25th Year of Publication

Vol: 25 No. 01
Monthly January 2019

INSIGHT

Pulwama massacres Pakistani leaders Indian troops martyr

by Indian troops condemn Indian 377 Kashmiris
strongly denounced brutalities in IOK in 2018
 PM urges UN Chief
to stop repression in IOK

“Jammu and Kashmir dispute is not a bilateral issue between Pakistan and India but an
internationally recognised dispute and an outstanding agenda item in the UN Security
Council……The (UN) Secretary General must weigh in to stop India from perpetrating state
repression, violence and brute force against Kashmiri youth, women and children….A
Commission of Inquiry be urgently dispatched to investigate the situation in occupied Kashmir,
as was recommended in a June 2018 report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.”

(Prime Minister Imran Khan in his telephonic conversation with

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on December 20, 2018)
Kashmir Insight J ANU AR Y 2 0 1 9
Editor: M Raza Malik From The Editor's Desk
The people of occupied Kashmir have been facing the worst
Sub Editor: Benazir Khan kind of Indian state terrorism for challenging its illegal
Art Editor: M.Haroon occupation of their soil for the past over 71 years.
Unfortunately, the international community has failed to
fulfill its obligations towards resolving the Kashmir
CONTENTS dispute in accordance with the Kashmiris’ aspirations.
Editorial Even the world’s august body, the United Nations
No let up in Indian state terrorism in IOK . . . . . . 02 Security Council, has not been able to implement its
resolutions on Kashmir passed several decades ago.
Cover Story
India had illegally occupied the territory of Jammu and
Human Rights Week portrays grave HR abuses Kashmir after landing its troops in Srinagar on October 27,
by Indian troops in IOK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03 1947, leading to the creation of the Kashmir dispute.
Reports However, sensing a humiliating defeat to its troops at the
hands of resilient Kashmiris, it had to approach the UN
Pulwama massacres by Indian troops Security Council on January 01, 1948, seeking its help to
strongly denounced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07 resolve the dispute. The UNSC in its successive resolutions
Pakistani leaders condemn Indian brutalities in called for settlement of the dispute in accordance with the
will of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. A resolution
IOK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 passed by the World Body on 5th January 1949 is of
OIC asks India to allow fact-finding enormous significance as it states that the question of the
mission to IOK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 accession of Jammu and Kashmir either to India or
Pakistan would be decided through a free and impartial
Indian troops martyr 377 Kashmiris in 2018. . . . . . 14 plebiscite. It acknowledges the disputed status of Jammu
Pictorial and Kashmir and admits three parties to the Kashmir
Images speak louder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 dispute - Pakistan, India and the Kashmiri people.
Human rights situation New Delhi had promised before the world community to
settle the Kashmir dispute by allowing the Kashmiri people
HR violations by Indian troops in IOK exercise their right to self-determination. But instead of
during December 2018 fulfilling its commitment, it is resorting to the worst kind
of state terrorism in occupied Kashmir to intimidate the
Raies Ahmed Mir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Kashmiris into submission. After strengthening its
Reports occupation, India started claiming Jammu and Kashmir as
Islamabad seminar calls for setting up a its integral part to mislead the world about the Kashmir
commission to probe HR abuses in IOK . . . . . . . . . 21 dispute and the prevailing grime situation of occupied
Kashmir.
UN asks twitter to explain suspension of
There is no denying the fact that the UN has played an
Kashmir accounts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 important role in settling many international disputes
World HR Day moot vows to place Kashmir including East Timor, Kosovo and Southern Sudan. But it
has failed to discharge its obligations with regard to the
high on EU agenda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 settlement of the Kashmir dispute despite the passing of
Dr Fai warns of great risk involved in ignoring many decades, resulting in the continued sufferings of the
Kashmir dispute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Chronology It is high time for the UN to take practical steps to
implement its resolutions for resolving the Kashmir
A chronological account of developments dispute according to the wishes of the Kashmiri people to
on Kashmir (149) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 ensure durable peace and stability in South Asia.
Beauty thy name is
Muslim religious Centres of Srinagar . . . . . . . . . . 29 Printed & Published by
All Parties Hurriyat Conference AJK
Literature House # 389-B, Street # 85, I/8-4 Islamabad.
The Teacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Ph: +92-51-4861457, Fax: +92-51-4861458
Email: kashmirinsight@yahoo.com
Feedback Printers: Web Brothers, Printers, Publishers
Al-Rehman Plaza, 44-H, Haider Road, Rawalpindi
Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Ph:051-5566348, Fax: 051-5516142
Editorial
No let up in Indian state terrorism in IOK
India has been subjecting the
people of occupied Kashmir
to the worst kind of brutalities
for the past over seven
decades for opposing its
illegal occupation of Jammu
and Kashmir. It has given its
troops and police personnel
unbridled powers under
draconian laws like Disturbed
Areas Act, Armed Forces
Special Powers Act and Public
Safety Act to commit atroci-
ties on the Kashmiris to
intimidate them into submis-
sion. Killings, arrests, torture,
abductions, destruction of
property, molestation of
women and other human
rights violations by the Indian
forces’ personnel are the order
of the day in the occupied
territory that have turned the
paradise on earth into a hell
for its inhabitants. However,
India’s state terrorism and
military might have not been
able to subdue the Kashmiris’
resolve for freedom and they
are very much determined to
take their struggle to secure
their inalienable right to self-
determination to its logical
conclusion.
2018 was another year of
miseries and agonies for the
oppressed people of occupied
Kashmir. A recent report
revealed that Indian troops in
their unabated acts of state
terrorism martyred 377
innocent Kashmiris including
10 women and 35 young boys
during the year. The report
said that of those martyred, 21
were killed in custody. The
killings by the troops
rendered 34 women widowed
and 78 children orphaned
while 75 women were
disgraced or molested by the
men in uniform in the year.
Indian paramilitary and
police personnel during
house raids, crackdowns,
cordon and search operations
and peaceful demonstrations
injured 3,688 civilians
including an 18-month-old
Hiba Jan. The eyesight of 1,302
of the injured persons was
affected by pellets fired by the
troops on peaceful protesters.
Indian police and troops also
arrested 2,456 people. During
the year, the troops conducted
2,939 cordon and search
operations across the terri-
tory.
These are the credentials of
that country, which projects
itself as the largest democracy
of the world. In fact the
aforementioned figures
KASHMIR INSIGHT
expose the real face of the so-
called secular India.
Unfortunately, instead of
respecting the aspirations of
the Kashmiri people, New
Delhi continues with its brutal
measures to prolong its illegal
hold on Jammu and Kashmir.
India needs to acknowledge
the fact that no amount of its
state terrorism can force the
Kashmiri people to surrender
their just cause. It must stop
its military approach on the
Kashmir dispute and
take steps for settling
it according to the
will of the Kashmiri
people.
The international
community must
hold New Delhi
accountable for its
brutalities against the people
of occupied Kashmir and
must play an effective role in
the settlement of the Kashmir
dispute to mitigate their
sufferings. The UN Secretary
General, Antonio Guterres,
must also move beyond mere
issuing statements expressing
concern over the grim situa-
tion of occupied Kashmir and
initiate practical measures for
the implementation of the UN
resolutions that guaranteed
the right to self-determination
of the people of Jammu and
Kashmir. The earlier the
world community fulfills its
obligations regarding resolu-
tion of the Kashmir dispute,
the more will it be beneficial
for the peace in South Asia.
JANUARY 2019 02
Cover Story
Human Rights Week portrays grave HR abuses
by Indian troops in IOK
India publicises itself as the
largest democracy of the world
but all its democratic credentials
stand exposed in occupied
Kashmir where it is using every
brutal tactic to suppress the
Kashmiris’ just struggle aimed at
securing their inalienable right to
self-determination. The violation
of basic human rights of the
people of occupied Kashmir is a
blot on New Delhi’s democratic
face.
In order to highlight the grave
human rights violations by
Indian troops, Human Rights
Week was observed from
December 03 to December 09 in
occupied Kashmir in connection
with the World Human Rights
Day. The World Human Rights
Day is celebrated annually across
the world on December 10 to
honour the UN General
Assembly's adoption and
proclamation in 1948 of the
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR), the first global
enunciation of human rights.
Like every year, this year too, the
people of occupied Kashmir
faced the violations of their
fundamental rights at the hands
of Indian forces’ personnel
before and on the World Human
Rights Day. The day was marked
by house arrests and detentions
of Hurriyat leaders and activists.
Call for the observance of the
Human Rights Week was given
by the Joint Resistance
Leadership comprising Syed Ali
Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq
and Muhammad Yasin Malik.
The resistance leadership had
asked the people to light candles
and torch-lights after evening
(Maghrib) prayers during the
week to highlight the grave
human rights violations being
committed by Indian troops in
the occupied territory. During
the Human Rights Week,
Hurriyat leaders, activists,
KASHMIR INSIGHT
traders and members of civil
society and legal fraternity held
candlelight vigils, protest
demonstrations and seminars.
On December 03, Hurriyat
leaders and activists staged
candlelight protests in Koker
Bazaar, Budshah Chowk,
Khanqah-e-Mualla and at Jamia
Masjid in Srinagar and other
areas of the territory against the
rising human rights violations by
the troops. The protesters were
carrying banners with messages
like “Stop killing Kashmiris” and
“Killings are norm in Kashmir”.
Later, Indian police arrested
many pro-freedom leaders after
raiding their houses for partici-
pating in the protests.
The occupation authorities had
already put Hurriyat leaders
including Syed Ali Gilani,
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq,
Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai and
Muhammad Yasin Malik under
house arrest or in police custody
JANUARY 2019 03
Cover Story
to stop them from participating
in the protest programmes in
connection with the Human
Rights Week.
On December 04, despite Indian
police crackdown, Hurriyat
leaders and activists staged
candlelight protests in Maisuma,
Aabi Guzar and Soura areas of
Srinagar against the Indian
brutalities in the occupied
territory.
On December 05, hundreds of
traders held a protest rally in
Srinagar against the human
rights violations by Indian troops
in the territory. The protest was
organised by Beopar Mandal
Maharaj Gunj, one of the largest
trade bodies in occupied
Kashmir.
Hurriyat leaders and activists
held candlelight protests at
Wanganpora Eidgah, Chattabal
and Anchar Soura in Srinagar
and in Nasrullahpora area of
Budgam.
On December 06, Hurriyat
leaders and activists along with a
large number of people assem-
bled at several places including
old city, Nawa Kadal, Chatabal
Veer and Bemina Crossing in
Srinagar and at Hakarmulla in
Budgam and staged candlelight
protests against the Indian
atrocities in occupied Kashmir.
On December 07, people
including Hurriyat leaders,
activists and lawyers staged
forceful demonstrations in
Nowhatta, Hyderpora,
Maisuma, Lal Chowk and other
localities of Srinagar and in
Baramulla and Pulwama areas to
draw attention of the world
community towards the grim
situation of human rights in the
occupied territory. The
protesters led by Hurriyat
leaders, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq,
Muhammad Yousuf Naqash,
Molvi Bashir Ahmed, Syed
Imtiaz Haider, Muhammad
Yasin Attai, Muhammad Rafique
Awaisi, Syed Muhammad Shafi,
Khawaja Firdous Wani, Rameez
Raja and Imtiaz Reshi, chanted
high-pitched pro-freedom and
anti-India slogans. The
protesters also demanded an end
to the detention of senior
resistance leaders, Syed Ali
Gilani and Muhammad Yasin
Malik, and release of all political
prisoners detained in various
jails. Indian police used brute
force against the protesters in
Nowhatta and other areas,
injuring several of them.
KASHMIR INSIGHT
The members of High Court Bar
Association of occupied Kashmir
also staged a demonstration in
the High Court Complex,
Srinagar, appealing to the world
community to impress upon
India to stop its state terrorism in
the occupied territory.
On December 08, the Kashmir
Transporters Welfare Federation
held a peaceful protest demon-
stration in Srinagar against the
brutalities of Indian troops in the
territory. Scores of transporters
assembled at Pratap Park in
Srinagar and chanted slogans in
favour of freedom and against
India.
On December 09, the activists of
the Mirwaiz-led Hurriyat forum
and Awami Action Committee
held candlelight vigils in various
parts of the Kashmir Valley. The
protesters demanded an end to
the Indian atrocities in occupied
Kashmir.
The Kashmir Chamber of
Commerce and Industries also
held a protest in Srinagar against
the human rights abuses in the
territory. Scores of KCCI
members assembled at Press
Enclave, demanding of India to
stop its state terrorism in occu-
pied Kashmir.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of All
Parties Hurriyat Conference,
Syed Ali Gilani, while
addressing a seminar in
Islamabad through video-link
from his residence in Srinagar
called for tabling the 2018 UN
report on human rights viola-
tions in the occupied territory
both in General Assembly as well
the Security Council. He said
Kashmir is a humanitarian issue
concerning the future of more
than 15 million people of Jammu
and Kashmir.
Speakers at a seminar organised
by the Jammu and Kashmir
JANUARY 2019 04
Cover Story
Democratic Freedom Party
(DFP) at its office in Srinagar on
the eve of the World Human
Rights Day impressed upon the
UN to take cognisance of the
continued denial of the right to
self-determination to the people
of Jammu and Kashmir by India.
The Chairman of Tehreek-e-
Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir,
Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, in a
statement in Srinagar said that
the credibility of the UN was at
stake because of its silence over
grave human rights violations by
Indian troops in occupied
Kashmir.
On December 10, the Joint
Resistance Leadership in a letter
to the UN Secretary General,
Antonio Guterres, urged him to
constitute a Commission of
Inquiry to conduct a comprehen-
sive and independent interna-
tional investigation into the
human rights abuses by Indian
troops in occupied Kashmir.
The Joint Resistance Leadership
comprising Syed Ali Gilani,
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and
Muhammad Yasin Malik in the
letter asked the UN Chief to
impress upon India to stop its
state terrorism in the occupied
territory forthwith. The JRL also
urged him to initiate measures
for the resolution of the Kashmir
dispute which is on the UN
agenda since 1948 and is the basic
cause of all human rights abuses
in the occupied territory.
“On the occasion of the
International Human Rights
Day, we hope you and the
institution of United Nations will
stand up for the protection of
human rights everywhere
including in conflict-torn
Kashmir. This year is the 70th
anniversary of Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
and today we are again
addressing you on behalf of the
people of Jammu and Kashmir,
who for the past over seven
KASHMIR INSIGHT
decades have been striving for
peace, justice, freedom and
dignity,” the risistance leaders
wrote in the letter.
Appreciating the 2018 UN report
on the rights abuses being
committed by the Indian forces’
personnel in occupied Kashmir,
the leaders said, one of the most
lethal weapons used against
protesters in 2016 - and which is
still being employed by Indian
forces - is the pellet-firing
shotgun. “These pellet guns since
then have affected 16,000 people
in Kashmir and blinded
hundreds permanently, the
youngest being 18-month-old
Hiba who has lost eyesight in one
eye. Hundreds have suffered
serious damage to sensitive
organs due to pellets. 14% of
pellet gun victims in Kashmir are
below 15,” the letter added.
Meanwhile, speakers at a day-
long seminar in Srinagar organ-
ised by Awami Ittehad Party said
that India had held the entire
population of Jammu and
Kashmir hostage at the gunpoint.
Awami Ittehad Party Chairman,
Engineer Abdur Rasheed, asked
India to allow international
human rights organisations to
visit occupied Kashmir. Others
who addressed the event
included Najam-ul-Saqib,
JANUARY 2019 05
Cover Story
Shakeel Qalandar, Manzoor
Ahmed Kirmani, Aijaz-ul-Haq,
Gowhar Gilani and Arif Wahid.
A report released by the Research
Section of Kashmir Media
Service on the occasion of the
World Human Rights Day
revealed that Indian troops in
their unabated acts of state
terrorism martyred 95,238
innocent Kashmiris, including
7,120 in custody, since January
1989 till December 10, 2018. It
said that these killings rendered
22,894 women widowed and
107,551 children orphaned. The
report said that the troops
molested or disgraced 11,107
women and damaged 109,191
residential houses and other
structures. It maintained that
Indian troops and police
subjected at least 8,000 people to
custodial disappearance during
the period.
The report pointed out that in the
year 2018 till December 10 alone,
the troops martyred 350
Kashmiris including PhD
scholars, students and Hurriyat
leaders. It said that the Indian
forces’ personnel arrested 2,348
people. The report maintained
that the occupation authorities
put the All Parties Hurriyat
Conference Chairman, Syed Ali
Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq,
Muhammad Yasin Malik,
Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, Zafar
Akbar Butt, Mukhtar Ahmed
Waza, Hilal Ahmed War, Bilal
Siddiqi and other Hurriyat
leaders under detention either in
their houses or in jails time and
again and did not allow them to
carry out their political activities
and perform their religious
obligations.
The participants of a seminar
arranged in Srinagar on
December 13 by the High Court
Bar Association of occupied
Kashmir
pointed out
that the
black laws
like Armed
F o r c e s
Special
Powers Act
and Public
Safety Act,
which grant
unbridled
powers to
I n d i a n
troops in occupied Kashmir,
have created structures that
obstruct the normal course of
law, impede accountability and
jeopardise the right to remedy for
victims of human rights viola-
tions in the territory. Those who
KASHMIR INSIGHT
addressed the seminar included
the HCBA President, Mian
Abdul Qayoom.
It is a fact that although the
Indian troops’ atrocities in
occupied Kashmir have been in
the limelight for the past many
months but unfortunately the
United Nations and other
champions of human rights have
turned a blind eye to the happen-
ings in the territory and have so
far failed to discharge their
obligations in this regard. This
has further emboldened India to
continue with its cruel and
repressive policies in the occu-
pied territory.
New Delhi needs to realise the
fact that its inhuman tactics in no
way can subdue the Kashmiris’
freedom sentiment and it must
respect their emotions and give
them all their basic rights
including the inalienable right to
self-determination. The interna-
tional community, particularly
the UN, should play an effective
role in the settlement of the
lingering Kashmir dispute in
accordance with the Kashmiris’
aspirations so that they could
enjoy all their basic freedoms like
the other people of the world.
(Humayun Aziz Sandeela)
JANUARY 2019 06
Report
Pulwama massacres by Indian troops strongly denounced
Hurriyat leaders
and organisations
s t r o n g l y
denouncing the
killing of innocent
Kashmiris in the
m a s s a c r e s
perpetrated by
Indian troops in
Pulwama district
in the month of
December 2018
termed the acts as
the worst exam-
ples of Indian
state terrorism.
The troops killed three youth
during a cordon and search
operation and eight others by
firing bullets, pellets and teargas
shells on peaceful protesters in
Sirnoo area of the district on
December 15. Over 200 people
were injured in the brutal
actions of the troops on the
protesters. The troops also killed
six youth during a similar
operation in Arampora area of
the district on December 22. The
occupation authorities imposed
curfew and other restrictions in
Pulwama and snapped mobile
internet services in Srinagar,
Budgam, Pulwama, Islamabad,
Shopian and Kulgam districts to
prevent people from sharing
information about the
prevailing situation of the
territory. The authorities also
suspended rail services in the
occupied territory. The curfew
in Pulwama remained in force
for days together.
Defying curfew, tens of thou-
sands of people participated in
the funerals of the martyred
youth in different villages of
Pulwama district. Despite heavy
deployment of Indian forces in
the entire Pulwama district,
thousands of people managed to
KASHMIR INSIGHT
reach the native
areas of the slain
youth to have the
last glimpse of the
martyrs. The
martyrs were laid
to rest amid tears
a n d s o b s .
Vociferous pro-
freedom and anti-
India slogans
were raised on the
occasion.
T h r e e - d a y
shutdown was
observed in the Kashmir Valley
from December 15-17 on the call
of the Joint Resistance
Leadership comprising Syed Ali
Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq
and Muhammad Yasin Malik to
register protest against the
killings in Pulwama. All shops
and business establishments
remained closed while transport
was off the roads in the occupied
territory. Complete strike was
also observed in Banihal,
Bhadarwah, Doda, Thathri,
Gandoh and Kishtwar areas of
Jammu region against the
Pulwama killings.
On December 16, the relatives of
an Indonesian woman, Saima,
who was widowed due to the
martyrdom of her Kashmiri
husband in Indian troops’ firing
in Pulwama, staged a protest
demonstration in Jakarta,
Indonesia, asking India to end
bloodshed in occupied Kashmir.
The protesters holding placards
with slogans demanding an end
to the killings of Kashmiris
expressed solidarity with the
widowed Indonesian woman.
Saima’s husband, Abid Hussain
Lone, an MBA pass out from a
JANUARY 2019 07
Report
university in Indonesia, was
martyred in the firing of Indian
troops on protesters. The
Indonesian woman’s mother
was among the protesters in
Jakarta.
On December 17, the occupation
authorities imposed curfew-like
restrictions in Srinagar and
adjoining areas and used brute
force on protesters to prevent a
grand march towards the Indian
Army Headquarters at Badami
Bagh in the city. Call for the
march was given by the Joint
Resistance Leadership
comprising Syed Ali Gilani,
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and
Muhammad Yasin Malik
against the massacre carried out
by the Indian forces in Pulwama.
Indian police and paramilitary
personnel erected barricades in
various parts of Srinagar
particularly on the roads leading
to the army headquarters.
Indian police arrested Mirwaiz
Umar Farooq and Muhammad
Yasin Malik along with dozens
of their supporters in Nigeen
and Gawkadal areas of Srinagar
when they defied restrictions
and tried to march towards
Badami Bagh. The police used
brute force and fired teargas
shells on the protesters. Clashes
were witnessed between the
protesters and the police
personnel in different areas of
the city.
The authorities placed other
Hurriyat leaders including Syed
Ali Gilani and Muhammad
Ashraf Sehrai either under
house arrest or in custody to
prevent them from leading the
march.
Meanwhile, complete shutdown
continued on the third consecu-
tive day in all districts of the
Kashmir Valley. The strike was
also observed in Bhaderwah,
Doda, Thathri, Gandoh,
KASHMIR INSIGHT
Ramban, Kishtwar, Poonch and
others areas of Jammu region
against the killing of innocent
people by Indian troops in
Pulwama. All shops, business
establishments, government
offices and banks remained
closed while traffic was off the
road. The authorities suspended
mobile internet and train
services in the territory.
A protest demonstration under
the auspices of Jammu and
Kashmir United Peace
Movement was held outside
Jammu Press Club against the
continued killings and human
rights violations by Indian
troops in the Kashmir Valley.
The President of United Peace
Movement, Himmat Singh, and
leaders of various organisations
including Babu Singh,
Muhammad Sharif Sartaj,
Advocate Muhammad Rasheed
Qureshi, Sardar Narinder Singh
Khalsa, Bagor Dev Singh, Sardar
Kalwant Singh and Deedar
Singh along with a large number
of people participated in the
demonstration.
The All Parties Hurriyat
Conference Azad Jammu and
Kashmir chapter also held a
demonstration outside the
JANUARY 2019 08
Report
Indian High Commission in
Islamabad to condemn the
Indian brutalities in occupied
Kashmir.
On the other hand, Hurriyat
leaders and organisations
strongly denouncing the
massacres in Pulwama termed
the acts as the worst examples of
Indian state terrorism in the
occupied territory.
The Joint Resistance Leadership
comprising Syed Ali Gilani,
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and
Muhammad Yasin Malik in a
statement in Srinagar said that
the entire occupied territory
particularly south Kashmir had
been turned into a garrison
where Indian troops were
killing people with impunity.
The resistance leaders said that
the Indian Army Chief, General
Bipin Rawqat, in his recent
shocking statements had
already hinted at the increase in
killings in occupied Kashmir.
The Chairman of All Parties
Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali
Gilani, in a statement in Srinagar
said, India claims to have the
brave and disciplined army of
the world but in reality the
Indian soldiers are so coward
and timid that they shower
bullets and pellets on the
unarmed people including kids.
“They try and test their muscles
and arsenal on the peaceful
protestors who are just
demanding their basic and
fundamental right, the right to
self-determination, promised to
them by the Indian leaders,” he
added.
Senior APHC leader and the
Chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat
Jammu and Kashmir,
Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, in a
statement in Srinagar described
the Pulwama killings as an
organised genocide of the
Kashmiris. “This new definition
of Indian so-called democracy
KASHMIR INSIGHT
where unarmed innocent
civilians pumped with bullets
and pellets should be a harsh
slap on the face of those who still
think Kashmir as the integral
part of India,” he said.
Other Hurriyat leaders and
organisations including
Maulana Abbas Ansari, Agha
Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi Al-
Safvi, Muhammad Farooq
Rehmani, Muhammad Yousuf
Naqash, Yasmeen Raja,
Zamruda Habib, Farida Bahenji,
Muhammad Musaddiq Aadil,
Zafar Akbar Butt, Javaid Ahmed
Mir, Abdul Samad Inqilabi,
Barrister Abdul Majeed
Tramboo, Imtiaz Ahmed Reshi,
Firdous Ahmed Shah,
Democratic Freedom Party,
Muslim League and National
Front in their statements
strongly denouncing the
Pulwama killings said that
Indian troops were engaged in a
systematic genocide of the
people of occupied Kashmir.
They said that the sacrifices of
Kashmiri martyrs would not be
allowed to go waste and their
mission would be accomplished
despite all odds.
(KI Report)
JANUARY 2019 09
Report
Pakistani leaders condemn Indian brutalities in IOK
The Pakistani leaders strongly
condemning the killing of
innocent people by Indian troops
in Pulwama district of occupied
Kashmir urged the international
community to take steps for
settlement of the Kashmir
dispute in accordance with the
aspirations of the Kashmiri
people. They also appealed to the
world human rights organisa-
tions to help stop the grave
human rights violations by
Indian troops in the territory.
The troops martyred 11 people
and injured over 200 others
during a cordon and search
operation in Sirnoo area of
Pulwama district on December
15, 2018. The killings sent shock
waves across the globe and
evoked strong condemnation
from different quarters, particu-
larly from the Pakistani leader-
ship.
President Dr Arif Alvi in a
statement in Islamabad on
December 16 expressed grave
concern over the stepped up
Indian state terrorism in occu-
pied Kashmir. He called upon
the international community to
take cognisance of the gross
human rights abuses by Indian
troops in the occupied territory
and play its role in the settlement
of the longstanding Kashmir
dispute in accordance with the
Kashmiris’ aspirations. He said,
Jammu and Kashmir is an
unfinished agenda of partition
and Pakistan will continue to
extend moral, political and
diplomatic support to the
legitimate struggle of the
Kashmiri people.
Prime Minister, Imran Khan, in a
tweet on December 16 while
strongly condemning the killing
of innocent Kashmiris by Indian
troops said that Pakistan would
KASHMIR INSIGHT
continue to raise at the interna-
tional level the human rights
abuses being perpetrated by
Indian troops in occupied
Kashmir and demand the United
Nations to fulfill its commitment
to hold plebiscite in Jammu and
Kashmir.
Imran Khan in a telephonic
conversation with the UN
Secretary General, Antonio
Guterres, on December 20 asked
the World Body to take note of
the Indian brutalities in occupied
Kashmir. He urged the Secretary
General to weigh in to stop India
from perpetrating state repres-
sion, violence and brute force
against Kashmiri youth, women
and children. “India is involved
in serious violations of human
rights in occupied Kashmir. The
UN should play an effective role
for the solution of the decades-
long dispute,” he said.
The Prime Minister also asked
the Secretary General to imple-
ment the recommendations of
the then UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad
Al-Hussein, who after launching
the first-ever UN report on the
human rights situation in
occupied Kashmir in June last
JANUARY 2019 10
Report
year had recommended estab-
lishing a Commission of Inquiry
on rights abuses in the occupied
territory. He further called for
appointment of a special UN
representative for resolution of
the Kashmir dispute.
Foreign Minister, Shah
Mahmood Qureshi, addressing a
press conference at the Foreign
Office in Islamabad on December
16 urged the champions of
human rights to prevail upon
India to put an immediate halt to
the Kashmiris’ genocide. He
called upon the global rights
bodies to take notice of the
atrocities of Indian forces in
occupied Kashmir.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi said
that prior to the press conference
he had written letters to the UN
Secretary General, the UN High
Commissioner for Human
Rights and the Secretary General
of Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC), asking them
to intervene at the earliest so that
the Kashmiri people could get
relief from the Indian brutalities.
The National Assembly on
December 17 unanimously
passed a resolution condemning
the grave human rights viola-
tions in occupied Kashmir and
urging the international commu-
nity to play its role in the early
settlement of the long-standing
Kashmir dispute. The resolution
was moved by Minister of State
for Parliamentary Affairs, Ali
Muhammad Khan.
Raising serious concern over the
wanton killing of Kashmiris, the
resolution expressed complete
solidarity with the brave
Kashmiri people who had been
engaged for the past over seven
decades in a peaceful struggle to
achieve their right to self-
determination. It said that the
brutal tactics of the occupation
authorities could not deter the
Kashmiris from carrying
forward their legitimate freedom
KASHMIR INSIGHT
struggle. It urged the govern-
ment of India to stop its state
terrorism and lift restrictions on
press and internet in occupied
Kashmir and give the Kashmiri
people all their basic freedoms.
The resolution reiterated that
Pakistan will continue its
diplomatic, moral and political
support to the Kashmiris’ just
freedom struggle.
Leader of the Opposition in the
National Assembly, Shahbaz
Sharif, said that the bloodshed of
the Kashmiri people had been
going on since decades and the
criminal silence of the interna-
tional community on the matter
was condemnable.
Speaking in the House, leader of
Pakistan Peoples Party, Raja
Pervaiz Ashraf, said that political
parties across the spectrum were
united in condemning the gross
human rights violations by
Indian troops in occupied
Kashmir.
The Senate of Pakistan, on
December 18 also passed a
resolution with consensus
strongly condemning the recent
wave of repression and violence
by the Indian forces in the
occupied territory including the
direct shooting at demonstrators
in Pulwama that resulted in the
killing of a number of innocent
JANUARY 2019 11
Report
Kashmiris and injuring of many
others.
The resolution moved by the
Senate member, Sherry Rehman,
stated that no journalist and
humanitarian organisation is
allowed to enter occupied
Kashmir. It maintained that the
continued atrocities by the
Indian forces can never suppress
the Kashmiris’ just struggle for
securing their legitimate right to
self-determination. It called
upon the international commu-
nity to end its indifference and
deliberate negligence of system-
atic repression of Kashmiris by
the Indian forces through
disappearances, human shields,
fake encounters, rapes, illegal
searches and the use of live
ammunition and pellet guns.
Earlier, speaking on a motion,
Minister for Human Rights, Dr
Shireen Mazari, said that it was
encouraging that the European
Parliament, for the first time, was
going to make public the human
right violations in occupied
Kashmir. She said that govern-
ment of Pakistan would also ask
the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights to visit occupied
Kashmir to take stock of the
human rights abuses by the
Indian forces in the territory. She
said that the UN General
Assembly had unanimously
adopted a resolution moved by
Pakistan reaffirming the inviola-
bility of the right to self-
determination for all people
without exception, including the
people of Kashmir and Palestine.
Other senators in their addresses
in the House strongly
condemned the worst kind of
state terrorism unleashed by the
Indian forces’ personnel against
innocent people of occupied
Kashmir. They said that
Kashmiris’ struggle for securing
their right to self-determination
was an indigenous movement
and Indian troops would not be
able to suppress it through
military might.
They appealed
to the interna-
tional commu-
nity to play
role in the
resolution of
the Kashmir
dispute in
accordance
w i t h t h e
aspirations of
the Kashmiri
people to save
them from the Indian brutalities.
The President of Azad Jammu
and Kashmir, Sardar Masood
Khan, in a statement issued in
Muzaffarabad on November 16
termed the Pulwama killings as
the worst example of Indian state
KASHMIR INSIGHT
terrorism. “India wants to
frighten people of Kashmir and
weaken their freedom senti-
ments but will never succeed in
its designs. The latest wave of
brutalities against the innocent
people is nothing but a state-
sponsored terrorism,” he said. “It
is high time for the United
Nations to intervene and
establish a Commission of
Inquiry in the light of the recom-
mendation by the Office of the
United Nations High
Commissioner for Human
Rights to halt Indian state
terrorism in Kashmir,” he
demanded.
The AJK Prime Minister, Raja
Farooq Haider Khan, addressing
a function in Mirpur on
December 18 denounced in
strong terms the atrocities of
Indian troops on the people of
occupied Kashmir. He said that
no amount of Indian state
terrorism would be able to
suppress the Kashmiris’ resolve
for achieving freedom from
Indian occupation and they
would continue their struggle till
complete success. He urged the
UN to initiate measures to
implement its resolutions on
Kashmir to save the Kashmiri
people from the brutalities of
Indian troops. (KI Report)
JANUARY 2019 12
Report

OIC asks India to allow fact-finding mission to IOK

The Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC) on December
17, 2018 strongly condemning
the killing of innocent Kashmiris
by Indian troops in Pulwama
asked India to allow a fact-
finding mission to occupied
Kashmir.
As many as 11 Kashmiris were
martyred and over two hundred
injured by Indian troops during
a cordon and search operation in
Sirnoo area of Pulwama district
on December 15.
The OIC in a statement issued in
Jeddah said, the OIC General
Secretary strongly condemns the “The objective report of the Kashmiris where all possible
killing of innocent Kashmiris by United Nations High means of violence including
the Indian troops in occupied Commissioner for Human mass blinding through pellet
Kashmir where direct shooting Rights, issued in June this year, guns, rape and molestation of
at demonstrators in Pulwama aptly covers these violations in women, enforced disappear-
district claimed the lives of a detail. The High Commissioner ances and extrajudicial killings of
number of innocent citizens. for Human Rights also called for youth are used to quell their
It urged the Indian government establishing a Commission of legitimate and internationally-
to put an end to the human rights Inquiry under the UN supervi- recognised demand for right to
abuses in the occupied territory. sion to comprehensively investi- self-determination.
It said that the excessive and gate the confirmed allegations of “The Commission also urges the
arbitrary use of force by the human rights violations, which is Government of India to abide by
Indian forces’ personnel against fully supported by the OIC’s its international human rights
innocent civilians, peacefully Independent Permanent Human obligations by stopping the gross
protesting for their legitimate Rights Commission (IPHRC),” human rights violations and
rights, was deplorable and a the statement said. allow the international bodies
blatant violation of their rights It said the IPHRC notes that the including the UN and OIC to
including the right to life, right modern history of Kashmir has send their teams to Kashmir to
to freedom of expression and become synonymous with objectively and independently
right to peaceful protests and insidious and systematic ethnic report on the human rights
assembly. cleansing and genocide of the situation,” it said. (KI Report)

AI calls for thorough, fair probe into Pulwama massacre

The world human rights The Programmes Director of Amnesty International
watchdog Amnesty India-chapter, Asmita Basu, in a statement issued in
International on New Delhi said that the authorities must conduct a
December 17, 2018 full and independent investigation into the incident
demanded a thorough and those responsible must be prosecuted in a civilian
and independent court of law.
investigation into the “The intentional use of firearms should be done only
massacre of civilians by when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life, and
Indian troops in law enforcement officials should distinguish between
occupied Kashmir’s persons engaging in violence and peaceful demon-
Pulwama district. strators,” she said. (KI Report)

KASHMIR INSIGHT JANUARY 2019 13

Report
Indian troops martyr 377 Kashmiris in 2018
In occupied Kashmir, Indian
troops in their unabated acts of
state terrorism martyred 377
innocent Kashmiris including 10
women and 35 young boys
during the year 2018.
According to the data issued by
the Research Section of Kashmir
Media Service, on December 31,
2018, of those martyred, 21 were
killed in custody. The martyrs
included highly qualified youth
like Professor Dr Muhammad
Rafi Butt, Dr Manan Bashir Wani,
Dr Sabzar Ahmed Sofi, Dr Aijaz-
ud-Din Khan, Dr Abdul Ahad
Ganai, Fayaz Malik (M.Phil
student), Javaid Malik (M.Tech
student), Masiullah Khan
(M.Tech student), Altaf Malik
(M.Tech student), Jan
Muhammad (M.Tech student),
Talib Afzal Shah (Phd student),
Rafiq Ahangar (M.Tech
student), Omar Ahsan (M.Sc
Physics), Ashaq Hussain Dar
(MA English), Muhammad
Younis (MA Sociology), Nawaz
Ahmed Wagay (MA Urdu),
Sajad Yousuf (MA Islamic
Studies) Ishfaq Ahmed Wani
(MBA), Muhammad Eisa Fazili
(Engineering student), Syed
Owais Shafi Shah (Engineering
student), Khursheed Ahmed
Malik (B.Tech student),
Muzammil Manzoor (B.Tech
student), Nayeem Ahmed Mir
(B.Tech student) and Aasif
Ahmed Malik (B.Tech student).
The killed also included Hurriyat
leaders, Mir Hafeezullah, Tariq
Ahmed Ganai, Muhammad
Yousuf Nadeem and Hakeem-
ur-Rehman Sultani.
The killings by the troops
rendered 34 women widowed
and 78 children orphaned while
75 women were disgraced or
molested by the men in uniform
during the year. Indian police
and troops destroyed 605
residential houses during cordon
and search operations. The
forces’ personnel conducted
2,939 CASOs all across the
territory during the year.
Indian troops and police
personnel injured 3,688 civilians
including an 18-month old baby
girl Hiba Jan by resorting to brute
force including firing of bullets,
pellets and teargas shells during
peaceful protests as well as house
raids and crackdowns. The
eyesight of 1,302 people was
affected by pellets fired by the
troops on peaceful protesters. As
many as 2,456 people including
Hurriyat activists, students,
young boys and women were
arrested during the year.
The report said that Hurriyat
leaders and activists including
Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Nayeem
Ahmed Khan, Aasiya Andrabi,
Fehmeeda Sofi, Nahida Nasreen,
Altaf Ahmed Shah, Ayaz
Muhammad Akbar, Peer
Saifullah, Raja Merajuddin
Kalwal, Shahid-ul-Islam, Farooq
Ahmed Dar, Muhammad Aslam
KASHMIR INSIGHT
Wani, Zahoor Watali, Syed
Shahid Yousuf and Ghulam
Muhammed Butt continued to
remain in detention in Delhi’s
Tihar Jail in fake cases. Over 500
people including Hurriyat
leaders, Masarrat Aalam Butt,
Ghulam Muhammad Khan
Sopori, Mushtaq-ul-Islam,
Maulana Sarjan Barkati,
Muhammad Yousuf Mir, Farooq
Ahmed Tawheedi, Muhammad
Yousuf Falahi, Hakeem Abdur
Rasheed, Ghulam Ahmed
Gulzar, Nisar Hussain Rathar,
Umar Aadil Dar, Showkat
Hakeem, Merajuddin Nanda,
Zahoor Ahmed, Sirajuddin,
Shakeel Ahmed Bakhshi,
Muhammad Amin Mangloo,
Abdul Ghani Butt, Ghulam
Muhiuddin, Assadullah Parray
and Feroz Ahmed Khan
remained in different jails of
occupied Kashmir and India
under the black law, Public
Safety Act.
The report maintained that the
occupation authorities put the
All Parties Hurriyat Conference
Chairman, Syed Ali Gilani,
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq,
Muhammad Yasin Malik,
JANUARY 2019 14
Report
Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, Zafar
Akbar Butt, Mukhtar Ahmed
Waza, Hilal Ahmed War, Bilal
Siddiqi and other Hurriyat
leaders under detention either in
their houses or in jails time and
again and did not allow them to
carry out their political activities
and perform their religious
obligations.
In the month of December alone,
the troops martyred 29
Kashmiris. The killings rendered
two women widowed and three
children orphaned in the month.
As many as 375 people were
injured due to the firing of
bullets, pellets and teargas shells
by the Indian troops and police
personnel on peaceful protesters
while 162 civilians including
Hurriyat activists were arrested
in the month. Indian forces’
personnel destroyed 18 residen-
tial houses and disgraced 4
women during the month.
Another report released by the
research section of Kashmir
Media Service, revealed that the
occupation authorities disal-
lowed Friday prayers 16 times at
Srinagar’s historic Jamia Masjid
and restricted people to their
houses in downtown area of the
city by imposing repeated
curfews and strict restrictions in
the year 2018. It said that the
authorities imposed curfew and
restrictions in Srinagar after
almost every massacre by Indian
troops in the territory. The curbs
were aimed at preventing people
from staging demonstrations
against the killings and other
brutalities of the troops.
The report said that the suspen-
sion of the internet services for
more than 120 times in the
occupied territory particularly in
south Kashmir districts during
the year adversely affected the
people including students,
traders, businessmen and
journalists.
It maintained that 1,497 people
KASHMIR INSIGHT
including young boys and girls
were injured due to the pellets
fired by the Indian troops and
police personnel during anti-
India demonstrations in the
occupied territory. It said that of
these pellet victims 250 suffered
partial damage to their one or
both eyes.
The report maintained that at
least 25 journalists were beaten
up and injured in violent Indian
police actions while they were
performing their professional
duties during protests in occu-
pied Kashmir. It pointed out that
the Indian authorities restricted
Bureau Chief of The Washington
Post in India, Annie Gowan, to a
house in Srinagar and did not
permit her to move about in the
territory and cover the protest
demonstrations. It said that the
Indian authorities also denied a
Pulitzer Prize-winning journal-
ist, Cathal McNaughton,
working as Chief Photographer
with global news agency Reuters
at its Delhi office, entry back into
India for alleged violation of visa
conditions. McNaughton had
visited occupied Kashmir in
April 2018 and had covered
protests following the rape and
murder of a minor girl in Kathua
area of Jammu region.
(KI Report)
JANUARY 2019 15
02-12-2018 Srinagar 07-12-2018 Srinagar 08-12-2018 Srinagar

10-12-2018 Srinagar 11-12-2018 Srinagar 17-12-2018 Srinagar 15-12-2018 Pulwama

22-12-2018 Pulwama 27-12-2018 Pulwama 28-12-2018 Budgam

Human Rights Situation
India has been resorting to the
worst kind of state terrorism in
occupied Kashmir for the past
over seven decades to suppress
the Kashmiris’ just struggle
aimed at achieving freedom
from the Indian illegal
occupation of their homeland. It
has given its troops and police
personnel unbridled powers
under black laws like Armed
Forces Special Powers Act,
Public Safety Act and Disturbed
Areas Act to punish the
Kashmiris for challenging its
rule over the territory.
Indian troops are engaged in a
systematic genocide of the
people of occupied Kashmir
through mass killings. As part of
this policy, the troops carried
out a massacre in Sirnoo area of
Pulwama district on December
15, 2018. On the fateful day, the
occupational troops killed 11
people and injured over 200
others by firing bullets, pellets
and teargas shells
indiscriminately on protesters
during a cordon and search
operation.
The world human rights
watchdog Amnesty
International in a statement
demanded a thorough,
independent and impartial
investigation into the incident to
bring the perpetrators to book.
The world community must put
pressure on India to resolve the
Kashmir dispute in accordance
with the Kashmiris’ aspirations
at the earliest to stop the
bloodshed in occupied Kashmir.
Following is an account of day-
to-day human rights violations
by Indian troops in occupied
Kashmir during the month of
December 2018.
HR abuses by Indian troops
in IOK during December 2018
Compiled by Raies Ahmed Mir
December 01: A civilian
identified as Bashir Ahmed Mir
was injured in the firing of Indian
troops during a cordon and
search operation in Nilora area of
Pulwama district.
Indian police arrested a woman
from Kishtwar and several
people including Hurriyat
leader, Bashir Ahmed Kashmiri;
Assistant Professor, Dr Abdul
Bari Naik; and journalist, Abdul
Hameed, from Srinagar,
Ganderbal and Kulgam areas.
The occupation authorities
disallowed the Mirwaiz Umar
Farooq-led Hurriyat forum to
hold a session of workers and
delegates and placed the
Mirwaiz under house arrest in
Srinagar.
December 02: Indian police
arrested a youth, Ehtisham Bilal,
in Khanyar area of Srinagar.
December 03: The occupation
authorities placed the All Parties
Hurriyat Conference Chairman,
Syed Ali Gilani, and Hurriyat
forum Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar
Farooq, under house arrest to
prevent them from leading
KASHMIR INSIGHT
protest demonstrations in
connection with the Human
Rights Week. The Joint
Resistance Leadership had
announced to observe the Week
from December 03 to 09 to protest
against human rights violations
by Indian troops in occupied
Kashmir.
Indian police during house raids
arrested over two dozen youth
including Younis Nabi Naik,
Fayaz Ahmed Wani, Riyaz
Ahmed Ganai, Bilal Ahmed,
Javaid Ahmed Parray, Yasir
Bashir Wani, Tahir Yousuf Lone,
Rafique Ahmed Butt, Javaid
Ahmed Khanday and Imran
Nazir Najar from Tral, Khrew
and Sopore areas.
December 04: Indian troops
ruthlessly beat up a civilian,
Tariq Ahmed, after barging into
his house during a cordon and
search operation at Wachoora in
Pulwama.
Indian police arrested Hurriyat
leaders including Bilal Siddiqi,
Showkat Ahmed Bakhshi, Noor
Muhammad Kalwal, Sheikh
Abdul Rasheed and Muhammad
Yasin Butt in Srinagar and
JANUARY 2019 18
Human Rights Situation
several youth from Shagan in
Shopian.
The occupation authorities kept
senior resistance leaders, Syed
Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq
and Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai,
under house arrest in Srinagar.
December 05: A 57-year-old
woman, Hajira Begum, died due
to suffocation caused by teargas
shelling of Indian troops during
a cordon and search operation in
Hajin area of Bandipora district.
The police arrested Hurriyat
leader, Hilal Ahmed War, and
Kashmir Economic Alliance
Chairperson, Muhammad Yasin
Khan, and put Hurriyat leader,
Zafar Akbar Butt, under house
arrest in Srinagar.
December 07: Indian police
arrested four people including a
woman, Saika Ameen, from
Kishtwar and Pulwama areas.
December 08: Indian troops
killed 14-year-old Mudassir
Rasheed Parray and 17-year-old
Saqib Bilal Sheikh during a
cordon and search operation at
Mujgund in Srinagar. The troops
also destroyed several houses in
the area.
Many people were injured after
Indian forces’ personnel fired
pellets and teargas shells on
protesters in Mujgund and Hajin
areas.
December 09: Dead body of a
youth was recovered from the
debris of the houses destroyed by
the troops in Mujgund.
Over fifty youth including Altaf
Ahmed Shagoo, Shabbir Ahmed
and Muneer Ahmed Sheikh
sustained injuries after Indian
forces’ personnel fired pellets
and teargas shells on protesters
in Srinagar and Hajin areas.
December 10: Several youth
were injured when Indian police
used brute force on peaceful
protesters in Pulwama, Shopian,
Hajin and
Srinagar areas.
The police also
arrested over a
dozen Hurriyat
activists and
youth during
the protests.
December 13:
Indian troops
killed two
youth, Awais
Ahmed Butt
and Tahir
Ahmed Dar, and destroyed two
residential houses during a
cordon and search operation at
Gund Brath in Sopore.
December 14: Indian forces’
personnel fired pellets on
protesters in Nowhatta and other
areas of Srinagar, injuring many
of them.
KASHMIR INSIGHT
Indian police arrested a youth
from Tumlahaal in Pulwama.
December 15: Indian troops
killed 11 youth, Zahoor Ahmed
Thokar, Amir Ahmed Paul,
Liyaqat Majeed Dar, Tawseef
Ahmed Mir, Awais Ahmed
Najar, Suhail Rasheed,
Muhammad Murtaza Dar, Aaqib
Bashir Butt, Abid Hussain Lone,
Adnan Hamid Butt and Bilal
Ahmed Magray and injured over
200 others during a violent
cordon and search operation in
Sirnoo area of Pulwama.
December 16: Five youth were
injured after Indian paramilitary
personnel used brute force on
protesters at Soura in Srinagar.
The authorities put Hurriyat
leaders including the APHC
Chairman, Syed Ali Gilani,
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq,
Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai and
Hilal Ahmed War under house
arrest in Srinagar.
Indian police arrested JKLF
leader, Muhammad Yasin Butt,
and Awami Ittehad Party
Chairman, Engineer Abdur
Rasheed, along with his
supporters from Rajbagh after
they tried to march towards the
UN office at Sonawar in Srinagar
as a mark of protest against
killing of people by Indian troops
JANUARY 2019 19
Human Rights Situation
in occupied Kashmir.
December 17: Indian police
arrested senior resistance
leaders, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq
and Muhammad Yasin Malik,
when they defied restrictions
and tried to lead a march towards
Indian Army headquarters at
Badami Bagh in Srinagar against
the killing spree by the troops in
the occupied territory. Mirwaiz
Umar Farooq and Muhammad
Yasin Malik were arrested along
with dozens of their supporters
in Nigeen and Gawkadal areas of
the city. The police used brute
force and fired teargas shells on
the protesters.
The occupation authorities
placed other Hurriyat leaders
including Syed Ali Gilani,
Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai and
Muhammad Yousuf Naqash
under house arrest or in custody
to prevent them from leading the
march.
The police arrested a civilian,
Noor Muhammad, in Fiqsoo-
Thatri area of Doda district.
December 20: The police
arrested seven people including
Javaid Butt, Tahir Shah, Haroon
Rasheed, Ajay Kumar,
Muhammad Asif and Zubair
Shabbir Butt from Rajouri and
Ganderbal areas.
December 21: Several youth
were injured after Indian police
fired pellets and teargas shells on
protesters at Nohatta in Srinagar
The police arrested Jammu and
Kashmir Liberation Front leader,
Muhammad Rafi Nannaji, in
Srinagar and a youth, Zahoor
Ahmed Khan, in Pattan area of
Baramulla district.
December 22: Indian troops
killed six youth, Soleh
Muhammad Akhoon, Rasikh
Mir, Rauf
Mir, Umar
Ramzan Mir,
Nadeem Sofi
and Faisal
J a v a i d
Khanday
and injured
many others
during a
v i o l e n t
cordon and
s e a r c h
operation at
Arampora in Tral area of
Pulwama district.
December 24: The occupation
authorities booked Ummat-e-
Islami’s district president for
Pulwama, Aijaz Noori, under
black law, Public Safety Act, and
lodged him at Kot Bhalwal Jail in
Jammu.
December 25: Indian police
arrested over a dozen people
including the Chairman of
KASHMIR INSIGHT
Jammu and Kashmir Islami
Tanzeem-e-Azadi, Abdul Samad
Inqilabi, during house raids in
different areas of Pulwama and
Rajouri.
December 28: Indian troops
killed a youth, Ishfaq Ahmed
Wani, an MBA degree holder,
during a cordon and search
operation at Renzipora in
Pulwama district.
A photographer and a girl were
injured after Indian forces’
personnel used brute force on
peaceful protesters at Kunzer in
Tangmarg area of Baramulla
district.
December 29: Indian troops
killed four youth, Muzamil
Ahmed Dar, Waseem Akram
Wani, Muzamil Nazir Butt and
Haris and destroyed one
residential house and two
cowsheds during a violent
cordon and search operation at
Hanjin Payeen in Rajpora area of
Pulwama district.
Over two dozen youth were
injured after Indian forces fired
bullets, pellets and teargas shells
on mourners at Hanjin Payeen in
Pulwama.
December 31: Indian troops
killed two youth during a violent
military operation at Nowgam in
Kupwara district.
JANUARY 2019 20
Report
Islamabad seminar calls for setting up
a commission to probe HR abuses in IOK
Speakers at a seminar held in
Islamabad on December 08, 2018
called for constituting an
international commission to
conduct a comprehensive and
independent inquiry into the
human rights violations
committed by Indian soldiers in
occupied Kashmir.
They expressed these views
while welcoming the recent
reports on Jammu and Kashmir
by the Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation’s (OIC)
Independent Permanent Human
Rights Commission, the UN
High Commissioner for Human
Rights and the British
Parliament’s All-Party
Parliamentary Kashmir Group
that highlighted the grave
human rights situation of
occupied Kashmir.
The speakers at the seminar
organised by Kashmir Media
Service included Raja Zafarul
Haq, Zafar Bangash, Dr Habib-
ur-Rehman, Dr Tughral Yamin,
Ghulam Muhammad Safi, Syed
Faiz Naqshbandi, Sheikh
Tajammul-ul-Islam, Altaf Wani,
Sheraz Asim and Ali Raza Syed.
They also demanded repeal of
draconian laws and halt to the
use of pellet guns by Indian
troops on peaceful protesters in
the occupied territory.
The speakers demanded setting
up of an International
Commission of Inquiry for a
comprehensive and independent
investigation into the human
rights violations by Indian troops
in occupied Kashmir. They said
that the Indian government
should respect the Kashmiris’
right to self-determination and
asked the governments of
Pakistan and Azad Jammu and
Kashmir to incorporate Kashmir
studies in syllabus.
Chairing the conference, Leader
of the Opposition in the Senate,
Senator Raja Zafarul Haq,
stressed the need for raising at
every relevant forum the gross
human rights violations being
perpetrated by Indian troops in
occupied Kashmir. He pointed
out that more than two dozen
resolutions of the United Nations
and Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC) have been
passed on the long-standing
dispute and that no country in
the world has ever opposed these
resolutions calling for giving the
right to self-determination to the
Kashmiris.
“Kashmir has never been a part
of India and nor will it ever be,”
he said, adding that India’s
continued military occupation of
the territory was a clear and open
violation of international laws.
He said that all political parties,
institutions and the people of
Pakistan were on the same page
on the Kashmir issue.
The Director of Toronto-based
Islamic Society, Zafar Bangash,
said that they had been working
on the Kashmir issue for the past
30 years. “We should collectively
KASHMIR INSIGHT
play our role in exposing at the
international level the atrocities
committed by the Indian Army
in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Zafar Bangash stressed the need
to use social media in this regard
and sensitise the youth about the
Kashmir dispute at the univer-
sity level.
On the other hand, addressing
another seminar in Islamabad on
December 12, 2018, the President
of Azad Jammu and Kashmir,
Sardar Masood Khan, said that
according to independent
reports over 6,000 innocent
Kashmiris had so far been
blinded by Indian troops with
the use of pellets in occupied
Kashmir. Addressing the
seminar titled “Kashmir Dispute;
Human Rights Violations in
Indian occupied Kashmir
(IOK)”, he said Al-Jazeera channel
and the New York Times have
strongly condemned the Indian
brutalities against the innocent
people of occupied Kashmir. A
group of 76 prominent personali-
ties of UK belonging to almost all
political parties has also
deplored the Indian atrocities
against the Kashmiris, he added.
(KI Report)
JANUARY 2019 21
Report
UN asks twitter to explain suspension of Kashmir accounts
David Kaye criticizes India for expanding censorship scope
The UN Special Rapporteur on
freedom of opinion and expres-
sion, David Kaye, criticised India
for expanding the scope of its
censorship tools and efforts, at the
expense of individual rights to
freedom of expression, access to
information, freedom of associa-
tion and other fundamental
human rights in occupied
Kashmir.
The UN Rapporteur, David Kaye
in a letter to Twitter’s Chief
Executive, Jack Dorsey, on
December 10, 2018 asked him to
explain the suspension of
accounts posting Kashmir-
related content amid reports that
the micro-blogging platform gave
in to multiple censorship requests
from the Indian government.
He asked him to explain why the
platform has begun “acceding to
India’s requests” to act against
users, including journalists and
activists, p osting Kashmir-
related content since July 2017.
Citing Twitter’s reports, David
Kaye said that the platform had
not withheld any accounts or
tweets despite requests from the
Indian government between July
2016 and June 2017, but had
started doing so after that.
It seems that Twitter “may have
begun to accede to government
demands for content and account
removals since July 2017”, David
Kaye told Jack Dorsey in his
letter dated December 10, 2018.
“The reasons for this shift are
unclear,” David Kaye said, as he
reminded Jack Dorsey of
Twitter’s commitment to respect
the human rights of its users.
David Kaye, who shared the
letter on Twitter on December 21,
said that legal demands to
remove content should b e
“interpreted and implemented as
narrowly as possible, to ensure
the least possible restriction of
expression”.
In the letter, he wrote that the
users’ tweets and accounts were
withheld when they participated
in discussions concerning
Kashmir on the social media
platform.
David Kaye asked Jack Dorsey to
explain the “legal, policy or other
analysis” that led to Twitter to
start withholding tweets or
accounts related to Kashmir and
suspending Kashmiri Twitter
handles.
According to Twitter’s report on
removal requests, the Indian
government made 96 removal
requests between July 2016 and
December 2016 and 104 in the six
months after that, David Kaye
said. Twitter did not act on any of
them, but between July 2017 and
December 2017, it withheld 17
accounts and 32 tweets after India
made 144 such requests, he
added.
David Kaye said in the recent
years India has expanded the
scope of its censorship “at the
expense of individual rights to
freedom of expression”. In a
series of questions, David Kaye
asked Jack Dorsey to explain how
many removal requests for
KASHMIR INSIGHT
Kashmir-related tweets or
accounts were made and how
many such requests were
complied with.
“What strategies has Twitter
adopted to prevent or mitigate
content or account removal
requests that are inconsistent
with international human rights
standards, particularly for
requests pertaining to Kashmir-
related content?” he asked.
The portal’s biannual transpar-
ency report released on
December 13, 2018 showed that
between January to June 2018,
India made 237 removal requests.
A list of the content blocked
suggests that many of the
censured accounts belonged to
Kashmiri users.
Twitter said it had withheld two
accounts and 23 tweets in
response to the demand from the
Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology under
Section 69A of the Information
Technology Act 2000. Section
69A permits the Indian govern-
ment to direct any intermediary
to block or remove content from
public view, “in the interest of
sovereignty and integrity of
India”, among other reasons.
JANUARY 2019 22
Report
World HR Day moot vows to place Kashmir high on EU agenda
The All-Party Parliamentary
Group on Kashmir in the
European Parliament (APPGK-
EP) hosted a conference on
“Kashmir - Human Rights,
Conflict Resolution” in Brussels
on December 06, 2018.
Members of European
Parliament (MEPs), Julie Ward
and Klaus Buchner, organised
the conference in collaboration
with the International Human
Rights Association of American
Minorities (IHRAAM),
International Commission for
Human Rights (ICHR), South
Asian Centre for Peace and
Human Rights (SACPHR) and
Kashmir Youth Assembly UK
and Europe. The event was held
in connection with the
International Human Rights
Day observed on December 10.
The conference opened with the
screening of a film titled
“ B r u i s e d P a r a d i s e ” h i g h-
lighting gross human rights
abuses taking place in occupied
Kashmir where people are
seeking their inalienable right
to self-determination as prom-
ised by the international
community through the United
Nations resolutions. The
documentary depicted the
sufferings of the Kashmiri men,
women and children (as young
as 9 months) targeted by the
Indian military and paramili-
tary personnel with absolute
impunity given to them under
the draconian laws including
the Armed Forces Special
Powers Act (AFSPA).
Frank Schawalba-Hoth, former
MEP and founder of German
Greens, who chaired and
moderated the conference,
called for a collective declara-
tion to resolve all international
disputes including Kashmir in
KASHMIR INSIGHT
compliance with the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR) as a convenient and
useful tool which provides
hope, respect and courage to
common good, collective peace
and international security.
Opening the proceedings, MEP
Klaus Buchner recalled the
importance placed by the
civilised world in respecting the
human rights. He highlighted
the significance of the funda-
mental freedoms of religion,
speech and association as
starting points for building
trust amongst the parties in
conflict situations and to help
find resolution for peace and
common security.
MEP Wajid Khan emphasised
that the people of Kashmir must
be given their promised right to
self-determination for which
they have endured so much of
Indian repression for the past
over seven decades but been
deprived till date. He deplored
that the world has been slow in
ensuring the implementation of
the UN resolutions on Kashmir
resulting in gross human rights
abuses by Indian troops in
occupied Kashmir.
JANUARY 2019 23
Report
Barrister Abdul Majeed
Tramboo, the ICHR Chairman,
maintained that the crucial
advocacy and diplomatic work
on Kashmir is of utter signifi-
cance. He called for an effective
strategy to place, once again, the
Kashmir dispute high on
agenda of the European Union
including the European
Parliament.
Barrister Abdul Majeed
Tramboo declared that he along
with his colleagues is there to
render all possible assistance to
APPGK and the interested
MEPs in the advocacy of
Kashmir within the European
Union to achieve a fresh report
on the current situation of
occupied Kashmir.
Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl,
the SACFPHR Chairman,
presented an analysis and
evolution of the UDHR and the
guarantees it offers to the
people of the world. He reiter-
ated the need for continued
efforts to ensure that the
Kashmiris’ fundamental
human rights and freedoms are
respected and they be given
their right to self-determination
without any further delay.
Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl
referred to the European
Parliament’s resolution on
unmarked mass graves in
occupied Kashmir and asked
the APPGK and all other MEPs
to get the recommendations of
the report implemented so that
the disappeared people are
traced and the situation of half-
widows is resolved.
Barrister Stuart Stevens, a
leading human rights counsel in
the City of London, in his
speech stressed the need to link
the world trade and economic
cooperation with the obser-
vance of human rights. He
deplored world current and
subtle trends of separating the
human rights compliance
record of a
country from
its desirability
to become an
international
market and
influential
economic
power. He
insisted that
such double
standards
m u s t b e
recalibrated to achieve unified
and human rights declaration
compliant economic standards.
Zubair Awan, the KYA
Chairman and human rights
lawyer in London, recalled the
importance of youth engage-
ment for the promotion and
KASHMIR INSIGHT
protection of human rights. He
pleaded for youth engagement
and emergence of young
leadership and appealed to
youngsters to come forward
and stand shoulder to shoulder
with the Kashmiri children and
youth in solidarity with their
struggle to protect their human
rights and achieve their right to
self-determination.
The deliberation of the confer-
ence followed interactive
question and answer session
whereby the delegates
expressed their sentiments and
support for the people of
Jammu and Kashmir and asked
questions to the panel.
Answering a question, Barrister
Abdul Majeed Tramboo
stressed the need for continuing
to raise voice at the interna-
tional fora including the United
Nations and its various
mandates, the European Union
including the European
Parliament and the
Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation until the victim, in
this context in occupied
Kashmir, is guaranteed the
human rights (including the
right to self-determination) and
the aggressor shuns its practices
of depriving this right.
(KI Report)
JANUARY 2019 24
Report
Dr Fai warns of great risk involved in ignoring Kashmir dispute
Over 200 envoys from 40 countries support Kashmir settlement
The Secretary General of World
Kashmir Awareness Forum
(WKAF), Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai,
has said that Kashmir is an
internationally-recognised
dispute that urgently needs to be
put on a road to find a just and
viable solution.
Dr Fai addressing various
events in Istanbul in December
2018 said that a problem which
had figured on the active agenda
of the United Nations, which has
been the subject of fourteen
substantive resolutions of the
Security Council, on which the
UN has painstakingly worked
out an agreement with both
India and Pakistan would not
seem to be a problem which
deserved to be ignored from the
operational sphere of the United
Nations. He said that he would
appreciate that this consider-
ation acquired added force in a
situation in which no alternative
peace process was in motion.
Dr Fai addressed various
conferences including 27th
Congress of Economic and
Social Research Center (ESAM),
which was attended by over 200
delegates from 40 countries, and
a lecture organised by the
Center for Islam and Global
Affairs (CIGA) of Istanbul
Sabahattin Zaim University.
The WKAF Secretary General
warned that nothing better
could be said about human
rights in occupied Kashmir.
Every human rights group,
including the report issued by
the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights that has exam-
ined the convulsed scene in
occupied Kashmir has reported
harrowing human rights
violations including tens of
thousands of extrajudicial
killings, rape, torture, plunder,
arbitrary arrests and ruthless
suppression of free speech and
press. “The people suffer a
brutal campaign of suppression
by the Indian Army, which
wants to crush their aspirations
for right to self-determination
through terror and military
force. It is documented that the
crimes that are being perpe-
trated against the people of
Kashmir are systematic, delib-
erate and officially sanctioned.
The world powers must endorse
the recommendation of the
United Nations High
Commissioner for Human
Rights that an impartial investi-
gation needs to be conducted
into the latest situation in
occupied Kashmir. The United
Nations must send a fact-finding
mission to assess the situation
there,” he added.
Dr Fai pointed out that the issue
of Kashmir is by no definition a
terrorist or separatist move-
ment. “It is a movement for right
KASHMIR INSIGHT
to self-determination inspired
by a spirit for freedom and it has
its legitimacy in the United
Nations Security Council
resolutions. The UN has the
opportunity to affect a positive
resolution to the conflict and
resulting humanitarian situa-
tion by promoting the condi-
tions of the original mandate. It
is only through international
recognition and inclusive
representations that a genuine
and lasting peace can ensue. The
risks of maintaining the status
quo - for Kashmir, South Asia
and the world - are too great to
ignore,” he further said.
Dr Fai said that the refusal by
India to sit down to the table
with Pakistan or those who
represent the Kashmiris indi-
cated that New Delhi was not
even close to addressing the
realities of Kashmir and the will
of the Kashmiri people. He said,
this must change and sounder
minds must prevail and more
rational methods of dealing with
differences must be sought.
Repeating the same mistakes
JANUARY 2019 25
Report
while expecting different results
has long ago been found to be
the path of failure, he said,
adding that seventy-one years
should demonstrate a need for a
change in policy - a policy that
accepts the need for coming
together in a process that accepts
the right of all people to deter-
mine their own destiny.
The consistent application of
human rights standards would
allow a just and peaceful
resolution of the 71-year-old
Kashmir dispute. “It would
directly help India to extricate
itself from the quagmire of
international conflicts and
accumulation of weaponry, to
realise its economic and techno-
logical potential and truly rise to
the stature of a great power. It
would also release Pakistan
from a crippling burden. It
would thus bring the lasting
credit to the foreign policy of the
world powers in the region of
South Asia,” Dr Fai maintained.
The WKAF Secretary General
said the people of Kashmir do
not wish anybody to take a
partisan side. Kashmiris are
convinced, nevertheless, that
impartial observers would
support the Kashmir cause
based on universal principles,
democratic values, rule of law
and international justice, he
said. “It is high time that all
concerned parties - India,
Pakistan and the Kashmiri
leadership - sit together and
chalk out a strategy for the sake
of peace and stability in the
region of South Asia. Because
ultimately, the negotiations, not
violence, is the only way to
resolve the Kashmir conflict and
that Kashmiris cannot be
excluded from the negotiating
table if a peace process is to be
serious, meaningful and result-
oriented,” he concluded.
On the other hand, more than
KASHMIR INSIGHT
200 representatives of 40
countries through a resolution
unanimously passed at an
international conference held in
Istanbul on December 04, 2018
expressed concern over the
ongoing Indian state terrorism
in occupied Kashmir. The
resolution was moved by
Member of Azad Jammu and
Kashmir Legislative Assembly,
Abdul Rasheed Turabi, in the
conference, which was organ-
ised by the Economic and Social
Research Center popularly
known as ESAM. It demanded
an immediate end to the human
rights violations by Indian
troops in the occupied territory.
Representatives of various
governments, parliamentarians,
leaders of Islamic movements,
religious scholars and media
persons from Asia, Africa,
Europe and the US participated
in the event. The participants
urged the United Nations and
the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation to play their role in
granting the people of Jammu
and Kashmir their inalienable
right to self-determination.
Palestine and other issues being
faced by the Muslim world were
also made part of the resolution.
(KI Report)
JANUARY 2019 26
Chronology
A chronological account of
developments on Kashmir (149)
KMS Research Desk
2014
March 25: Criminal elements in
New Delhi’s Tihar Jail assault
Kashmiri detainees and
critically injure one of them
Muhammad Rafique Shah, who
is illegally detained since 2005.
The family members of Rafique
Shah say that the jail authorities
have given the assailants free
hand to attack the Kashmiri
prisoners.
The veteran Hurriyat leader,
Syed Ali Gilani, in a media
interview in New Delhi
condemns the murderous
assaults on the Kashmiri
detainees and appeals to the
international human rights
organisations to take cognisance
of the attacks on the Kashmiri
inmates in the Indian jails.
Kashmiri representative, Altaf
Hussain Wani, in his statement
submitted to the United Nations
Human Rights Council during its
25th Session in Geneva urges the
UN Body to impress upon India
to investigate the issue of
enforced disappearances and
unmarked mass graves in
occupied Kashmir.
March 26: The All Parties
Hurriyat Conference in its
Executive Council meeting in
Srinagar calls upon the people of
India to exert pressure on
political parties of their country
to take steps for settlement of the
lingering Kashmir dispute for
ensuring peace in South Asia. It
maintains that Jammu and
Kashmir is a political dispute
that needs to be resolved in its
historical perspective as per the
Kashmiris’ aspirations.
Scores of people stage a protest
demonstration against the arrest
of civilians by Indian police at
Nawpora in Srinagar. The
protesters block the traffic and
demand immediate release of
the detained persons.
Kashmiri representatives
including Syed Faiz
Naqshbandi, Ishtiyaq Hameed
and Shamim Shawl in their
addresses to the UN Human
Rights Council during its 25th
session in Geneva say that India
has converted occupied
Kashmir into the most
militarised zone of the world.
A Sikh representative
organisation, Dal Khalsa, in a
letter addressed to the Office of
the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights seeks the
intervention by the World Body
to ensure protection of rights of
Sikhs and Kashmiris through
realisation of their right to self-
determination.
March 27: The Chairman of All
Parties Hurriyat Conference,
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq,
addressing telephonically a
two-day international
conference on Kashmir held in
Islamabad appeals to the world
community to come forward in
a big way for finding out a
durable resolution of the
Kashmir dispute. He maintains
that delay in resolving the
Kashmir dispute will jeopardise
all efforts to restore peace and
stability in South Asia. He
deplores that the international
community adopts double
standards in resolving the
world conflicts. Raja Zafarul
Haq, Victoria Schofield, Akram
Zaki, Sardar Attique Ahmed
Khan, Barrister Sultan
Mehmood Chaudhry, Qamar
Zaman Kaira, Shamshad
Ahmed Khan, General (retd)
Hameed Gul and other
intellectuals also address the
conference.
In occupied Kashmir, glowing
tributes are paid to the
prominent human rights
defender and lawyer, Jaleel
Andrabi, on his 18th
JANUARY 2019 27
Chronology
martyrdom anniversary. The
Chairman of Jammu and
Kashmir Liberation Front,
Muhammad Yasin Malik, at a
prayer meeting at the party
office in Srinagar says that Jaleel
Andrabi worked tirelessly at
the regional and global levels to
highlight the human rights
violations perpetrated by
Indian troops in occupied
Kashmir.
Complete shutdown is
observed in Tral town against
the atrocities of the Indian
Army personnel. People stage
anti-India protests against
police raids on their houses in
the town.
March 28: Indian troops in their
fresh act of state terrorism
martyr two Kashmiri youth
during a cordon and search
operation in Kathua district.
The occupation authorities
arrest Hurriyat leaders, Shabbir
Ahmed Shah and Muhammad
Yousuf Naqash, and place Zafar
Akbar Butt and Nayeem
Ahmed Khan under house
arrest in Srinagar to prevent
them from addressing public
gatherings. The police also raid
the residences of Hurriyat
leaders, Mushtaq-ul-Islam and
Farooq Ahmed Dar, and harass
the inmates.
The veteran Hurriyat leader,
Syed Ali Gilani, in his
telephonic address from New
Delhi to an international
conference in Islamabad says
that Kashmir is an international
dispute and not only 15 million
Kashmiris are suffering due to
this conflict but it is also the
reason behind the instability
and political uncertainty in the
whole south Asian region. He
says that India’s rigid and
stubborn approach is the main
impediment in the resolution of
the Kashmir conflict.
March 29: The All Parties
Hurriyat Conference leaders
and activists including Javaid
Ahmed Mir, Syed Bashir
Andrabi, Hilal Ahmed War,
Syed Saleem Gilani, Shahid-ul-
Islam, Hakeem Abdul Rasheed
and Imtiaz Reshi visit the
Martyrs’ Graveyard at Eidgah in
Srinagar and pay rich tributes to
Ishfaq Majeed Wani, Advocate
Jaleel Andrabi, Dr Abdul Ahad
Guru and martyrs of Dargah
Hazratbal on their anniversaries.
Addressing a condolence
meeting on the occasion, they
say that the sacrifices of
Kashmiri martyrs have centre-
staged the Kashmir dispute at
the global level and their mission
will be accomplished despite all
odds.
Indian police arrest senior
APHC leader, Shabbir Ahmed
Shah, along with his associates
from Awantipora area of
Pulwama when he was on his
way to Tral to address a public
gathering.
At least fifteen people are
injured when Indian police use
brute force against peaceful
protesters in Baramulla and
Palhallan areas.
Compiled by: Showkat Ali
To be continued...
JANUARY 2019 28
Beauty Thy Name is
MUSLIM RELIGIOUS CENTRES OF SRINAGAR
Hazratbal Mosque
Hazratbal Mosque is located in a
village of the same name on the
banks of the Dal Lake. Its pristine
white marble elegance is
reflected in the waters of the
Lake.
Hazratbal's special significance
is derived from the fact that it
houses a hair of the Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH). This is
displayed to the public on
religious occasions, usually
accompanied by fairs. Hazratbal
is remarkable for being the only
domed mosque in Srinagar; the
others having distinct pagoda-
like roofs. The shrine-mosque
complex is situated on the
western shore of the Dal Lake
opposite Nishat Bagh and
commands a grand view of the
Lake and the mountain beyond.
Jamia Masjid
The Jamia Masjid at Nowhatta, in
the heart of the old city, is the
other important mosque in
Srinagar at which thousands of
people congregate for the Friday
prayers. Of imposing propor-
tions, the mosque is built around
a courtyard and is supported by
around 370 wooden pillars.
Originally built by Sultan
Sikandar in 1400 AD, and
enlarged by his son, Zain-ul-
Abidin, it is a typical example of
Indo-Saracenic architecture.
Destroyed thrice by fire and
rebuilt each time, the mosque, as
it now stands, was repaired
during the reign of Maharaja
Pratap Singh.
Khanqah of Shah Hamadan or
Khanqah-i-Moalla
Situated on the banks of the River
Jhelum, it is the first mosque ever
built in Srinagar. The original
one was built in 1395.
Shah Hamadan's full name was
Mir Sayed Ali Hamadni, the
surname being derived from the
city of Hamadan in Persia. Shah-
i-Hamdan, who came from
Persia in the 14th century, played
an important role in the spread of
Islam in Kashmir. Khanqah-i-
Moalla was the very spot where
Shah-i-Hamdan used to offer
prayers.
The Khanqah is a wooden
structure whose chief aesthetic
feature is its beautifully carved
eaves and hanging bells.
Shrine of Makhdoom Sahib
On the southern side of the Hari
Parbat hill is the historic shrine of
Makhdoom Sahib, which is
visited by people of all faiths.
Pathar Masjid
The Pathar Masjid stands on the
bank of River Ganges. Built in the
KASHMIR INSIGHT
Mughal architectural style
during the 17th century A.D,
Pathar Masjid owes its glory to its
pleated towers built of red
sandstone that were attached to
the back wall.
The structure is built of stone,
and so it got its name as Pathar
Masjid. Apart from religious
functions, this old mosque is a
major landmark of the city.
Dastgir Sahib Khanyar
Dastgir Sahib is a shrine built in
the 18th century, housing the
relics of a saint. It consists of a
square building containing a few
ancillary rooms, and a rectan-
gular building that wraps
around the square one on two
sides. This consists mostly of a
large hall used as a meet-
ing/gathering hall and mosque.
Naqshband Sahib
Khanqah of Khawaja Moinuddin
Naqshbandi is popularly known
as Naqshband Shrine. It holds an
important religious significance,
as the sacred hair of Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) was kept at
this mosque before moving it to
the Hazratbal Mosque. It was
built by Emperor Shah Jahan and
is known for its Khatamband
ceilings.
JANUARY 2019 29
Literature
The village about which this
story is related had a school
where education in the tradi-
tional manner was imparted to
the village boys. The old white-
bearded teacher, who taught at
the school for thirty years, had
passed away, much to the
regret of the villagers. He had
perhaps never taught more
than three or four pupils at a
time, but his culture and good
breeding won him a warm
niche in every heart. He was
succeeded by another
gentleman from a neigh-
bouring village.
The new teacher was a young
man. He was gifted with all
those qualities, which make us
look wistfully on our departed
The teacher
A Kashmir Folktale
youth: energy, health, ambi-
tion, hope and vanity. Since his
pedagogic duties did not tax his
energy to any extent, he
interested himself in other
activities and was fond of the
company of young men.
The life lived by a woman in the
city is different from that of her
sister in the village. In a city the
standard is set by the official
class who for this purpose may
be said to include the business
and professional class too. Till
recently their womenfolk, both
Hindu and Muslim, lived in
‘pardah’ and would not leave
the four walls of the house
except with a veil hanging
down to their toes. There is no
question at all of their talking to
a stranger, however good-
natured he may be. The village
woman, on the other hand, is
free from many of the taboos in
the city. She moves about freely
and modesty is alien to her
unsophisticated nature. Her
conduct is a true reflection of
her. She is mostly a
workingwoman assisting her
husband in the fields or tending
cattle on the outskirts of the
village. She will meet anybody
unflinchingly, be he a robber or
even the devil, and not faint
with fear like some of her
sophisticated women living in
towns behind latticed curtains.
In spite of that, however, her
conduct is unblemished.
The schoolmaster referred to
above had certain precon-
ceived and illusory notions
about village women. He
thought he could play the
gallant and thus tickle his
vanity. Women move about
freely in villages and his
movements were so timed as to
cross a number of them on the
road when they proceeded to
their farms. Sometimes he
contrived to enter into conver-
sation with one either on the
roadside or at the village spring
where they went daily to fetch
water. There was, in particular,
a housewife, both pretty and
prosperous, whose acquain-
tance and friendship he wanted
to cultivate. On several occa-
sions he tried to enter into
KASHMIR INSIGHT
conversation with her. She
never resented such an attempt
on his part but, as far as she was
concerned, the matter ended
there for her. It never paved the
way for a friendship or even
what may be called an acquain-
tance because the next time he
had to begin once again from
the lowest rung.
Finding no indication of
progress in this way he
changed his line of action. The
young boy of the housewife
attended the school where the
teacher taught. The teacher
frequently said to the boy
"Remember me to your
mother". The boy carried the
message as charged. The
mother realised that the teacher
needed a purge for his humour
and she chalked out her line of
action. She told her boy to
inform the teacher that she
wanted to have a word with
him at her house. It was
conveyed to him that her
husband was expected to be
away for the whole day.
The heart of the teacher flut-
tered like a bird when he got the
message. He felt highly excited
and in his best attire went too
early for the appointment. The
housewife gave him a reception
that seemed to lack nothing in
warmth. She seemed to have
placed full confidence in his
friendship and gallantry. He
could not conceal the lascivi-
ousness in his looks and she
reciprocated by pretending to
gaze at him fondly. She busied
herself in making tea for him
and offered him a cupful.
While the cup brimful with tea
was steaming in the hands of
the teacher, a most unwelcome
visitor arrived in the person of
the owner of the house, the
JANUARY 2019 30
Literature
husband. The teacher did not
seem to be taken by surprise
because the presence of the
housewife had dilated his spirit
and elated his vanity. The
husband called his wife in a
gruff voice from the yard. The
housewife began to tremble
and turned pale.
“I am undone,” she whispered,
“if he discovers you here he will
kill me and not spare you
either.”
“Have no fear,” said the teacher
in a voice that faltered, “he
cannot be so harsh.”
“I know better how ruthless he
is. Would to God I were dead
rather than be surprised in this
compromising situation,” she
said and began to beat her
chest. “O quick, save my life”
she whispered in a commotion,
which was now instilled into
the teacher's heart.
“Is there no other exit?”
“No, none. He sees you here
and I am killed. He is such a
rough bear. Nothing can save
me unless ....,” she began to
wail in a hushed voice.
“Unless what?”
“Unless you disguise yourself
to escape his suspicion.”
“Most willingly. I'll do
anything for your sake,” said
the teacher out of a sense of
gallantry and a trace of relief
that a way out was indicated.
In a jiffy the housewife gave
him a workingwoman's cloak
and scarf, which he donned as
quickly, casting off his own
turban and cloak which she put
away. To allay all traces of
suspicion in her husband she
placed before him a basketful of
maize and two portable
millstones. She impressed
upon him that he must look
b a s h f u l l y
downwards,
rotate the upper
millstone and
turn out the
yellow flour.
Needless to say
that the other
obeyed. Having
accomplished all
this she came
downstairs to
m e e t h e r
husband so that
he did not get a
chance to suspect
that the teacher
was in the person
o f t h e
workingwoman
turning out flour.
The housewife
greeted her
husband with a
face beaming
with smiles.
“What is that now. The lesson must have gone
grinding sound upstairs?” home to him.”
growled the husband. “It is that The housewife gave the captive
deaf woman turning out maize his clothes and the teacher
flour,” she replied aloud. slipped away without
The husband and wife stayed exchanging another word.
pretty long in the kitchen It was remarked by many
garden and in the barn. The people the next day that the
sound of grinding continued to teacher had lost much of his
come from upstairs though it liveliness. His spirit had been
was slow and punctuated with clouded by a sort of an eclipse.
intervals of silence. The teacher But nobody knew why. For
developed many blisters on his neither the housewife nor her
hands. He thought of slipping husband revealed the secret of
away, but knew nothing about the "deaf woman" grinding
where his turban, scarf and maize.
tunic had been deposited One day the housewife sent a
without which he was sure to message to the schoolmaster
attract the attention of the desiring him to repeat the visit.
pariah dog no less than of man. The boy conveyed the message
“The fellow must be tired now but now the teacher felt no
and feeling bitter,” said her excitement. All that he said was,
husband to the housewife, “Ask her if she has consumed
“you had better dismiss him the flour ground previously.”
KASHMIR INSIGHT JANUARY 2019 31
Feedback
HR Day and IOK
Dear editor, international Human
Rights Day is celebrated annually
across the world on December 10
to honour the United Nations
General Assembly's adoption and
proclamation, on December 10,
1948, of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights (UDHR), the
first global enunciation of human
rights. But in occupied Kashmir,
the situation is very grim where
Kashmiris continue to be
brutalised by Indian troops.
And as the world celebrated
International Human Rights Day
with seminars and
other programmes on
December 10, 2018,
Kashmir remained
burning and people
of Kashmir were
traumatised by the
occupational troops.
It is quite regrettable
that the champions of
peace including the
US, the UK and the
UN did not utter a
word against the inhuman
behaviour of New Delhi. The
denial of right to self-
determination has been the
biggest violation of rights, which
is being committed by India in
Kashmir.
The way peaceful candlelight
protests against human rights
abuses in occupied Kashmir were
dealt with iron fist by the Indian
police and troops proves the fact
that Jammu and Kashmir is a
police state run according to the
wishes of the forces’ personnel.
The day was marked by house
arrests and detentions of Hurriyat
leaders and activists.
Sohail Hashmi
Srinagar
Sacrifices of youth
The people of occupied Kashmir
are rendering unparalleled
sacrifices in their just struggle for
freedom from Indian bondage
and are determined to achieve
their cherished goal, despite all
odds. The martyrdom of each
Kashmiri youth further
strengthens the Kashmiris’
resolve for the purpose. The brave
and courageous youth of Kashmir
are resisting the Indian rule and
are even laying down their lives
to get rid of this forcible
occupation. The Kashmiri youth
are sacrificing their today for the
better tomorrow of their people.
Peace and stability in South Asia
are linked to the Kashmir dispute
and more the time its resolution
takes, the more dangerous it will
become for the entire region.
Muhammad Ali
Pulwama
Women, children
martyred
Dear editor, after killing
numerous youth in recent past,
Indian forces during cordon and
search operations are killing
innocent women and children in
the occupied territory. The recent
cases in this regard have been
three women and two teenage
boys during protests against
military operations in their areas.
The killing spree clearly indicates
that New Delhi has started a war
against peace-loving people of
Kashmir engage in a peaceful
struggle to secure their birthright
to self-determination and it has
no respect for sanctity of women.
Kashmiris irrespective of gender
KASHMIR INSIGHT
are sacrificing their precious lives
for the sacred cause of freedom.
These sacrifices needed to be
respected and collective efforts
should be made to safeguard the
purpose of these sacrifices till this
movement reaches its logical
conclusion that is nothing less
than complete end of Indian
occupation over Jammu and
Kashmir.
Ismail Mir
Srinagar
Kashmir and Pak-India
ties
Dear editor, Pakistan
wants good ties with all
its neighbours including
India but New Delhi’s
chauvinistic approach
has been a big
impediment in
realisation of this
dream. Kashmir is the
unfinished business of
partition of Indian
subcontinent and
thinking about
normalisation of relations
between Islamabad and New
Delhi while ignoring the Kashmir
dispute is nothing but a self-
deception.
Pakistan is the centre of hopes for
Muslims of the world in general
and the people of Kashmir in
particular. Kashmir is not a
border dispute between Pakistan
and India but an issue pertaining
to the right to self-determination
of millions of Kashmiris. Pakistan
has time and again made it clear
to India that there could be no
progress in their bilateral ties
without resolution of the Kashmir
dispute. The world community
must come forward in a big way
to help in settling the dispute in
accordance with the Kashmiris’
aspirations for ensuring
permanent peace in South Asia.
Junaid Khan
Lahore
JANUARY 2019 32
 Atrocities by Indian troops
(January 1989 to December 31, 2018)

Total killings 95,265

Custodial killings 7,120

Civilians arrested 145,504

Structures destroyed/damaged 109,201

Women widowed 22,896

Children orphaned 107,754

Women gangraped/molested 11,111

Including custodial killings

Source: Kashmir Media Service (www.kmsnews.org)