termed these attacks as heinous and said that videos and images of these assaults and acts of humiliations could force more Kashmiri youth towards armed resistance and hence turn situation more vulnerable and unwanted.
A spokesperson for Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM) in a statement in Srinagar said the attacks have once again unmasked the real face of the Hindu people of India and their communal attitude towards the Kashmiris.
Leader of All Parties Hurriyat Conference and the Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Employees Movement, Muhammad Shafi Lone, said that through such tactics India could not suppress the ongoing liberation movement of the Kashmiri people.
Patron of Karwan-e-Islami, Maulana Ghulam Rasool Hami, in a statement in Srinagar said that attacks on Kashmiris were taking place under a well-thought-out plan and all the claims of protecting Kashmiris by the Indian authorities proved hoax.
A spokesman of Jamiat Hamdania in a statement said Kashmir is not a colony of any country and the harassment of its people should be stopped immediately.
Meanwhile, the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, has urged the universities across India to ensure the safety of Kashmiri student on campus and to maintain peace and harmony.
It also directed the vice-chancellors to look into the matter personally for the safely of the students and maintaining peace and harmony in universities/colleges.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has condemned the attacks on Kashmiris in various states after the February 14 Pulwama militant attack and appealed Jammu and Kashmir governor to call all-party meeting to defuse tension.
“Kashmiri students, businessmen and employees are being selectively targeted by some miscreants in entire country,” Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, state secretary of CPI (M) said at a press conference here.
“There are some miscreants in Kashmir, Jammu and other parts of the country who are trying to divide people on communal lines. Jingoistic atmosphere is being created in the country to polarize the already charged situation,” he said adding, “Prime minister of India should take responsibility of all citizens including Kashmiris and act against these hooligans.”
He further said that government must take stern action against divisive forces, who are trying to disturb the peace and communal harmony in the state and who attacked Kashmiris. He also denounced statement of Meghalaya Governor, saying, “He should be sacked, and a sedition case should be filed against him.”
Appreciating people of Jammu, Tarigami said, “Despite provocative situations in the last three decades, people of Jammu always maintained communal harmony, amity and brotherhood and role of majority of the people of Jammu and civil society is appreciable.”
Congress leader Kadfeen Choudhary has also expressed concern over the expulsion of Kashmiris students from various colleges outside the state, terming such crises worrisome and tantamount to pushing already perturbed youth to the wall.
Kadfeen in a statement has urged upon the authorities to take remedial measures without delay so that the students feel secure outside Valley and can return to their colleges without any fear.
“There is a need of rebuilding the trust that has received the heaviest hit recently when fanatic groups vandalised educational institutes and terrified the innocent students. Reconciliatory approach can alone assuage the ruffled situation,” said Kadfeen.
Instead of showing younger generation dark and dreadful face of communalism, there is a dire need to show this young lot the windows of country’s secularist image so that instead of getting scared to study there, they could discover it their Eldorado.
“Prime Minister must come forward and shun the partisan approach to address the situation, appeal for tranquility and ensure safety to the people of Kashmir. This is what the Prime Minister is ought to do,” Kadfeen said.
He added the civil society groups of the country too need play a role in pacifying the situation and make colleges and universities outside Valley safer places to study for Kashmiri students.
“The establishment needs to send out a clear message condemning these incidents and ensure the protection of the lives and properties of our people,” he added.
The Kashmir based trade bodies and members of civil society held a joint protest at city centre Lal Chowk against mob attacks on Kashmiris in various states.
The organisations which had called shutdown and protests included both factions of Kashmir economic alliance, all factions of Kashmir traders and manufacturers federation, Kashmir chamber of commerce and industry, Bapar Mandal Mahraj Gunj, Shehar-e-Khaas traders coordination committee and valley based transporters along with several other trade associations.
Members of civil society representing Kashmir Centre for Social and Developmental Studies also took part in the protest which was held near historic clock tower in Lal Chowk.
In reaction to the shutdown call, shops and business establishments from Lal Chowk to Polo View and adjacent markets observed a shutdown after 3:30 pm onwards. Shutdown was also observed in Downtown areas of the
Addressing mediapersons, Muhammad Yaseen Khan, president, KTMF said “attacks on Kashmiris including students, traders and employees was unacceptable to business fraternity.” Khan gave government an ultimatum of two days to stop these attacks in various states.
“We will wait for two days and will be meeting again on Monday to decide future course of action. If government fails to prevent these attacks on innocents, we will be forced to intensify protests,” said Khan who also heads Kashmir economic alliance. Khan said on Monday the traders will also decide whether to boycott trade with Jammu or not.
“Today a union minister has come out with a statement that Kashmiris are safe in India. But is this not too little too late. Why have they woken up now after a week of attacks,” Khan said.
“We are against any sort of bloodshed and never resorted of bullying non-locals in the Valley,” Khan said. Nasir Hameed Khan, senior vice-president, KCCI said thinkers, intellectuals and the civil society must promote communal harmony and oppose goon attacks.
“Business community urges the law enforcement agencies to take effective criminal action against those creating disharmony amongst various sections of the society and not be discriminatory and biased in application of law,” he said.
“The establishment needs to send out a clear message condemning these incidents and ensure the protection of the lives and properties of our people,” he added.
Drivers of vehicles including trucks damaged in mob attacks at Jammu which arrived in Srinagar also joined the protests while demanding due compensation from the government. =DNA
