Genocide in Kashmir

[Dubious]

Human rights in Kashmir ‘international issue’: UK

Thousands stage anti-India protest outside UK Parliament

https://nation.com.pk/NewsSource/agencies
Agencies
September 04, 2019



London - New British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told the House of Commons that the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir following the lockdown of the region by the Modi government for over four weeks is “an international issue”.
READ MORE: Textile industry ready to adopt renewable energy solution
As soon as the UK parliament commenced proceedings on Tuesday after a long summer recess, a barrage of aggressive questions from around 15 MPs greeted Raab from all sections of the house on the Modi administration’s treatment of people in Kashmir following abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. The questioners included Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, who raised the matter of unlawful “detentions” by Indian authorities. Replying to a question from Steve Baker, Conservative MP from Whycombe, Raab said, “The issue of human rights is not just a bilateral, or domestic issue for India or Pakistan - it is an international issue.” He added, “We should, with all our partners, expect internationally recognised standards of human rights to be complied with and respected.”

Anne Main, another Conservative MP, compared the state of affairs in Kashmir to the Rohingya crisis. However, Raab repeatedly made statements which queried the BJP government’s democratic and human rights credentials.

“We are concerned about the situation in Kashmir...It is important that internationally recognised human rights are fully respected...There are duties owed to the international community at large, and we will certainly be scrutinising the situation carefully to see that those rights are respected...I raised concerns about the situation with Indian FM Jaishankar on August 7.” Raab’s comment in the Commons amounted to a distinct ratcheting up of Britain’s concern about the Modi government’s move in Kashmir.

Meanwhile, thousands of British Pakistani and Kashmiri community members held a big demonstration outside the United Kingdom Parliament on Tuesday, and strongly condemned the ongoing brutalities and gross human rights violations and atrocities against defenceless people of Indian occupied Kashmir and complete lockdown of the occupied valley.

The participants comprising Lords, members of parliament, Councillors and people belonging to different walks of life including men, women and children chanted anti-India, anti-Modi and pro-Kashmir freedom movement slogans.
They also called upon the international community, peace and democracy-loving nations including the United Kingdom to mount pressure on India to bring an end to atrocities and massive violations of human rights by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi led fascist Indian government, against the defenseless people of Indian occupied Kashmir, who were struggling for freedom from Indian subjugation and their birthright to self determination granted to them by United Nations Security Council some 22 years ago.

Human rights in Kashmir ‘international issue’: UK

London - New British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told the House of Commons that the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir following the lockdown of

nation.com.pk

 

[Dubious]

British MPs ask UN, UK to act on Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: A delegation of British parliamentarians that visited Pakistan this week have asked the United Nations and the British government to take notice of the grave atrocities being inflicted on the people of the Indian Occupied Kashmir by a fascist and racist regime of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.


The delegation, headed by Khalid Mahmood MP (Labour-Perry Barr, Birmingham), included Stephen Timms, Labour MP and member Select Committee on Exiting Europe and Imran Hussain MP and Shadow Justice Minister.

Invited by Jawad Sohrab Malik, a British-Pakistani businessman, to show solidarity with the people of Indian Occupied Kashmir, the delegation called on President Arif Alvi and Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi to discuss the latest situation in the Occupied Kashmir and how the international influencers could play their part in making India realise the blatant mistake made by abrogating the special constitutional status promised by India to the people of Kashmir. The delegates held meetings with senior government officials as well.
Mahmood, who is also Shadow Minister for Europe, urged the British government and United Nations to lend their vociferous support on the issue. “We want the safeguarding of human rights of people of Occupied Kashmir where a complete communication blackout has been put in place. We ask the British government to raise its voice over the issue and play its role in this regard. Apart from British government, we ask [the] United Nations, if they want to be fit for purpose then they will have to raise their voice in support of Kashmir issue.”

Jawad Malik pointed out that British parliamentary delegation visited the Line of Control (LoC) and also registered their protest besides playing a pivotal role in highlighting the Kashmir issue and people of Kashmir and Pakistan were grateful to them. “Even Prime Minister Imran Khan has given the same directives as he has become an ambassador of the Kashmir issue and has been highlighting the issue at every fora. It is our moral duty to play our part in this regard as well,” he added.
During meetings, Stephen Timms also expressed concern over the deteriorating situation in the Indian-held Kashmir saying India was violating human rights in the territory and it was important that international observers were accorded access to the area in order to gauge the level of human rights abuses. He hoped the world would take notice of the worsening situation before it deteriorates into anything serious between the two nuclear-armed neigbours.
It merits mentioning that the current visit by the British parliamentary delegation was not the first one organised by Jawad Malik. Three leading British parliamentarians including the former cabinet minister and Conservative Party chairperson Saeeda Warsi, and Labour MPs Naz Shah and Faisal Rashid, had visited Pakistan in March as well on Malik’s invite to discuss ways and means to enhance bilateral trade and boost economic ties between Britain and Pakistan.

British MPs ask UN, UK to act on Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: A delegation of British parliamentarians that visited Pakistan this week have asked the United Nations and the British government to take notice of the grave atrocities being inflicted...

www.thenews.com.pk

 

[Mangus Ortus Novem]

@Dubious my dear Pak,

Great share... we need to keep it up to date... hopefully, more Paks will contribute..and moderators here would respect the suffering, Genocide of PakKashmiris in IoJK and won't allow trollling.

Keep up the great work!


@I.R.A @PakSword @Shazam

 

[Shazam]

Why are the human rights organizations around the world wary of Indian lock down in Kashmir? Because they know the history of the region and what Indian Army is Capable of due to its extremely heinous track records, not least of which is the genocide of Muslims of Jammu region where the majority 60% Muslim population was ethnically cleansed and forced to flee. The demography of Jammu was thus changed from Muslim Majority to Hindu Majority by state terrorism using Indian forces as a tool of genocide back in 1947. The event is known as Jammu Massacre of 1947:


The forgotten massacre that ignited the Kashmir dispute

In November 1947, thousands of Muslims were killed in Jammu by paramilitaries led by the army of Dogra ruler Hari Singh.
by Rifat Fareed
6 Nov 2017

Some 17 million people were displaced during the partition of British India into India and Pakistan [File: Max Desfor/AP Photo]
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Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir - The family of Israr Ahmad Khan lived through the massacre of Jammu in what was then part of the princely state of Kashmir. He recalls that many of his relatives were killed during the violence that followed months after British rule over Indian sub-continent ended.
"My father was young then and other immediate family members were in Kashmir at that time. But many of my relatives were brutally killed," the 63-year-old told Al Jazeera.
"To be honest that was a mad period. There was no humanity shown at that time," Khan, who retired as senior police officer, said at his home in Jammu.
In November 1947, thousands of Muslims were massacred in Jammu region by mobs and paramilitaries led by the army of Dogra ruler Hari Singh.
The exact number of casualties in the killings that continued for two months is not known but estimates range from 20,000 to 237,000 and nearly half million forced into displacement across the border into the newly created nation of Pakistan and its administered part of Kashmir.
Khan said many of his relatives had escaped to Pakistan, where they continue to live. "The incident divided families. There were a lot of Muslims in Jammu but now you won't find many," he said.
The killings triggered a series of events, including a war between two newly independent nations of India and Pakistan, which gave birth to Kashmir dispute.
The killings took place when millions of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs were crossing the border from the one side to the other, as part of British-designed plan to partition the subcontinent into India and Pakistan.
"The immediate impact (of partition) was in Jammu. The Muslim subjects from different parts of Jammu province were forcibly displaced by the Dogra Army in a programme of expulsion and murder carried out over three weeks between October-November 1947," Idrees Kanth, a fellow at International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam, who researched the 1940s history of Kashmir, told Al Jazeera.
In mid-October, the Dogra Army troops began expelling Muslim villagers from Jammu province. The refugees were sent on foot toward West Punjab (later to form part of Pakistan), where most were accommodated in refugee camps in the districts of Sialkot, Jhelum, Gujrat and Rawalpindi.
On November 5, Kanth said, the Dogra Army soldiers began another organised evacuation of the Muslims but "instead of taking them to Sialkot, as they had been promised, the trucks drove them to forest hills of Rajouri districts of Jammu, where they were executed".
Kanth added that there may have been a systematic attempt by the dying Dogra regime to ensure that records of the incident are destroyed and made it a lesser known massacre of the partition.
"I guess as happens with certain events, they got lost to history and resurface at a later time and in that sense they sort of rewrite our memory of the past. I would say the particular incident was sort of lost on us to a great extent until the post 1990s when the event was resurrected as yet another example of Dogra regime's communal politics," Kanth said.

'Demographic changes'

The historians say that the killings carried out by the Hindu ruler's army and Sikh army was a "state sponsored genocide" to bring out demographic changes in Jammu - a region which had an overwhelming population of Muslims.
"The massacre of more than two lakh (two hundred thousands) Muslims was state-sponsored and state supported. The forces from Patiala Punjab were called in, RSS (a right-wing Hindu organisation) was brought to communalise the whole scenario and kill Muslims," said PG Rasool, the author of a book The Historical Reality of Kashmir Dispute.
The Muslims, who constituted more than 60 percent of the population of Jammu region, were reduced to a minority after the killings and displacement.
He said that when the then Indian Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdullah met a delegation of Muslims in Jammu, they were told about the "tragic events" but they preferred to remain silent.
"They didn't want that people in Kashmir - which had a Muslim majority from the beginning - should know about it because it could have led to demonstrations. The state from the beginning has tried to cover up it. I don't call it massacre but it was a staged genocide that is unfortunately not talked about," he said.
"They thought even if they lose Kashmir at least they should get Jammu and the only way was to have a Hindu majority."
Muhammad Ashraf Wani, a professor of History at the University of Kashmir, said that the Muslims in Jammu "do not talk about it because they fear for their survival".
"This is the worst tragedies in the history of Kashmir but unfortunately no one talks about it because the state doesn’t want anyone to remember it," Wani said.
Khurram Parvez, a noted human rights defender in Kashmir, told Al Jazeera that the perpetual conflict in Kashmir has its roots in 1947 massacre. "It is deliberately forgotten. Actually, the violence of that massacre in 1947 continues. Those who were forced to migrate to Pakistan have never been allowed to return," he said.
Five days after the Jammu killings, tribal militias from Pakistan’s North Western Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), where many of the Jammu Muslims had family ties, invaded Kashmir.
As the army of tribesmen rushed to Kashmir, the army of Dogra monarch fled to Jammu. The king Hari Singh signed the instrument of accession with New Delhi, which sent its army to fight the tribesmen.
The fighting of several weeks between tribesmen and Indian Army eventually led to first India-Pakistan war. When New Delhi and Islamabad agreed to a ceasefire in January 1948, the formerly princedom of Jammu and Kashmir was divided between the two countries.
The conflict born in 1947 has led to three wars between India and Pakistan. An estimated 70,000 people have been killed in the violence in past three decades since the armed revolt against Indian rule broke out in the region in 1989.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS

 

[TsAr]

Its going to be a long fight. This is our responsibility that this time the Kashmir issue does not die down.

 

[Khafee]

The other side of the coin
September 3, 2019

Tariq A. Al-Maeena


My recent articles on Kashmir have evoked a wide range of responses that keep trickling into my mailbox. The majority seems to be in agreement with my alarm at the course of action the Indian government has chosen to take in their dealings with the previously semi-autonomous state of Kashmir. Kashmir, for those who are not yet aware, is in a state of siege followed by days of news blackouts and a massive inflow of Indian army personnel to quell any possible uprising.

Last week in my column I highlighted a response from an Indian who expressed his heart-wrenching feelings about the Indian action in Kashmir. This week in the interest of fairness, I chose to display another letter, this one from Suresh, an Indian who strongly objected to my writing and views on the state of affairs in Kashmir.

Suresh writes: “Dear Tariq. I am not sure if you are a journalist – ‘Use of cluster bombs on civilians in Kashmir’. Where do you get such information? What is worse is that you are lying; cluster bombs have never been used on citizens. You have a forum that allows you to share information through the newspaper, but not lies. I hope Allah does not show any mercy for liars like you. India using cluster bomb? Do you have any proof of that? Are you pushing lies as a journalist? If so, then that is bad.”

My reply to him was that I felt that India was on a straight path to fascism with what they are doing in Kashmir, and if he chooses to believe all the fake news on pro-government Indian media, then I truly felt sorry for him.

Suresh responded: “Let me try to build a case here. There are about 54 or 56 ‘Islamic countries’, but only two of them have a democratically elected government. Unfortunately, it is people like you who only see the world through the prism of Islam and Muslims and everyone else does not matter.

“Sir, did you know that minorities get a lot more privileges in India than the majority. Do you know that the minority in Pakistan was over 27 percent at the time of partition and that currently it is less than 2 percent and living under oppression?

“Almost every Islamic country does not treat its religious minority properly. The government of India embraces all religious entities and has one of the highest populations of Muslims who are doing extremely well in comparison to the neighbors of India.

“Did you know that India gives millions of dollars in subsidy for Haj pilgrims? Can you imagine any other country appeasing a minority in this way? The government of India controls the temples but not the religious buildings of Islam or Christianity.

“Did you know that Pakistan was part of India and when they were separated from India, they invaded Kashmir and currently occupy it? Article 370 was temporary, but India making a decision on its land is considered wrong in the eyes of Muslims like you.

“It is surprising that people from countries who do not allow women to drive or to vote are suggesting to a democratic India what is right and what is not.

“Did you know that women do not have equal rights with men in Kashmir because of Article 370? I am sure in your book it might be okay, but that is the not the case in a pluralistic India.

“Pakistan sends terrorists to India (with the support of the military) and your Holy Qur’an says killing one is equivalent to killing all of humankind. Think deeply if one should align with a country that sends out death messengers. It is easy to throw around terms like fascism, but if one follows the intended tenets of the Holy Qur’an, then he should not spread lies like carpet or cluster bombing when they are not true. -Suresh.”

Well, Suresh, I appreciate the time you took to write all of this and I respect your right to your opinion. However, I do not agree with all that you have said. This is not about Pakistan. The basic issue as I see it is that the overwhelming majority of the people of Kashmir reject the recent BJP government moves and the manner in which they took place, and that is a sure path to a fascist India.

The author can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena

The other side of the coin

The other side of the coin

saudigazette.com.sa

 

[I.R.A]

Suresh responded: “Let me try to build a case here. There are about 54 or 56 ‘Islamic countries’, but only two of them have a democratically elected government. Unfortunately, it is people like you who only see the world through the prism of Islam and Muslims and everyone else does not matter.

“Almost every Islamic country does not treat its religious minority properly. The government of India embraces all religious entities and has one of the highest populations of Muslims who are doing extremely well in comparison to the neighbors of India.

“It is surprising that people from countries who do not allow women to drive or to vote are suggesting to a democratic India what is right and what is not.

@Mangus Ortus Novem sir, as I said already, thinking that threat is to the land only would be blunder. The sentences you read above are polite version of extremist sentiments against Muslims and their countries.

“Sir, did you know that minorities get a lot more privileges in India than the majority. Do you know that the minority in Pakistan was over 27 percent at the time of partition and that currently it is less than 2 percent and living under oppression?

“Did you know that India gives millions of dollars in subsidy for Haj pilgrims? Can you imagine any other country appeasing a minority in this way? The government of India controls the temples but not the religious buildings of Islam or Christianity.

I want this false narrative and propaganda to be destroyed by Pakistani State, I want Pakistan to at least inform every Muslim country not to fall for this "we have millions of Muslims ourselves and we take care of them".

 

[Khafee]

@Mangus Ortus Novem sir, as I said already, thinking that threat is to the land only would be blunder. The sentences you read above are polite version of extremist sentiments against Muslims and their countries.





I want this false narrative and propaganda to be destroyed by Pakistani State, I want Pakistan to at least inform every Muslim country not to fall for this "we have millions of Muslims ourselves and we take care of them".

However, I do not agree with all that you have said. This is not about Pakistan. The basic issue as I see it is that the overwhelming majority of the people of Kashmir reject the recent BJP government moves and the manner in which they took place, and that is a sure path to a fascist India.

And the answer - a tight slap!

 

[Shazam]

Global Opinions
‘Our children are in jail’: How India is keeping Kashmir isolated and in fear

A security guard stands at a roadblock in Kashmir on Aug. 7. (Rakesh Bakshi/AFP/Getty)
By Rana Ayyub

September 5 at 10:51 AM
Rana Ayyub is an Indian journalist and author of “Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up."

On Aug. 6, days after the Indian government revoked Kashmir’s special status, Mohammed Ashiq, 13, had gone to sleep on the carpet of his family’s modest home after playing with the lamb his father had brought home to sacrifice on Eid al-Adha, which was a week away. Late that night, he heard a loud scream followed by some noises on the roof of his house. His mother rushed to his side before a group of men in uniform barged in. His father, Yunus Mohammed, told me in an interview during my recent visit to Kashmir that a man with a red mask on his face entered, followed by close to 30 officers from the Jammu and Kashmir police. Six or seven police vans stood outside the house. “They snatched my young boy from my wife’s arms and started beating him,” Mohammed said. “They asked him to give the whereabouts of stone pelters.”

Ashiq was dragged out of the house and thrown into a police van, which disappeared into the darkness. The next morning, when his father went to the police station, Ashiq had red eyes from crying through the night. He told his father that the officers had tied his hands to a pole and beat him with a stick all night. When I reached Ashiq’s house, his parents were reluctant to talk. After much persuasion, they called Ashiq, who had been playing cricket with his friends outside. He removed his T-shirt, drenched in sweat, to show the cuts and bruises covering his back. He screams in pain when his father tries to touch one of the wound marks. “The SP saheb (superintendent of police) beat me the night I was dragged to the police station," he told me. "There were other boys in the van. When I told them I studied in class eight in school and knew nothing about the protests, they would start beating me again.”

Ashiq’s father, who runs a fruit shop, said he wanted to file a complaint against the police — but he knows there cannot be justice from this government that claims to be liberating the valley but is attempting to crush the spirit of every Kashmiri. After 18 days of detention, Ashiq was released with physical and psychological scars that he will carry the rest of his life. The lamb that was brought to be sacrificed is still tied in the veranda.

Outside the Rajbagh Police station in Srinagar, hundreds of anxious parents waited to get a glimpse of their children, who have been rounded up and detained. Officers surrounded mothers as they wept, carrying food for their children.

“At least tell me if he is alive,” asked Rukhsana. His 18-year-old son was also picked up from Mehju Nagar. Close to 3,000 people have been detained in Kashmir — many of them children — since Aug. 4, when a curfew and communication blackout were imposed in the valley. It has now been a month, and many locals have no reliable information about their future. Fear and uncertainty permeate the atmosphere.

As we drove to Parigaam on the way to Pulwama, we were stopped at various checkpoints by the Central Paramilitary forces who have covered every inch of Jammu and Kashmir with their guns and concertina wire. Civilian movement is restricted to emergency services, and long stretches of silence followed as we drove on deserted roads. In Parigaam, we asked a local about Muzaffar Ahmed, a young man we were told was recently released from detention. The man in front of his closed cellphone store asked: “Are you from the media?”
We answered yes, and he began screaming at our driver, asking us to leave. “Do you guys have any shame?” he yelled. “You journalists dance on television that everything is normal here while we are being killed and silenced. Our children are in jail and have been disappeared and you tell the world that all is good, that we are rejoicing!”

The Indian media is viewed with suspicion and anger in Kashmir. There is growing resentment over the skewed coverage — most journalists have resorted to simply reproducing official government lies. Gulfam Wani, a local baker, asked me, “How does the Indian media sleep at night with this propaganda against us Kashmiris every day?”

A few miles ahead, I met Muzaffar Ahmed. He is 20 and works with his father and brother in a local bakery in Parigaam. His father, Shabbir, told us that on Aug. 6 members of the Rashtriya Rifles, a security unit deployed in the valley, knocked on the door. They came in a mine-resistant vehicle used by the Indian army. They started breaking the windows of his house. Muzaffar told me the officers were drunk. Close to 30 officers ransacked the house. They showered expletives on the family. One of them held Muzaffar by the neck and asked, "Where are your accomplices?” He dragged Muzaffar to the local mosque and asked him to throw stones at it. When Muzaffar refused, they beat him again. “Throw stones at the mosque, like you throw stones at us,” he said they told him.

The Ahmed brothers were beaten for two hours before they were taken to the central jail. Muzaffar told me that once there, they were beaten for hours with a bamboo stick. When they went unconscious, they were woken up with electric shocks. He shows me his burnt skin. The two brothers were held for 20 days. After they were released, Shabbir put them in a tempo and hurried them to a hospital in Srinagar. The doctor told him that his son barely survived with his spine. Muzaffar, who prayed five times a day in the local mosque, broke down: “They have broken my bones; I cannot prostrate myself before Allah.”

He is still looking for answers. Why was he arrested? He said he has never taken part in a single protest. His father wanted to know how the family will survive with his two working sons severely disabled.
Muzaffar’s mother invited me inside the house. She asked whether I can protect her daughter-in-law. “They were drunk, and they kept asking for my daughter-in-law,” she said of the officers. “I fear they will come again.”

I spent four days in Kashmir before I had to leave for Delhi to file this. I have been visiting the valley for the past 15 years, but I had never seen these levels of resentment and anger toward the Indian state. I asked Kashmiris whether they would like to send their children away from the valley to protect them. They laughed.
“Look at the hatred on display for Indian Muslims in the rest of the country. You think they will let Kashmiris live?” Ashiq’s father told me. “Our children are being thrown out of colleges, from their homes in your India.” (This month, a 24-year-old Kashmiri doctor was denied accommodation by a hotel in New Delhi, which cited an alleged WhatsApp message from the government that asked to refuse space to Kashmiris.)

Right after my return, I sent out a tweet about the current injustices in Kashmir. It sparked outrage. Imtiyaz Hussain of the Jammu and Kashmir police called my tweet baseless and alarming. In the past three weeks, Hussain has been discrediting reports by international news organizations — including the the Wall Street Journal and the BBC — as propaganda.

India, like Hussain, has decided to overlook the suffering of a besieged population of 8 million. While Kashmiris remain trapped and isolated, facing persecution and torture, Indians relax in their living rooms to watch the news and congratulate themselves for another “victory” in the name of “stability and prosperity.”

 

[TsAr]

PM Imran, Army Chief Bajwa visit LoC, meet troops and martyrs' families: ISPR


Prime Minister Imran Khan, accompanied by Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, visited the Line of Control (LoC) on Friday on the occasion of Defence and Martyrs Day.
According to a brief statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations, the premier was also accompanied by Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Chairman of Special Committee on Kashmir Syed Fakhar Imam.




During their visit, the prime minister was "briefed on the ongoing situation [at the] LoC".


"The PM lauded the state of readiness and effective response to Indian CFVs [ceasefire violations]," a press statement by ISPR said.


Prime Minister Imran, along with the army chief, also interacted with troops and met the families of martyrs.


"India's deliberate targeting of unarmed civilians in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and continued siege of innocent Kashmiris in India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir are the worst examples of human rights violations," Director General ISPR Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, in a tweet, quoted the premier as saying.


This year, Defence and Martyrs Day is also being observed as Kashmir Solidarity Day.


Tensions between Pakistan and India are high since last month, when ISPR said that Indian forces had used cluster munitions to target the civilian population in Azad Jammu and Kashmir from across the LoC; in violation of the Geneva Convention and international law.


Relations worsened when New Delhi repealed Article 370 of the Indian constitution, stripping occupied Kashmir of its special status. Instances of ceasefire violations by Indian forces from across the LoC have also increased and have resulted in casualties of both, civilians and soldiers.

 

[Khafee]

U.S. urges easing of restrictions and political engagement in Kashmir
by Sriram Lakshman
Washington DC, September 06, 2019

A Kashmiri woman walks on a deserted road during restrictions in Srinagar on August 25, 2019. | Photo Credit: Reuters

The U.S. government has expressed its continuing concern over the situation in Kashmir following India’s abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, a move which stripped the State’s special status, and the ensuing restrictions in place in the region.

“We continue to be very concerned by widespread detentions, including of local political and business leaders, and the restrictions on the residents of the region,” State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said.
Ms. Ortagus’s comments were emailed to The Hindu.

“We are also concerned about reports that Internet and mobile phone access continues to be blocked in certain regions,” she said.

“We urge the authorities to respect human rights and restore access to services such as the Internet and mobile networks. We look forward to the Indian government’s resumption of political engagement with local leaders and the scheduling of promised elections at the earliest opportunity,” she stated.

The U.S. has , since August 5, been monitoring the situation in Kashmir and made comments and released statements, both from Washington DC and New Delhi on the issue.

The Indian Embassy in Washington DC had also consistently sent out a message that Article 370 is an internal matter of India, that it was undertaken for socio-economic development and good governance reasons and that restrictions are being progressively eased.

"Some of our detractors are spreading false rumors, including through the U.S. media and it is malicious in nature,” Indian Ambassador Harsh Vardhan Shringla told The Washington Times.

Earlier in the week, the Indian Embassy released a video in which Mr. Shringla said, the media, especially the U.S. media, were putting out “half-truths, untruths, factually incorrect information".

The most widely-circulated U.S. newspapers and media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Post and The New York Times have carried reports highlighting the difficulties caused by the current restrictions in Kashmir.

U.S. urges easing of restrictions and political engagement in Kashmir

India News:U.S. urges easing of restrictions and political engagement in Kashmir

www.thehindu.com

 

[Dubious]

The other side of the coin
September 3, 2019

Tariq A. Al-Maeena


My recent articles on Kashmir have evoked a wide range of responses that keep trickling into my mailbox. The majority seems to be in agreement with my alarm at the course of action the Indian government has chosen to take in their dealings with the previously semi-autonomous state of Kashmir. Kashmir, for those who are not yet aware, is in a state of siege followed by days of news blackouts and a massive inflow of Indian army personnel to quell any possible uprising.

Last week in my column I highlighted a response from an Indian who expressed his heart-wrenching feelings about the Indian action in Kashmir. This week in the interest of fairness, I chose to display another letter, this one from Suresh, an Indian who strongly objected to my writing and views on the state of affairs in Kashmir.

Suresh writes: “Dear Tariq. I am not sure if you are a journalist – ‘Use of cluster bombs on civilians in Kashmir’. Where do you get such information? What is worse is that you are lying; cluster bombs have never been used on citizens. You have a forum that allows you to share information through the newspaper, but not lies. I hope Allah does not show any mercy for liars like you. India using cluster bomb? Do you have any proof of that? Are you pushing lies as a journalist? If so, then that is bad.”

My reply to him was that I felt that India was on a straight path to fascism with what they are doing in Kashmir, and if he chooses to believe all the fake news on pro-government Indian media, then I truly felt sorry for him.

Suresh responded: “Let me try to build a case here. There are about 54 or 56 ‘Islamic countries’, but only two of them have a democratically elected government. Unfortunately, it is people like you who only see the world through the prism of Islam and Muslims and everyone else does not matter.

“Sir, did you know that minorities get a lot more privileges in India than the majority. Do you know that the minority in Pakistan was over 27 percent at the time of partition and that currently it is less than 2 percent and living under oppression?

“Almost every Islamic country does not treat its religious minority properly. The government of India embraces all religious entities and has one of the highest populations of Muslims who are doing extremely well in comparison to the neighbors of India.

“Did you know that India gives millions of dollars in subsidy for Haj pilgrims? Can you imagine any other country appeasing a minority in this way? The government of India controls the temples but not the religious buildings of Islam or Christianity.

“Did you know that Pakistan was part of India and when they were separated from India, they invaded Kashmir and currently occupy it? Article 370 was temporary, but India making a decision on its land is considered wrong in the eyes of Muslims like you.

“It is surprising that people from countries who do not allow women to drive or to vote are suggesting to a democratic India what is right and what is not.

“Did you know that women do not have equal rights with men in Kashmir because of Article 370? I am sure in your book it might be okay, but that is the not the case in a pluralistic India.

“Pakistan sends terrorists to India (with the support of the military) and your Holy Qur’an says killing one is equivalent to killing all of humankind. Think deeply if one should align with a country that sends out death messengers. It is easy to throw around terms like fascism, but if one follows the intended tenets of the Holy Qur’an, then he should not spread lies like carpet or cluster bombing when they are not true. -Suresh.”

Well, Suresh, I appreciate the time you took to write all of this and I respect your right to your opinion. However, I do not agree with all that you have said. This is not about Pakistan. The basic issue as I see it is that the overwhelming majority of the people of Kashmir reject the recent BJP government moves and the manner in which they took place, and that is a sure path to a fascist India.

The author can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena

The other side of the coin

The other side of the coin

saudigazette.com.sa

So this retarded Suresh suddenly invokes ALLAH'so wrath on liars but forgets India and modis lies? So wrath of Allah only works on Muslims?

I found that really funny and how he tried to make it about Pakistan vs India competition while forgetting the article was about Kashmir. ...shows he was fed limited B'S. ..to be recycled under any scenario

 

[I.R.A]

He is still looking for answers. Why was he arrested? He said he has never taken part in a single protest. His father wanted to know how the family will survive with his two working sons severely disabled.

As long as you are worried about your own survival, your sons will keep getting beaten for it.

Imtiyaz Hussain of the Jammu and Kashmir police called my tweet baseless and alarming. In the past three weeks, Hussain has been discrediting reports by international news organizations — including the the Wall Street Journal and the BBC — as propaganda.

I thought people believed that Hussain fought against the oppression.

The Indian Embassy in Washington DC had also consistently sent out a message that Article 370 is an internal matter of India, that it was undertaken for socio-economic development and good governance reasons and that restrictions are being progressively eased.

In which part of the world you have to put restrictions, beat, detain, kill, rape and injure people ......... because you wish to bring good to them?

 

[Lieutenant]

Thanks all for keeping us up to date on the ongoing development in Kashmir. While we understand the suffering of the Kashmiri people, we respectfully ask our members not to post graphic contents or if necessary use Spoilers with appropriate title.

Spoiler: Warning Graphic.

Nothing to see this is just an example.

Thanks again.

 

[Khafee]

Pakistan says Indian President Ram Nath Kovind's plane can't enter airspace: report
Decision comes at a time of high tension between nuclear-armed neighbors over J&K

Published: September 07, 2019 15:15 Last updated: September 07, 2019 19:14PTI, AFP

President Ram Nath KovindImage Credit: PTI


NEW DELHI: Islamabad has denied President Ram Nath Kovind permission to use its airspace for flying to Iceland amid tensions with New Delhi after it scrapped Jammu and Kashmir's special status last month, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said today.

According to news agency AFP, Qureshi attributed the reason for its decision to India's "recent behaviour" on bilateral issues.
India, however, contends that its decision on Jammu and Kashmir was a strictly internal matter that Pakistan has no right to question it. Indian Ministry of External Affairs' Raveesh Kumar said: "We regret the decision of Government of Pakistan to deny overflight clearance."

Raveesh Kumar, MEA in response to query regarding denial of overflight clearance for a VVIP special flight by Pakistan: We regret the decision of Govt of Pakistan to deny overflight clearance for the VVIP special flight which is otherwise granted routinely by any normal country. pic.twitter.com/Dlc5MaWhej
— ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2019

Ram Nath Kovind will embark on a tri-nation trip to Iceland, Switzerland and Slovenia from Monday, during which he is expected to brief the top leadership of those countries on issues such as cross-border terrorism.

According to Qureshi, the unusual decision to deny President Kovind permission to use the country's airspace was approved by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in view of the Kashmir situation.

Pakistan had closed its airspace to Indian traffic after an aerial dogfight following the Pulwama terror attack in February ratcheted up tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi.

However, it reopened its skies in July, ending months of restrictions that affected major international air routes

Pakistan says Indian President Ram Nath Kovind's plane can't enter airspace: report

Decision comes at a time of high tension between nuclear-armed neighbors over J&K

gulfnews.com