KI April 20 PDF
KI April 20 PDF
KI April 20 PDF
Vol: 26 No. 04
Monthly April 2020
INSIGHT
N
arendra Modi-led communal Earlier on March 19, India also approved
government in New Delhi is furthering imposition of 37 central laws in occupied
the extremist Hindu organisation, Kashmir to further strengthen its control in the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s nefarious territory.
agenda of complete merger of occupied The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat
Kashmir with India and converting its Muslim Conference, Syed Ali Gilani, the Hurriyat
majority into a minority. Since coming into forum led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other
power in 2014, Modi government is leaving no Hurriyat leaders and organisations strongly
stone unturned to change the demographic denouncing the new domicile law deplored that
composition of the territory. India was hell-bent upon snatching everything
The repeal of Article 370 and Article 35-A of the from the people of Jammu and Kashmir
Indian Constitution that granted special including their identity, land and natural
status and rights to Kashmir and its citizens resources. Syed Ali Gilani said that the people
was the first major of Kashmir would
step towards resist the new
implementing this domicile law tooth
heinous plan. The
revocation of these
constitutional
EDITORIAL and nail. He also
asked the Kashmiris
not to sell their
provisions was properties to the
accompanied by Indians.
severe military It is a fact that India
lockdown in the occupied territory to stop intends to replicate the Israeli model of settler
people from protesting against this unilateral colonialism to turn Jammu and Kashmir into
illegal action. The occupation authorities another Palestine. The Indian move is a
further tightened the inhuman restrictions on violation of the UN Security Council
March 18 when the first positive case of resolutions, which clearly state that the future
coronavirus was reported in Srinagar in the status of Jammu and Kashmir would be
name of preventing spread of the disease, determined in accordance with the will of the
adding to the miseries of the oppressed people. Kashmiri people.
In the latest assaults on the Muslim majority New Delhi needs to realise the fact that its
status of occupied Kashmir, the Indian illegal, dictatorial and unilateral actions
authorities introduced new domicile rules. As cannot change the disputed status of Jammu
per these rules, a person who has resided in and Kashmir and that the only resolution of
occupied Kashmir for a period of 15 years or the Kashmir dispute is the granting of the
has studied for seven years shall be deemed to Kashmiris their internationally-recognised
be eligible to be issued the domicile of the right to self-determination. The international
territory. The domicile would also be given to community particularly the UN must take
the children of Indian Army personnel and cognisance of India’s illegal actions in the
government officials who have served in disputed territory and impress upon it to settle
Kashmir for ten years. The new law will provide the lingering Kashmir dispute in accordance
the Indian people legal justification to get with the Kashmiris’ aspirations for ensuring
permanently settled in the disputed territory. permanent peace in South Asia.
G
to announce the restrictions
pandemic, scores of families in occupied Kashmir are and asked the people to stay
worried about their jailed members, especially those in indoors. Shops, business
their old age with deteriorating health conditions. As the threat establishments and petrol
posed by the COVID-19 virus is alarming with over 1.4 million pumps were shut while public
infections and over 100,000 deaths across the world, another transport went off the road.
grave concern in Kashmir, apart from the fight against novel The train service was
coronavirus pandemic amid restricted internet, is the suspended. Educational
condition of hundreds of political prisoners languishing in institutions and all public
various prisons across India before and after the events of places, including
August 05, 2019. gymnasiums, parks, clubs
The lockdown in the occupied territory, which has been under and restaurants, were shut.
military siege since August 05, last year, was intensified on Occupied Kashmir continues
March 18, 2020 as the authorities scrambled to come up with a to be under lockdown since
strategy to contain the spread of coronavirus in the Valley, after August 05, 2019 when
a woman with travel history to Saudi Arabia tested positive for Narendra Modi-led
the disease. Strict restrictions on the movement and assembly government in New Delhi
of people were imposed across all districts of the territory. The revoked the special status of
deployment of Indian troops was reinforced and barricades, the territory and put it under
including concertina wire, were put in Srinagar and other military siege. Since then, the
places to ensure the restrictions and contain the public residents of the Kashmir
movement. Indian police used vehicles fitted with loudspeakers Valley are facing immense
Yasin Malik, Shabbir Ahmed human rights organisations, including the Amnesty
Shah, Masarrat Aalam Butt, International, expressed serious concern about the plight of the
Aasiya Andrabi, Nayeem illegally detained Kashmiris lodged in different jails of occupied
Ahmed Khan, Altaf Ahmed Kashmir and India amid growing coronavirus pandemic.
Shah, Peer Saifullah, Ghulam The All Parties Hurriyat Conference Chairman, Syed Ali Gilani,
Ahmed Gulzar, Fehmeeda in a statement issued in Srinagar urged the international
Sofi, Naheeda Nasreen, Qazi human rights organisations and the United Nations to put
Yasir Ahmed, Maulana pressure on India to release all illegally detained Kashmiri
Sarjaan Barkati, Muhammad Hurriyat leaders and activists and stop brutalities in occupied
Yasin Attai, and trade leader, Kashmir amid the outbreak of the deadly disease.
Muhammad Yasin Khan, He said that India had converted the entire occupied territory
Kashmir High Court Bar into a big jail. He maintained that New Delhi would never
Association President, Mian succeed to suppress the Kashmiris’ ongoing liberation
Abdul Qayoom, Jamaat-e- movement through inhuman tactics.
Islami chief, Dr Abdul The Hurriyat forum led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement
Hameed Fayaz, and Jamiat issued in Srinagar called for immediate release of all Kashmiri
Ahle Hadith leader, Maulana political prisoners and youth languishing in various jails across
Mushtaq Ahmed Veeri. India and the occupied territory to save them from getting
Holding innocent Kashmiris affected by the pandemic.
as political prisoners during Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir, led by Muhammad
I
n occupied Kashmir, Hurriyat leaders and organisations
intentions and have begun
strongly condemning Narendra Modi-led government’s move
their long-cherished plan to
of introducing a new domicile law, which is aimed at granting
change the Muslim majority of
permanent citizenship of the territory to Indian Hindus, have
Jammu and Kashmir into a
said that the move speaks volumes about the motives of
minority. He maintained that
Hindutva forces to change the demographic composition of
the only resolution of the
Kashmir and liquidate its Muslim identity.
Kashmir dispute was the
The new domicile law allows Indian citizens to get permanently
granting of right to self-
determination to the
Kashmiris, and no power on
earth can take away this right
from the people of Jammu and
Kashmir. He reiterated that
the Kashmiris’ fight would
continue till the dawn of
freedom.
Syed Ali Gilani said the Indian
government wants to make the
referendum issue meaningless
and alter the course of freedom
struggle. He pointed out that
India was following Israel and
intends to replicate the Israeli
settled in occupied Kashmir if they have worked in the territory
model of settler colonialism to
for 15 years or studied there for seven years. Children of federal
turn Jammu and Kashmir into
government employees will also get domicile certificates if their
another Palestine. He said, by
parents have lived in Kashmir for 10 years.
this new law, in the coming
Earlier on March 19, India also approved extension of 37 central
years Indians will first acquire
laws to occupied Kashmir that give more powers to both New
land forcibly and then set up
Delhi and its authorities in the occupied territory.
Hurriyat leaders and organisations denounced in strong terms settler colonies in the territory.
The Hurriyat forum led by
the new domicile law introduced by India in Kashmir to change
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a
the demographic composition of the territory. They also
statement in Srinagar said
expressed serious concern over the imposition of 37 more Indian
that the process to change the
laws on Jammu and Kashmir in an attempt to totally annex the
demographic character of
territory with India.
The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali occupied Kashmir started in
Gilani, in a statement issued in Srinagar warned India of dire August 2019 was being
consequences if it issued domicile certificates to its citizens. systematically carried forward
AJK leaders including Syed Council Europe, Ali Raza Syed, in a statement in Brussels said,
Abdullah Gilani, Muhammad Indian new law of domicile for occupied Kashmir to settle Indian
Farooq Rehmani, Syed Yousuf citizens in the territory, is unacceptable to the Kashmiris.
Naseem, Mehmood Ahmed Pakistan Foreign Office in a press statement issued in Islamabad
Saghar, Syed Faiz also condemned and rejected the introduction of new domicile
Naqshbandi, Altaf Hussain law, terming it an attempt by India to illegally change the
Wani, Abdul Majeed Malik, demographic structure of occupied Kashmir. “This is a clear
Abdul Majeed Mir, Altaf violation of international law, including the 4th Geneva
Ahmed Butt, Syed Aijaz Convention,” said the FO spokesperson, Aisha Farooqui. She
Rehmani and Zahid Ashraf in added that the latest Indian action was a continuation of its
their statements deplored that illegal and unilateral steps since August 05, 2019.
at a time the entire world was Earlier on March 19, 2020, India extended 37 central laws to
fighting the demon of occupied Kashmir that give more powers to both New Delhi and
coronavirus, Indian rulers its authorities in the occupied territory.
were busy usurping the rights
of Kashmiris. They termed the
new domicile law by India a
deep-rooted conspiracy to
dilute Kashmir’s Muslim
majority identity. They
warned that new law will
completely destroy the
demographic character of
occupied Kashmir as it will
allow the non-Kashmiris,
retired and serving Indian
Army men, Indian civil
servants working in Kashmir,
their children and other
Indians to settle in the These 37 Indian laws include The Advocates Act, 1961; The All
territory. India Services Act, 1951; The Ancient Monuments and
Kashmiri leaders, Professor Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958; The Census Act,
Nazir Ahmed Shawl and 1948; The Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017; The
Barrister Abdul Majeed Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952; The Family Courts Act, 1984;
Tramboo, in a joint statement The Income-Tax Act, 1961; The Indian Medicine Central Council
condemned the issuance of Act, 1970; The Real Estate (Regulation Development) Act, 2016;
the so-called notification by The Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867; The Code of Civil
India. They vowed that the Procedure, 1908; The Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Criminal
matter would be raised at all Procedure Code, 1973.
the intergovernmental forums Indian Cabinet had given a nod to implement these laws in
like the United Nations, OIC occupied Kashmir on February 26, this year.
and Commonwealth. It will It is to mention here that on August 05, 2019, the Modi
also be taken up at the government revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution thus
European and British repealing the special status of occupied Kashmir and splitting it
parliaments, they added. into two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The Chairman of Kashmir (KI Report)
intervene on Kashmir
remarks of the Indian Chief of
Defence Staff about
“deradicalisation" camps for
P
akistan continues its efforts to highlight the Kashmir since 12th December 2019;
dispute and the Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir, and stressed the possibility of
drawing attention of the United Nations and its Security India staging a ‘false flag'
Council towards the worst situation in the territory amid operation to divert
outbreak of coronavirus pandemic. international attention from
In line with the Government of Pakistan's efforts to highlight the grave human rights and
the dire human rights and humanitarian situation in occupied humanitarian situation in the
Kashmir, Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, occupied territory.
Furthermore, the foreign
minister highlighted
irresponsible statements by
the Indian leadership,
including by Prime Minister,
Narendra Modi, threatening
the use of force against
Pakistan.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi
particularly highlighted
India's machinations aimed at
changing the demographic
composition of occupied
Kashmir.
In this regard, he drew
attention to forcible
addressed another letter to the President of the United Nations confiscation of properties of
Security Council (UNSC) and the United Nations Secretary Kashmiris and allocation of
General (UNSG), invoking their attention to the developments over 6,000 acres of land to the
in the territory as well as belligerent Indian rhetoric and non-Kashmiris in clear
aggressive actions on the ground, the Foreign Office said in a violation of international law.
statement. The foreign minister also
The foreign minister has been regularly updating the UNSC underlined that the targeted
President and the UN Secretary General on the Indian actions killings of Muslims in New
in occupied Kashmir since 5th August 2019 that have posed a Delhi in February 2020 were
threat to peace and security in South Asia. directly attributable to the
In his recent letter, dispatched on 9th March 2020, the foreign majoritarian mindset and
minister inter alia rejected India's false narrative of “normalcy" supremacist and divisive
“Hindutva" ideology.
In his letter, Shah Mahmood
Qureshi made it clear that
durable peace and stability in
South Asia would remain
elusive without a just and
lasting resolution of the
Kashmir dispute.
As such, he underlined that
the UN Security Council must
remain seized of the Jammu
and Kashmir dispute and play
its role in enabling the people
of Jammu and Kashmir to
exercise their right to self- organisations and the civil society, particularly after the
determination as promised to increasing number of cases and deaths in the territory due to the
them under its relevant virus.
resolutions. On the other hand, Foreign Office spokesperson, Aisha
In further follow-up of the Farooqui, in an interview on March 26 maintained that Pakistan
foreign minister's letter, has urged the world to intervene on the situation in occupied
Pakistan has been calling for Kashmir amid the coronavirus outbreak as Kashmiris were
immediate lifting of being treated inhumanly by India.
communication restrictions Pakistan has written letters to the world capitals or spoken to
the top diplomats on the
issue in the recent days, she
told The Nation.
She said that Foreign
Minister, Shah Mahmood
Qureshi, took up the
Kashmir dispute with his
counterparts in and outside
the region.
“At this point, Kashmiris are
in dire need of help. The
world must intervene,” she
said.
Aisha Farooqui said
Pakistan calls upon the
Indian government to lift the
and unfettered access to communications blockade especially in view of the outbreak of
medical and other essential COVID-19 and reported cases of affected people in occupied
supplies in the wake of Kashmir.
outbreak of coronavirus in “Pakistan urges India to lift the blockade in the region in order to
occupied Kashmir. obtain full information on affected people and provision of
Similar voices have been essential items and medical supplies to the affected people,” she
raised by human rights said.
I
n occupied Kashmir, Hurriyat leaders and organisations
felicitated the people and the Government of Pakistan on as it was on this day in 1940
their National Day on 23rd March, 2020 and prayed for the when Quaid-e-Azam
prosperity, stability and security of Pakistan. Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his
The leaders in their statements and messages termed Pakistan colleagues firmly set on the
as a centre of hope for the oppressed Kashmiri people and the course to create an
Muslim Ummah. They lauded the unparalleled sacrifices independent state for the
rendered by the Muslims for the creation of Pakistan and Muslims of the region. They
said that it was the time when
such a goal was deemed
impossible as Hindutva forces
were forcefully opposing this
very idea, but the
determination of the then
leadership and unparalleled
sacrifices offered by the
Muslims of that time made it
possible.
Hurriyat leaders and
organisations including Bilal
Siddiqi, Shabbir Ahmed Dar,
Muhammad Farooq Rehmani,
Umar Aadil Dar, Farooq
Ahmed Tawheedi, Khawaja
Firdous, Ahmed Rathar,
described the country as Almighty Allah’s blessing for the Shaikh Ahmed, Syed Hussain,
Muslims. Abdul Majeed Malik, Abdul
The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Majeed Mir, Aijaz Rehmani,
Gilani, in a statement issued in Srinagar felicitated the people Imtiaz Wani, Khawaja Naeem-
and the Government of Pakistan on Pakistan Day and prayed for ul-Hassan and Jammu and
peace, security and prosperity of the country. Kashmir Islami Tanzeem-e-
He said that Pakistan was the centre of hope for the entire Azadi, in their separate
Muslim world and the Kashmiri people, who have been facing statements also greeted the
the Indian oppression for over seven decades, and this country people and the Government of
was Almighty Allah’s great blessing for the Muslims. Pakistan on their National
He said that Pakistan was created on the basis of a great vision Day. They thanked Pakistan
and the people of Kashmir were fighting and sacrificing their for highlighting the Kashmir
lives on daily basis for the survival of this vision. dispute and exposing Indian
The Chairperson of Kashmir Tehreek-e-Khawateen, Zamruda atrocities in occupied Kashmir
Habib, and General Secretary, Shamim Shawl, in their at all international forums.
statements said 23rd March holds great significance for the They said that Pakistan as an
ideological state had always the people of Jammu and Kashmir continue to remain deprived of
supported not only the just their right to self-determination due to India’s intransigent
cause of the people of Jammu approach on the Kashmir dispute.
and Kashmir but all other Meanwhile, President of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi, and Prime
oppressed and suppressed Minister, Imran Khan, reiterated Pakistan’s moral, political and
people across the world. They diplomatic support for the Kashmiris in their just struggle for
said that the Indian securing their right to self-determination.
authorities had crossed all The President and the Prime Minister in their separate messages
limits in occupied Kashmir on the Pakistan Day expressed unshakable support to the
and the Kashmiri people and oppressed people of occupied Kashmir who have been subjected
leadership were caged, hence to an inhuman lockdown since August 05, 2019.
it was the duty of the people of President Dr Arif Alvi assured the people of Jammu and Kashmir
Pakistan to represent their that Pakistan will stand shoulder to shoulder with them and will
aspirations at all global continue its moral, political and diplomatic support for their
forums. legitimate right to self-determination.
Various Sikh organisations Prime Minister, Imran Khan, said the Kashmir dispute is an
including Sikh Intellectual
Circle, Jammu and Kashmir
International Sikh
Federation, Sikh Students
Federation and Sikh Youth of
Jammu and Kashmir at a
meeting in Jammu while
greeting Pakistan on its
National Day said the
settlement of the Kashmir
dispute is the dream of the
Kashmiri people. They lashed
out at communal forces of
India for trying to create
hurdles in achieving that
objective.
Executive Members of
Organisation of Kashmir
Coalition, Professor Nazir incomplete agenda of the division of the subcontinent and
Ahmed Shawl and Barrister reiterated Pakistan’s unwavering moral, political and diplomatic
Abdul Majeed Tramboo, in support for the Kashmiris’ inalienable right to self-
their messages said that the determination.
historic resolution that was Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in his
adopted in Lahore on 23rd message on the Pakistan Day while paying homage to the vision
March 1940 became a reality of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, made a particular
in 1947 and a new geography mention of over eight million Kashmiris besieged by the Indian
was carved out under the forces in occupied Kashmir.
dynamic leadership of Quaid- He said that the Kashmiri people are suffering unimaginable
e-Azam Mohammed Ali hardships for the crime of yearning for Azadi (freedom). With an
Jinnah. They said a stable and iron-will, and with all the political, diplomatic and moral force at
strong Pakistan can become a its command, Pakistan will continue to stand by its Kashmiri
determining factor in global brethren till they achieve their cherished goal, he maintained.
politics. They deplored that (KI Report)
I
n occupied Kashmir, Hurriyat leaders and organisations to the gallows and urged the
have said that the Indian government will be responsible if international institutions and
anything untoward happened to the illegally detained ailing human rights organisations
Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Muhammad particularly the United
Yasin Malik, and urged the international community to put Nations to take notice of the
pressure on India to release him forthwith. ordeal of Muhammad Yasin
Muhammad Yasin Malik, who is lodged in New Delhi’s infamous Malik and play their role for the
Tihar Jail, is suffering from various ailments and is not keeping restoration of his rights.
well due to the inhuman treatment meted out to him and non- Syed Ali Gilani said that Yasin
provision of basic facilities, including proper medical care by the Malik had been making efforts
Indian authorities. for a peaceful resolution of the
Kashmir dispute for the past
many decades. He said that
the JKLF Chairman was
suffering from several
ailments and Indian
authorities had deprived him
of basic facilities, including
the medical care.
The Hurriyat forum led by
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a
statement issued in Srinagar
also expressed serious
concern over the declining
health of Muhammad Yasin
It merits mentioning here that on 15th March 2020, a TADA Malik in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
Court in Jammu unjustly framed charges against the JKLF The forum said that Yasin
Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik, and other Kashmiri Malik’s well-being was the
freedom leaders in a fake case registered against them around 30 responsibility of the Indian
years ago. Presiding Officer TADA Court, Subash C Gupta, government. It said that all
framed the charges against Muhammad Yasin Malik, Ali Kashmiri political leaders and
Muhammad Mir, Manzoor Ahmed Sofi, Javed Ahmed Mir, activists, traders, civil society
Saleem Nannaji, Javed Ahmed Zarger and Showkat Ahmed members, students and youth
Bakhshi without giving them proper opportunity to defend languishing in various jails of
themselves. India and occupied Kashmir
The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali should be released
Gilani, in a statement issued in Srinagar expressing concern immediately. It said that the
over the continued illegal detention of Muhammad Yasin Malik life of the detainees was at risk,
warned India that if anything happened to the JKLF Chairman, especially after the outbreak of
New Delhi would be responsible for it. coronavirus pandemic.
He said that India was plotting to send Muhammad Yasin Malik Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu
and Kashmir, led by Kashmir Democratic Political Movement, Khawaja Firdous, in his
Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, in statement expressed concern about the health of the JKLF chief.
a statement issued in He said that the international institutions must play their role in
Srinagar, expressed serious the release of all Kashmiri detainees, including Muhammad Yasin
concern about the well-being Malik.
of Muhammad Yasin Malik The Vice Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Ummat-e-Islami,
and other illegally detained Maulana Gulzar Ahmed Madni, in his statement issued in
Kashmiris lodged in different Srinagar urged the people of Kashmir to stand against the judicial
Indian jails amid growing victimisation of the Kashmiri leaders and register their protest
coronavirus. with the international community.
It said that thousands of General Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League, Molvi
families in occupied Kashmir Ahmed Rathar, and Vice Chairman, Syed Ejaz Rehmani, in their
were suffering due to the joint statement deplored that the Indian agencies were
continued illegal detention of implicating Yasin Malik in fake and baseless cases.
their loved ones. It said that Tehreek-e-Wahdat-e-Islami in a statement in Srinagar said that a
hundreds of Kashmiris had
been languishing in Indian
jails. It demanded that these
Kashmiri detainees should be
brought back to occupied
Kashmir on humanitarian
grounds to save them from
being affected by the
coronavirus.
The Chairman of Jammu and
Kashmir Tehreek-e-
Muzahamat, Bilal Siddiqi, in a
statement issued in Srinagar
denounced the charge-sheet
framed against Muhammad
Yasin Malik and other concocted charge-sheet framed against Muhammad Yasin Malik
Hurriyat leaders. He said that in a 30-year-old case once again showed that India was using its
the Indian government was judiciary to victimise the Kashmiris.
using its judiciary as a tool to Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Youth Social Forum, Umar
silence the Kashmiri Aadil Dar, in a statement in Srinagar said that on one hand, global
resistance leaders and leaders were taking all possible steps to combat the deadly
activists. coronavirus challenge, while on the other, Indian rulers were
The Chairperson of Jammu paying no heed to the calls for the release of innocent Kashmiri
and Kashmir Muslim detainees.
Khawateen Markaz, Yasmeen The World Kashmir Awareness Forum (WKAF) in a statement
Raja, in a statement in issued in Washington sought the intervention by the United
Srinagar said that India had Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation for
illegally detained Muhammad immediate release of Muhammad Yasin Malik.
Yasin Malik and was The WKAF demanded that the United Nations must force the
subjecting him to political government of India to allow Geneva-based International
vengeance. Commission of Jurists and a delegation of Kashmiri diaspora to
The Chairman of Jammu and travel to New Delhi to meet personally with Yasin Malik at an early
I
n occupied Kashmir, Hurriyat leaders said that the women worst victims of Indian state
across the world observed the International Women’s Day oppression. He said over
on March 08, 2020 but the oppressed women of Kashmir twenty-two thousand women
had nothing to commemorate as they continued to face in Kashmir have become
humiliation at the hands of Indian troops every day. widows during the last thirty
The Chairperson of Kashmir Tehreek-e-Khawateen, Zamruda years. He said women in
Habib, in a statement issued in Srinagar said, the world is Kashmir have lost their
talking about the empowerment of women but the women in husbands, sons and brothers
due to the Indian state
terrorism.
The Chairman of Jammu and
Kashmir Youth Social Forum,
Umar Aadil Dar, in a
statement in Srinagar said
that on the occasion of
International Women’s Day it
was sheer injustice to ignore
the women of occupied
Kashmir suffering at the
hands of Indian forces. He
said the women of
Kunanposhpora and several
other places who were raped
by Indian troops have been
denied justice till date and the
men in uniform are still
roaming free and even
judiciary has failed to punish
the culprits because men at
the helm of affairs provided
them shelter under draconian
the occupied territory were facing the humiliation every day. law, Armed Forces Special
“Our dear ones are killed every now and then. Innocent young Powers Act (AFSPA).
boys have been lodged in different jails without committing any The Acting Chairman of
crime, and their mothers are waiting for their early release,” Jammu and Kashmir Muslim
she added. League, Farooq Ahmed
The Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Movement, Mir Tawheedi, in a statement in
Shahid Saleem, addressing a function organised by a social Srinagar said that the United
organisation in Jammu to mark the World Women’s Day, said Nations claimed to protect
that the seven decades long Kashmir dispute had taken a women across the globe and
heavy toll on the women in occupied territory and they were the major countries of the world
conduct house-to-house
searches and subject the locals
to physical and mental torture.
Indian troops in their fresh act of
state terrorism martyr two
Kashmiri youth, Zubair Ahmed
Butt and Ishfaq Ahmed Butt,
during a siege and search
operation at Nowpora Frisal in
Kulgam district. One residential
house is also razed to the ground
by the troops.
May 26: Forceful anti-India
demonstrations are held in
Kulgam district against the territory. Senior APHC leader, Maulana Abbas Ansari, addressing a
killing of two youth, Zubair function organised by his party, Jammu and Kashmir Ittehad-ul-
Ahmed Butt and Ishfaq Ahmed Muslimeen, at Deewar in Pattan, deplores that India is using all
Butt. Indian paramilitary military means to suppress the Kashmiris’ just struggle for securing
personnel fire teargas shells on their right to self-determination.
the protesters to prevent them Indian police use brute force and arrest dozens of employees of Public
from marching towards the Health Engineering Department during a protest rally in Srinagar.
incident site. Around 60 employees are injured after police use water cannons and
Thousands of men, women and resort to brute force against the protesters.
children raising pro-freedom May 27: The veteran Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani, in a statement
issued in Srinagar demands removal of
Indian Army camps and firing ranges,
including Tosa Maidan, located in or near
civilian areas in the territory.
He says Hurriyet leadership is demanding
demilitarisation of whole Jammu and
Kashmir but the presence of army camps and
firing ranges in civilian areas is a serious
issue, which needs to be addressed
immediately. The veteran leader appeals to
the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to
impress upon New Delhi to fulfill its
responsibilities about properly disposing of
and anti-India slogans the unexploded shells.
participate in the funeral of the A peaceful protest demonstration in connection with the
martyred youth in Chakola area International Week of the Disappeared is held at Press Enclave in
of Shopian. Srinagar to demand the whereabouts of thousands of Kashmiri
Addressing the mourners over youth, who have been subjected to custodial disappearance by Indian
telephone from Srinagar, the troops and police in the territory. APHC leaders including Javed
veteran Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Ahmed Mir, Syed Bashir Andrabi, Hakeem Abdul Rasheed, Imtiyaz
Gilani, appeals to the Ahmed Reshi, Sufi Mushtaq, Jaffer Kashmiri and Advocate Abdul
international community to take Ahad Qadri lead the march.
a strong note of the killing and
arrest spree unleashed by the Compiled by: Showkat Ali
Indian Army and police in the To be continued...
Drang-Drung Glacier
The Drang-Drung Glacier is
accessible from Srinagar or
Srinagar Airport in two days of
drive by car or bus through
Srinagar-Leh Highway that
passes through the towns of
Ganderbal, Kangan,
Sonamarg and Dras. The
three-day journey from Leh-
Zanskar Valley is crammed
with natural marvels like
stunning glaciers, spectacular
mountain ranges and fruit
orchards. Kargil town is at the
half way distance and a
feasible place for a night halt.
T
he Drang-Drung Glacier also called Durung Drung From Kargil the glacier lies on
Glacier is a mountain glacier situated near the Pensi La the right side of Kargil-
Mountain Pass at the Kargil - Zanaskar Road in Kargil Zanaskar Road, which passes
district of Indian occupied Kashmir. through a gorge valley of Suru
A glacier is a big, sluggish stream of ice, bent from trampled River and under the shades of
sheets of snow, that gradually distorts and surges in accordance two mountain peaks of Nun
with gravity. and Kun. After crossing the
Drang-Drung glacier, a lengthy and meandering river of snow Pensi La Mountain Pass a
and ice, in Ladakh, is a popular tourist destination. It offers the trekking of one day from the
picturesque scenery of the snow-capped mountain peaks of the road leads to the head of
Himalayas that attracts many tourists and travelers. Drang-Drung Glacier. The
The Drang-Drung Glacier is likely to be
the largest glacier in Ladakh other than
Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram
Range, with a maximum length of 23
kilometers (14 miles) and at an average
elevation of 15,680 feet (4,780 meters).
It lies in the northeastern Himalayan
Range known as Zanskar Range,
situated 142 kilometers (88 miles) south
from Kargil and 331 kilometers (206
miles) east from Srinagar the capital of
occupied Kashmir.
The Drang-Drung Glacier is a source of
Stod River, which is a tributary of Zanskar River and Zanskar road is only open for traffic
River is a tributary of Indus River. The Doda Peak with an from the month of May to
elevation of 21,490 feet (6,550 meters) rises from the glacier. The September and remains closed
glacier in fact looks like a winding river from Pensi La, the rest of the year due to heavy
difference being that instead of water it is a river of ice. It is one of snowfall at Zojila and Pensi La
the major attractions of Zanskar region and augments the charm passes. The best time to visit is
of this adventure junky paradise. July to August.
T
here was once a poor man, who used to earn a few paisas
the dead. "Why do you weep?"
by cutting and selling wood. It was a hard struggle to
it said to the sorrowful
support his family comprising his wife and seven
company.
daughters. Never a bit of meat touched his lips, never a shoe
"Because our relative is dead;
covered his feet, and only a rag covered his back. One day, when
we shall never speak to it
not feeling very well, he lied down under a tree to rest. The lucky-
again," they replied.
bird ‘Huma’ happened to be flying about the place at the time,
"Weep not," said the strange
and, noticing the man's poverty and sickness, pitied him. So it
bird, “Your relative shall live
flew down beside him and deposited a golden egg by his bundle
again." Whereupon it placed
of wood. In a little while the woodcutter awoke, and seeing the
the piece of grass in the mouth
egg, picked it up and wrapped it in his handkerchief. He then
of the corpse, and it revived.
took up his load and went to the worn, who generally bought it.
When the bird ‘Huma’ revived
He also sold him the egg for a trifle. He did not know what a
and saw the woodcutter, it
wonderful egg it was; but the Woni knew, and asked him to go
severely upbraided him for his
and get the bird that laid it, and he would give him a rupee as a
faithlessness and
gift. The man promised, and on the following day went to the
carelessness. "I could have
jungle as usual to prepare his load of wood. On the way back he
made you great and happy," it
sat down to rest under the tree where he had found the egg, and
said, "but now get you back to
pretended to sleep. The bird came again, and noticing that he
your burden of wood and
was still as poor and as ill-looking as before, thought that he had
humble home."
not seen the egg, and therefore went and laid another close by
On this, the poor man found
him, in such peculiar a spot that he could not possibly miss
himself back again in the
seeing it, but the woodcutter caught the bird, and rose up to
jungle, and standing by the
carry it to the Woni. "Oh! What are you going to do with me? Do
load of wood that he had
not kill me. Do not imprison me; but set me free," cried the bird.
prepared before he was
"You shall not fail of a reward. Pluck one of my feathers, show it
transported to the bird’s
to the fire, and you shall at once arrive at my country, Koh-i-Qaf,
country. He sold his wood, and
where my parents will reward you. They will give you a necklace
then went home in a very sad
of pearls, the price of which no king on earth could give." But the
frame of mind to his wife and
poor ignorant woodcutter would not listen to the bird's
daughters. He never saw the
pleadings. His mind was too much occupied with the thought of
bird, Huma, again. It has been
the rupee that he felt certain of getting, and therefore he
mentioned that this
fastened the bird in his wrap, and ran off to the Woni as fast as
woodcutter had seven
his load would permit. Alas! However, the bird died on the way
daughters. These girls grew
from suffocation. "What shall I do now? " thought the
up, and had to be married. But
woodcutter. "The Woni will not give me a rupee for a dead bird.
how was the woodcutter to
Ha! Ha! I will show one of its feathers to the fire. Perhaps the bird
arrange for their marriages?
being dead will not make any difference."
He barely earned money
Accordingly he did so, and immediately found himself in the
sufficient for their food and
mysterious country of the bird, where he sought out the parents
nobody would be allied to such
of the bird and told them all that had happened. The parents and
a poverty-stricken house as
other birds wept bitterly when they saw the dead body of their
his. In the hour of his difficulty
beloved relative. Attracted by the noise, a strange bird that
Coronavirus and Kashmir But this time around, it could be different. The
With four coronavirus related deaths reportedly coronavirus pandemic is a killer the likes of which
occurring in occupied Kashmir - although it’s the world has not seen in a long, long time. And
very hard to get facts out of the Kashmir Valley that is primarily because, for all its advances in
these days due to internet gag - it is high time for all sorts of sciences including medicine, the
the international community to finally take a long whole world is still helpless against this
hard look at what has been happening there since particular virus. If the world sits idly by as the
August 05 last year when New Delhi revoked Indians let it spread in occupied Kashmir, slowly
special status of the territory and placed it under but surely it will spread among the Indian
lockdown. As a brutal curfew was in place, there occupational forces’ personnel and then, most
was no way for people to prepare in advance and likely, within the entire Indian Army as well.
stock up with essential items; particularly when This tragedy provides as good a time as any for the
thousands of Hurriyat leaders, activists, political world to finally knock some sense into New Delhi.
Already India is preparing for a massive
outbreak. The government will be stretched thin,