Kashmiri deaths

Regrettably the world at large, including lame duck OIC, has taken no notice of the unrest in the valley and of gross violations of human rights there. –Photo by Reuters

The rising number of civilian deaths in Indian held Kashmir highlights the failure of India’s policy that has relied on a coercive apparatus instead of political tools to crush the current wave of protests in Srinagar and elsewhere.

So far 15 people have been killed since trouble began in mid-June with the shooting to death of a schoolboy by Indian troops. It is significant that it is the urban areas which are the bastion of the Kashmiri unrest, the protesters being unarmed people. This says a lot about the character of the movement against Indian occupation and belies New Delhi’s claim that foreign elements are behind the stir. As top Kashmiri leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said the other day the struggle was indigenous and that “these killings will not deter us from pursuing our goal of independence”. If only the Indian leadership could grasp this truth.

Regrettably — and it is a measure of the failure of Islamabad’s diplomacy — the world at large, including lame duck OIC, has taken no notice of the unrest in the valley and of gross violations of human rights there. Fortunately, some human rights’ bodies, including those in India, keep tabs on the situation and do not fail to draw the world’s attention to the special ‘search and arrest’ powers which enable the Indian security agencies to suppress the Kashmiri people. Last week, Amnesty International asked the Indian government to hold an inquiry into the civilian deaths and take action both against security personnel and against protesters found involved in rights’ violations. New Delhi is now reported to be considering modifying if not withdrawing the special powers which the security personnel regularly abuse to deal with Kashmiris.

Force has failed to crush the Kashmiri people’s yearning for freedom. That New Delhi should abandon political means is stupefying. Even the Indian army chief had the good sense to declare that the situation in Kashmir needed a political solution. In a newspaper interview last month, Gen V.K. Singh, while claiming that the army had done its job, said, “Now the need is to handle the situation politically.” This is coming from the head of an army which has deployed a minimum of half a million troops in the valley to hold the Kashmiri people back.

Force has failed to crush the Kashmiri people’s yearning for freedom.

While the Indo-Pakistan relationship is bogged down in India’s Mumbai obsession, one hopes Pakistan’s foreign minister will make his Indian counterpart realise, when the two meet on July 15, that an end to the rights’ violations in the valley will help create an atmosphere conducive to forward movement on normalising Indo-Pakistan relations.

Legality of Indian Claim on Kashmir

Following the World War-II, there has been an unremitting resistance by the people of Subcontinent against the ruling British colonial power. Under the swelling pressure of the people of subcontinent, the British Government finally had to announce the partition of the Subcontinent on June 3, 1947. However, the British Parliament formally passed “The Indian Independence Act-1947” on July 17, 1947. As per provision of Article-I of the Independence Act, India was to be partitioned into two Dominions namely “India” and “Pakistan” from 15th day of August 1947.

However, Article 7 of the Indian Independence Act very clearly states that from 15th August 1947, “the suzerainty of His Majesty over the Indian states lapse and with it lapses all treaties and agreements in force at the date of the passing of this Act between His Majesty and the rulers of Indian states”. Consequent upon this, all powers and functions, which were exercisable by the British Government in relation to the Princely States, also ceased.

All agreements of British governments with either rulers or states also lapsed on 15th of August 1947. Since the state of Jammu and Kashmir was a Princely State with a special autonomous status, therefore, it can be very conveniently said that on 15th day of August 1947, the Maharaja Sir Hari Singh was not the permissible ruler of the state of Jammu and Kashmir as all his treaties with British India lapsed on that day. Once he was not a ruler of the state, he had no right to sign the instrument of accession (if at all he signed that) with the new Indian dominion. This title to the state was granted to him by the British Government (East India Company) under the Treaty of Amritsar (Kashmir Sale deed) signed on 16 March 1846 and lapsed on the appointed day of 15th August 1947.

Besides, on July 25, 1947 in his address to special full meetings of the Chamber of Princes held in New Delhi, Lord Mountbatten categorically told all princes of Princely States that they were practically free to join any one of dominions; India or Pakistan. He however clarified that, while acceding to any dominion they could take into account geographical contiguity and wishes of the people. In case of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, either of the above factors was favouring state’s accession to Pakistan, but Maharaja Hari Singh did not accept this basic precondition of accession.

Indian claim that its forces landed Srinagar Airport on October 27, 1947, only after signatures on Instrument of Accession by Maharaja and the Indian government is also fallacious. Indeed, a heavy contingent of Patiala State was involved in fighting against the Kashmiri rebellions in Uri Sector on 18 October 1947, which means that they were very much inside the State`s territory much earlier than October 27, 1947.

On 24 October 1947, Kashmiris formally declared their independence from Dogra Raj and established their own government with the name of Azad (Free) Kashmir Government. Following this Maharaja Hari Singh sent his deputy Prime Minister Mr. R.L. Batra to New Delhi for Indian military assistance to his Government against those revolted and tribal from NWFP who joined their brethrens against a tyrant rule. He (Batra) met the Indian Prime Minster and other prominent Indian leaders and requested for assistance without making any mention or promise of state’s accession to the Indian Union. The Indian government instead sent Mr. V.P Menon (Indian Secretary of State) to Kashmir to assess the situation on the spot by himself on 25 October 1947.

After assessing, the situation in Kashmir Mr. V.P Menon flew back to New Delhi on 26 October 1947, together with Kashmiri Prime Minster Mr. Mahajan, who met top Indian leadership, seeking military assistance. He was refused to get that until state’s formal accession with India. On this Kashmiri Premier threatened the Indian leadership that if immediate military assistance was not granted, he would go to Lahore for negotiations with Pakistani leadership over the future status of the state. In a parallel development, Sheikh Abdullah met Indian Premier, Jawaharlal Nehru, on the same day, October 26, 1947, who agreed to despatch military assistance to the Kashmir government.

As stated by Mahajan, the Kashmiri Prime Minister, that V.P. Menon accompanied him to convince Hari Singh for accession of the State with India on 27 October 1947. Under the compulsion, Hari Singh signed the instrument of accession on the same day i.e. 27 October 1947, which was later taken to Lord Mountbatten (Indian Governor General), who also signed that on the same day (27 October), which was practically difficult. V.P. Menon, however, states that all these formalities of signatures were completed on 26 October 1947, which is impracticable. This version, however, seems concocted as even contradicted by pro Indian Kashmiri Premier. Both however are unanimous on one point that Indian state forces landed at Srinagar airfield in the morning of 27 October 1947 and a battalion of Patiala State received them there, which was already there.

Has PTV started pushing RAW’s agenda?

— State television starts airing Indian movie songs
— National Television is barred officially to promote Indian culture
— India maintains complete ban on telecast of any Pakistani TV Channel including PTV across India

ISLAMABAD—While the Associated Press of Pakistan, the APP, is still probing as to how a press release, defending Indian Forces in Held Kashmir was released from the desks of state-run news agency, the last week, now the State-run television the Pakistan Television (PTV) appears to be pushing the agenda of the Indian government and its intelligence agency the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) as the entertainment wing of the States television the PTV Home has initiated airing the songs of Indian movies.

According to the details, the PTV Home, on Sunday, in its morning transmission’s program, Mashwara Muft (the said program was repeated on Monday, without any further editing), invited an Indian singer cum actress of Pakistani origin Salma Agha. During the program, an audience was also invited and live telephone calls were also taken. However, people who switched on their Television sets to PTV Home were shocked to see that Salma Agha was asked by the hosts to sing a rather vulgar song from an Indian movie, Kasam Paida Karnay Walay Kee. The host asked Salma Agha to sing the song Yeh Raat main jo Maza hai of the said movie and the viewers were informed properly that the song was from which Indian movie and was composed by which Indian music composer and after that, even before the singer started singing the said Indian song, the host herself started dancing to the tunes of the said song.

The Daily Mail’s findings indicate that there is crystal clear policy of the government of Pakistan that no State organization is allowed to promote the culture of India as it is in negation with Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Two-Nations Theory through which Pakistan was created. These findings reveal the State organizations like the PTV are completely barred from airing any Indian movie, Indian drama or any political or non political program that depicts the Indian culture or Indian government’s propaganda. During the last 60 years or so, PTV has never aired any Indian cultural program or Indian movie or song, following the clear standing policies of the government and constitutional obligations. The PTV was only allowed to air any Indian program under the SAARC Cultural Exchange Program and that too under an agreement while airing Indian movies dramas or movie songs were not allowed even under the SAARC Cultural Exchange agreement.

On the other side, the Indian government is maintaining an even stricter policy towards airing of Pakistani movies, dramas, movie songs or any program, depicting Pakistani culture. The Indian government, running a few extra miles in this direction, has imposed a very strict ban on all the cable operators regarding airing of any material of even any of Pakistan’s private television channels under any circumstances. Though many of Pakistani private television channels take immense pride in airing a variety of Indian movies, dramas and even TV commercials, yet India has never shown any relaxation in this direction.

Crackdown against youth in Indian Occupied Kashmir, dozens arrested

ISLAMABAD : Indian police and paramilitary personnel have arrested dozens of youth from occupied Srinagar, Pattan, Sopore and other areas during the house raids in the past several days in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK).

According to Kashmir Media Service, the residents of Nowhatta, Hawal and Gojwara in Srinagar staged protest demonstrations against the arrests. They demanded removal of the bunkers of the paramilitary CRPF troopers from the areas.

Residents of Srinagar, Palhalan, Sopore and other areas said that police and paramilitary CRPF troopers during peaceful demonstrations barge into residential houses, beat up inmates and smash their windowpanes without any rhyme and reasons.

“The troopers and police want to crush the voice of the people by atrocities and harassments, which made the life of people unsafe and insecure,” they said.

The residents demanding removal of the bunkers said, “This is not the case in isolation. Every time there are protests in the areas, CRPF personnel from the nearby camps and bunkers damage houses and beat up locals.” APP