The Significant Unit of War

A setback for Pakistan`s position on Kashmir. It will extremely difficult for Pakistan to sponsor more terrorism in Indian Kashmir.

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Hard-line Islamic political party in Kashmir breaks links with Pakistan, militants in political shock

Sun Jun 30, 1:41 PM ET

By MUJTABA ALI AHMAD, Associated Press Writer

SRINAGAR, India - The most influential and hardline Islamic political party in Indian-controlled Kashmir ( news - web sites) announced on Sunday it had severed ties with Muslim militants and Pakistan, into which it has long proposed a merger of the Himalayan region.



Analysts described the announcement as one of the most significant political developments in years in Kashmir — the cause of five decades of tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan and two wars. It was also a major win for New Delhi.

The reason behind the dramatic turnaround by the Jama`at-e-Islami party was not immediately apparent.

``I want to make it clear that we have no connection with the militants or militancy, particularly with the Hezb-ul-Mujahedeen,`` Jama`at`s president, Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, told The Associated Press.

The Hezb-ul Mujahedeen is the biggest of the dozen militant groups which have been fighting India`s military since 1989 to separate Kashmir, or merge it with Pakistan, which also controls part of Kashmir.

An Indian intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Sunday that Jama`at has had close links in the past with the Hezb-ul Mujahedeen, and was suspected of being the militant group`s political face. Many Jama`at members have been arrested or detained over the decade on the suspicion that they were working secretly for the Hezb, the official said.

Jama`at also expressed differences with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a group of 24 Muslim religious and political groups in Kashmir to which it belongs. The Conference, which opposes Indian control of the region, has boycotted the last elections in the Indian state of Jammu-Kashmir and called for voters to resist going to the polls.

Indian officials have for months asked Kashmiri separatist parties to take part in the elections planned for September or October if they want to prove that they are the true representatives of Kashmiris.

Hurriyat has said it will boycott the upcoming elections, and its leader was not available to comment on Bhat`s announcement.

Bhat said that ``right now`` Jama`at has ``no plans of participating in the polls, but anything can happen in the future.``

He added that his party would not call for a boycott of the elections, which he said would be ``unlawful.``

For five decades, Jama`at has struggled politically for a merger of Jammu-Kashmir, India`s only Muslim-majority state, into Islamic Pakistan.

The Jama`at is the only one of the hard-line Islamic parties in Jammu-Kashmir that has an organized, disciplined, region-wide network and thousands of members spread across the Kashmir Valley.

Its announcement Sunday appeared to reverse all that the party has stood for, for five decades.

One of the group`s longtime senior leaders, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, has publicly described himself as a ``proud Pakistani.``

However, on Sunday in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu-Kashmir state, Bhat seemed to dismiss the party`s links with Pakistan.

``There is no mention of Kashmir`s accession to Pakistan in our party constitution. We didn`t ever even pass a resolution demanding accession since we have been working here,`` he told reporters.

The ramifications of Bhat`s announcement were unclear. Geelani is in a prison in the eastern Indian city of Ranchi, charged under a tough anti-terrorism law.

In the past, groups or leaders in Kashmir have made announcements, only to reverse them later, sometime the next day. At other times, new factions have formed, or other leaders have said the announcement did not reflect the view of the whole organization.

If Jama`at holds to Bhat`s announcement, it would be a blow to militant groups in the Kashmir Valley, and raise the possibility of the participation by some separatists in the state elections — a huge public relations victory for India.

India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring the 12-year insurgency, which has left more than 60,000 people dead. Islamabad denies the allegation.

Referring to Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf`s regime, Bhat said: ``There is no dictatorship (allowed) in Islam. The people of Pakistan are trying to install a democratic government in the country.``

Musharraf recently proposed changing Pakistan`s constitution to grant himself sweeping additional powers.

Indian political scientist Haseeb Ahmad described the news as ``the biggest gain for the government of India since the onset of the militancy.``

``This is a clear indication that the Jama`at wants to reaccept ... the basic framework of the Indian democratic setup in Kashmir,`` he told The Associated Press. ``This has shaken the edifice on which the secessionist movement rests and is bound to cause more than ripples in the political scenario of Kashmir.``

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020630/ap_wo_en_po/kashmir_political_surprise_2

Ref bong_dongs #: 386

[Have you read Naipual`s ``Beyond Belief`` on Malaysia?]

I did. I was so scared I don`t remember it. I will get the books for my library; I am sure there will be a new issue of all of Naipaul`s books now that he has received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

semipreciousme # 382

Prem:

``Hmmm...this hidden Pakistani battalion may well be a deadly and superior force...but there will be no surrender from our side...

Aakhir woh aadmi kya jo khatarnaak dushman ko dekh kar ghabraa jaye?``

...lol...bring it on...

``Malaysia where public funds are used to build shiny new mosques in every major town is secular.``

If I remember rightly the Malaysian goverment gives 100% subsidy for building a mosque and 50% subsidy for other religious places (temples etc)

Have you read Naipual`s ``Beyond Belief`` on Malaysia?

semipreciousme # 382

Hmmm...this hidden Pakistani battalion may well be a deadly and superior force...but there will be no surrender from our side...

Aakhir woh aadmi kya jo khatarnaak dushman ko dekh kar ghabraa jaye?

Ref headshrinker #: 377

[{{Exactly how many SECULAR Muslim-majority countries are in the world?}}

Gee.. off the top of my head..lets see..

Malaysia, Indonesia & Bangladesh.]

Let us see.

Malaysia where public funds are used to build shiny new mosques in every major town is secular. How many Hindu and Chinese places of worship have they built with government money?

Indonesia where madrassahs have run rampant for the last 30 years where militants actually signed up to fight on the side of Osama bin Laden.

Go back to voodoo.

semi:

yeaaa baybee

LOL

Prem:

``SPM,

Truly, as I mentioned once in connection with somebody else, Pakistan does not deploy its most lethal assets against Indians...``

....you ain` seen nuthin yet....;)....what say anNy?...

Re: Shankar

``...But a 3rd party should ensure that neither India nor Pakistan nor Kashmiri militants start any mischief...``

No third party will be willing to stick around for the long-term. It will have to be done by people with a direct stake in the region (countries like India). Pakistan is too busy trying to stoke up communal passions. Just look at Afghanistan -- what did the ISI spawn there (ethnic cleansing of Tajiks/Hazaras). The international community`s commitment to peace in Afghanistan will be severly tested. Very few countries will stick around for the long run, while carnivorous neighbors will continue probing.

This article from the NY Times is indicative not only of the trouble that has cursed Kashmir, but also gives hope that a non-communal coexistence is possible:

QUOTE

``...Soon the trail through the hills was a sweating caravan of men and women carrying their cherished possessions down to the road, hurriedly. (as they abandoned their homes) ``There is every apprehension of a mass killing here,`` said the dead man`s uncle, P. N. Sharma. Just as sad, in his eyes, was that no one was leaving the Muslim houses...Fakiruddin Gujjar, 40, a Muslim farmer who lives on the next hill, had come to pay his respects at the Sharma home. He had urged them not to leave. But he said he knew that he could not protect them either. ``These are our neighbors; this is our home,`` he said, standing in their courtyard. ``We cannot live without them.``

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/16/international/asia/16KASH.html

Re Shankar

Check out this picture of the blazing inferno

http://www.dawn.com/2002/01/16/top1.htm

`Fire Destroys Records in Interior Ministry`

Looks like saboteurs are out to defy Musharraf`s crackdown by destroying records of militants in Pakistan. This fight that Musharraf has taken on isn`t going to be easy.

re: semipreciousme # 375

SPM,

Truly, as I mentioned once in connection with somebody else, Pakistan does not deploy its most lethal assets against Indians...

Re: Shankar

``...I`m talking about making the IOK & POK, an independant SECULAR country...``

Not being the idealistic dreamer that you are, I would like to point out to you a subtle wrinkle in your vision. THE UNELECTED APHC IS ANYTHING BUT SECULAR. THEIR APOLOGISTS IN PAKISTAN ARE ANYTHING BUT SECULAR. So, who is going to deliver to you the secular, unified Kashmir? Even the Palestinians have a better chance of establishing a secular Palestine.

World public opinion is turning around to accepting the LoC as the border. That solution, too, will leave all unsatisfied, but seems to be the most practical now.

Lastly, what exactly will a secular Kashmir deliver to the Kashmiris that it is not delivering today or promised tomorrow?

``...The human/civil liberties of Kashmiri hindus SHOULD be protected...``

There is a huge difference between `should` and `would`. You did not use the word `would` because doing so will put you in a bind -- you know very well that there is no mechanism that you can propose to guarantee that (not to mention the Ladakhi Buddhists -- their cousins in Tibet are forced to worship Mao, not Dalai Lama). I do not belive in any international agreements that cannot be enforced through military force. Period. The Brits learned this lesson between the two world wars. I can elaborate on this if you so wish.

``...Very frankly, that doesnt make any difference to me...``

Well, then I suppose that you subscribe to the fiction that the world is a perfect place, and everything works out like in fairy tales. To me, it makes a huge difference. It shows that even under the gravest provocation when many 3rd world countries would have resorted to extremely unpleasant means, we maintained our higher moral ground. Next door, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan have all provided less stellar examples.

``...From India`s end, its time we reigned in the Hindutva SOB`s...``

Agree with you on that.

Harimou,

{{Exactly how many SECULAR Muslim-majority countries are in the world?}}

Gee.. off the top of my head..lets see..

Malaysia, Indonesia & Bangladesh. Dont point out violent incidents against minority religions in those countries. If you go by that, India is hardly secular.

You have pointed out a basic myth in your post:

Pakistan & China will not rest until India is dismembered or annexed. Thats the propaganda that the jehadis & RSS want to cram down everyone`s throats. They thrive on people`s paranoia & insecurity. Dont you see how Pakistanis worry that India has never accepted Partition & wants to break up or annex Pakistan?!

After Mushy`s speech, are there riots going on in Pakistan? There were more protests when Mushy sided with the US, against the Taleban. China & India are forging closer ties & working out their boundary disputes through dialogue. I am convinced that the majority of Pakistanis are eager to live in peace with Indians & vice versa.

Now that S.Asia is nuclear; war is & should be unthinkable. Our countries will NEVER progress as long as the threat of war persists.

We are always made to believe that the majority of people in these countries would want war. NOT TRUE. Thats the propaganda that the jehadis & RSS want to foster. If Pakistan reigns in the jehadis, its up to India to marginalise the RSS.

For once in your life, try & give some credit to human beings & see them beyond hindus & muslims. Am I wasting my breath on you?

veeresh

“No elected government in India can do do-do to the madarsas what Musharraf is planning to do in Pakistan!! So, further ergo ergo, the BJP needs Musharaf and Benazir to achieve some of its objectives”

RSaxena

“can you please find me an indian who, as you claim above, `excuses the rape and pillage`

….if you re-read what i wrote, it says ‘excuse the rape and pillage so lightly’….ie…i can understand indians getting livid at jihadis killing people etc…but when it comes to the indian army, more than once i’ve seen ppl here dismissing it as collateral damage..

“...this is one of those watermelon-sized myths pakis blurt out of habit...what do you want indians to do?...the army cannot leave kashmir until the jehadis are gone``

….i’m not saying anything about the army leaving…if they’re there, they should at least try to conduct themselves as the professional army they are instead of lowering themselves to the level of feral jehadis running wild…

“...and there have been military trials and convictions of soldiers on rape charges...”

….as indeed there should be….when you’re a secular democracy, you need to be held up to certain standards…so, i’m assuming the convictions of indian soldiers on rape charges is acting as a deterrent for others….i don’t think i have to tell you that being violated like that is one of the worst things that can be done to a woman….it’s inexcusable…

Ref headshrinker #: 373

[Wait a sec! Thats not what I said. The Partition is over, finished. I`m talking about making the IOK & POK, an independant SECULAR country. The Kashmiri pandits have to go back too. I`m not talking about making another Islamic republic. The human/civil liberties of Kashmiri hindus SHOULD be protected. Monitors like AI, & UN should remain for an unspecified peroid & some sort of deal to settle disputes should be made to ensure that no side gets away with mischief.]

Exactly how many SECULAR Muslim-majority countries are in the world?

Let me give you a hint. It is an integer less than 1.

Another thing: Look at the map that Fox Network uses or any relief map. You can clearly see the mountains separating Kashmir valley from India. You want a thousand Kargils bearing down on Punjab? Give up all of Jammu and Kashmir to an ``independent`` country whose primary routes (meaning, through the river valleys) are from Pakistan. You will have your thousand Kargils.

There is more than the ``needs`` of Kashmiris at stake here. It is called the security of India.

How do you think the Chinese kicked India`s butt in 1962? They held the high ground.

Go back to voodoo.

shammi,

{{Yes indeed -- it will, and it already is. What is even more haunting is what granting `self-determination` on the basis of religion, and religion alone. Conceding that will haunt India like nothing else, and give a shot in the arm to the RSS and their compatriots. Will you find another Gandhi to control them?}}

Wait a sec! Thats not what I said. The Partition is over, finished. I`m talking about making the IOK & POK, an independant SECULAR country. The Kashmiri pandits have to go back too. I`m not talking about making another Islamic republic. The human/civil liberties of Kashmiri hindus SHOULD be protected. Monitors like AI, & UN should remain for an unspecified peroid & some sort of deal to settle disputes should be made to ensure that no side gets away with mischief.

I guess when I pray for ``ordinary Kahmiris``-I`m speaking on behalf of Kashmiris of ALL religions. When violence is RENOUNCED by ALL sides; anything is possible. But a 3rd party should ensure that neither India nor Pakistan nor Kashmiri militants start any mischief.

{{Despite all that has happened in Kashmir, how many refugees have crossed across the border to Pakistan in over ten years? Less than 10,000. How many did the same in Kosovo, Bosnia, Chechnya? In the hundreds of thousands, millions.}}

Very frankly, that doesnt make any difference to me. Wrong is wrong--whether it happens to one person or a billion. Are you using this point to justify that ``our abuses are less abusive than their abuses?`` C`mon..

So Kashmiri independance means that Pakistan will have to give up their side of Kashmir too. I`m the first one to say that Pakistan has lost her moral & legal right to Kashmir too.

Kashmiris themselves will have to give up something too.. If majority want to join Pakistan--too bad; its either independance from BOTH countries--or nothing. Thats the ``punishment`` for joining the Pakistani jehadis. They SHOULD understand that its one thing to ask for freedom--but if they do it by VIOLENT means, like these past 11 yrs, they TOO have lost the moral right to get EXACTLY what they want.

Theres no point in squabbling WHO`S MORE AT FAULT. If you delve into the ``fault`` business, everyone becomes hurt & defensive & the problem NEVER gets solved.. If there is a problem, EVERY party should get away from the ``fault business`` & acknowlege that every party is wrong--so ``blame `` is a moot issue. ALL 3 SIDES should face the stick; because if a solution is found, there are plenty of carrots for everyone to share. The PERFECT solution is where all 3 sides are denied everything they want.

What Mushy has said is bold & statesmanlike. The whole world has applauded his speech (India too, albiet grudgingly). Every country will HOLD Pakistan to this speech. Now is the time when all sides head towards the light at the end of the tunnel.

From India`s end, its time we reigned in the Hindutva SOB`s. They will DESTROY S.Asia. India has been able to wriggle out of a settlement in Kashmir by blaming the behavior of GoP & the militants. If they stop the violence (& if a 3rd party ensures that nodoby can create mischief & blame someone else)--India HAS to make concessions. If India doesnt ; then she has only herself to blame.