The Writing On The Wall

“We do not recognise UJC. They are carrying swords. We do not accept diktats,”

Ansari said that his organisation was not in favour of enforcing orders on others and will leave it to the people of Kashmir to decide about the elections as per their “conscience”.

“Why are we people targeting Lone for contesting elections? Have you forgotten the late Sheikh Abdullah also contested elections after heading the Plebiscite Front,” Ansari said. The Hurriayt yesterday said it would not boycott the elections. ( business standard)

Hurriyat’s imminent failure.

Update:

Malik Sajad’s cartoon on Greater Kashmir depicts the situation more precisely than the writing on the wall.

And don’t miss the color at Malik Sajad’s site: of nostalgia and the shattered truth of Kashmir.

 

Hurriyat’s Lies

The Hurriyat Conference has claimed that it is closing district offices, slashing the pay of its employees and laying off employees as a restructuring measure in wake of the recent assembly elections. Mirwaiz has also claimed the global recession to be a cause of its financial cutbacks and layoffs.

The Hurriyat, whose death is inevitable, believes, as do the mainstream politicians, that Kashmiris suffer from short term memory loss. It was in October 2007 that Hurriyat had shut down its district offices because of the financial crunch it had been facing for some time and had planned then to lay off its employees. Recent elections, restructuring and introspection are mere deceptive words being used by an organization which is failing within and outside Kashmir.

Zardari’s Good News Was No Good News At All, As Predicted

Zardari has termed the Kashmiri Freedom Fighters (including the Hurriyat Conference) as Terrorists.

President Zardari termed the Hurriat leaders in occupied Kashmir as “terrorists”, adding that he had no objection to the India-US nuclear cooperation pact so long as Islamabad was treated “at par” with New Delhi. The News

In his first press conference after taking oath as the President of Pakistan, Zardari had said that the world would soon hear good newon Kashmir. Having called Kashmiris terrorists he has doled out tons of good news for India, not for Kashmir! For me this is no surprise as I blogged earlier about Zardari’s claims:

….one should really not expect anything huge (at most the good news may be opening of trade route)…

And trade routes are already in the process of being opened

…And about Zardari, one should not expect much from Zardari, who is disliked in Pakistan apparently more than Musharraf was…

Read the entire post Zardari’s Good News May Be No News At All here.

Much before he was elected a President, in March, he suggested that Pakistan would put the Kashmir issue on the back burner, for the future generations to solve. It was obvious since then, Zardari wanted to concentrate on trade ties with India! A single person though can not change what an entire nation thinks, therefore he had to back-track on his first comment on Kashmir. The vibes of how he felt about Kashmir were sent across nevertheless. He may draw some flak in Pakistan for his latest quip, however the effect it will have (and is supposed to cause) will not reverse. I just blogged about The End Of Hurriyat, and it appears to be a lot more truer and closer than I imagined; Pakistan is finally pulling the plug on Hurriyat and that would be Hurriyat’s last nail in the coffin.

I sincerely hope that a new, free from bias, young leadership emerges in Kashmir. In October of 1947 Kashmir was occupied by India, and it appears in the October of 2008, the equations in Kashmir will change drastically.

UPDATE: Statement Retracted

As expected, the Government of Pakistan has retracted the statement:

She [Pakistan’s Information Minister] said that President Asif Zardari had never linked Kashmir liberation struggle to terrorism. In a statement, the federal minister reiterated government’s resolve to hold talks with India on the dispute. The News

All the pro-Independence leaders have flayed Zardari’s remarks; though the remarks are not even half as critical of Zardari as a simple out-of-the-box suggestion from Musharraf usually led to.

Greater Kashmir’s anger is obvious, being the most widely read newspaper, it is a pleasure to see that it did not mute down the expression of anger against Pakistan. With Begging Bowl In Hand , Zardari calls Kashmiri Militants ‘Terrorists’ is how Greater Kashmir reacted. JKLF’s response makes it clear that they have been shocked beyond comprehension; JKLF wants Zardari to take a History course. DeM (Duktaran – e – Millat), who are still living in the delusion that Musharraf’s fall was a consequence of his Kashmir policies, now await Zardari’s fall. In Baramullah, a town where sentiments for Pakistan are the strongest and which has produced the largest number of Pro-Pakistani leaders, people burnt an effigy of Zardari, a first since 1979 when effigies of Zia-ul-Haq were burnt against his decision to hang Zardari’s father-in-law Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

To read Zardari’s interview on Wall Street Journal, click here, Also read the orders Zardari has given to track and arrest those who write jokes on him; you may also be interested in Zardaris’ T.G.I.F. in Manhattan.

 

The End Of Hurriyat

Indefinite curfew has been imposed in Kashmir today; this follows the imposition of section 144 yesterday. Yasin Malik has been arrested, while as Geelani was hospitalised. Authorities claim that UPSC roll number slips and Air Tickets will be considered as Curfew Passes, though such consideration was not shown the last time when even a pregnant women on way to the hospital was beaten ruthlessly by India’s Army. A local cable channel has again been banned.

The Hurriyat is failing the people, they have sold-out, and their acts (what made them believe that the government would not impose the curfew?) if seen in a critical manner would lead to one conclusion: that the Hurriyat is exhausting the spirit of the people so that the struggle falls back to its own slow pace, which comforts all but the common Kashmiri people. Last time when the rally was planned; people were hopeful, supportive and full of energy; today they are upset, dismayed and undermined in spirit. This October may not see the withdrawal of the Army from Kashmir; however it might see the end of Hurriyat and the emergence of a new leadership. The Hurriyat may have proved their importance to India and Pakistan, but they are definitely going to fall in front of the people. Emotional fools we may be, but idiots we are not.

Tomorrow may decide a lot of things for Kashmir, I just hope tomorrow does not see the end of more innocent lives. Hurriyat, against my better judgement, may prevail and win their battle, and we the people, will have to continue fighting ourbattle.

Earlier Posts on the land row, the gagging of the people and the spirit of Kashmiris:

Was It Just A Few Hectares Of Land? – I

Yes, I Am A Daemon, But Kashmir Scares Me

No Photoshop This!

Kashmir Strikes Back

Nor Blocked Nor Hacked However The Embargo Continues

Continuing with its embargo on outflow of news from Kashmir, Greater Kashmir, Kashmir’s most read and popular newspaper’s web-site had been previously blocked by the government and was not accessible. However, as of now Greater Kashmir has not been blocked but is rather undergoing maintenance and can be accessed through the URL www.GreaterKashmir.net.  It is pertinent to mention that Greater Kashmir is reporting extensively on the current scenario and is the only newspaper from Kashmir giving real time updates. Kashmir Observer, another local newspaper, had been hacked sometime back, but is now accessible. Etalaat.net, owned by mainstream politician Iftikhar Ansari, is accessible as is Rising Kashmir.

However embargo on reporting of news continues as journalists are being beaten up by the Indian Armed Forces, for they fear truth will be reported!

On Sunday, several journalists were beaten up by police and three were hospitalised, an association of Kashmiri journalists said.

Reuters

Local media say 15 journalists were among those beaten by Indian police as they tried to cover the protest, despite having curfew passes.

BBC

Inflammatory, What?

The local news channels in the meantime have been told to immediately stop telecast of their news and current affairs programmes.

This follows a directive by the district magistrate of Srinagar. “The DM has issued orders to stop with immediate effect, the telecasting of all news and other items, which are inflammatory in nature and thereby disturbing the peace and tranquillity of general public.”

Rediff

Can I Still Visit Kashmir?

An update to two previous posts, How Safe Is Kashmir For A Tourist? and Is Kashmir Still Safe? It is advised not to visit Kashmir and to put on hold any plans of visiting Kashmir in the near future.

Massive non-violent protests have erupted against the illegal Indian occupation. On Friday, the 22nd of August 2008, 1 Million people assembled and demanded Complete Freedom.

On Monday, the 25th of August 2008, an Independence Rally has been planned and people are bound to come out in massive numbers and will be undeterred by the indefinite curfew that has been imposed or the reinforcement of the already 0.7 million strong Armed Forces.

Go India Go! We Want Freedom!

Authorities imposed the indefinite curfew ahead of a separatist rally planned for Monday, but thousands of people defied the order in the latest in a series of demonstrations against Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan region.

In Srinagar, Kashmir’s summer capital, a 60-year-old man was killed and his son critically wounded when police fired at a group of protesters, police said.

On Saturday evening, hundreds of Muslims took to the streets in Srinagar carrying torches and shouting: “Go India go! We want freedom.”

Reuters

Chameleons

The mainstream politicians, scared of being the target of public ire, are talking the good talk these days. Be it Abdullah or Mufti, both of them have supported the Hurriyat demand of opening of trade routes between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, revocation of special powers to the forces in Kashmir, release of prisoners languishing in Jails and even of Azadi. What one remains amazed at is that were they blind till now to the true desire of every Kashmiri? Why did they, as the rest of the India, need to see hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris on roads to know what the heart desires? Abdullah has dared to speak about Azadi, only after some prominent Indians have done so. Are they so naïve to think that a Free Kashmir will put the reigns of power in their hands?! That will never happen! Ms. Mufti & Mr. Abdullah should better keep quite and not indulge in chameleon talk, for they have damaged the cause of Kashmir like no other.