Re: Internal Security Watch

[vasu raya]

Even during day time its the same case, if we want an advantage maybe take the first gen NVG with back-light provided by this illuminating shell when fired away from the encounter site but not too far, there are too many cases of these terrorists slipping away during the night, until night fall they bide time by just keep firing.

[member_29058]

http://www.rediff.com/news/report/two-m ... 150811.htm
2 pigLETs killed in Pulwama encounter

Two pigLETS of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba were on Tuesday killed in a fierce gunbattle with security forces during an overnight operation in Pulwama district of south Kashmir that also left a policeman injured.

The encounter triggered protests in the area with some youths pelting stones at the security forces.

"Two militants belonging to LeT have been killed in the encounter," police said.

They said the deceased have been identified as Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Tilangam and Showkat Ahmad Lone, a resident of Lelhar areas of the district.

Police said the two militants were killed in the paddy fields between Ratnipora and Naru villages, where they were trapped by the search parties early Tuesday morning after the gunfight resumed.

They said a policeman was also injured in the exchange of fire and was taken to a hospit

[Avinash R]

[arun]

X Posted from the STFUP thread.

India to boycott Commonwealth Parliamentary Union meeting in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as the Islamic Republic did not send an invitation to Jammu and Kashmir Speaker to attend the Inter Parliamentary Union meeting.

A good move only missing the appellation excellent because of the pointlessness of the Commonwealth not going beyond providing the UK a blow job for the ego as colonial overlords enslaving at one point in time.

Better yet would be for Indian to ensure that not a single Commonwealth meeting is held in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, now or in the future, period.

And even better yet would be for India to exit this anachronistic monument to the Christist occupation and colonisation of our country India, the Commonwealth as India has no business fostering UK's pretensions :

India to boycott Commonwealth Parliamentary Union meeting in Pakistan : This follows Pakistan not sending an invitation to Jammu and Kashmir Speaker to the Inter Parliamentary Union meeting

X Posted from the STFUP thread.

INDIA ASKS CPA TO CHANGE MEET VENUE FROM PAKISTAN
http://www.dailypioneer.com/nation/indi ... istan.html
Wednesday, 12 August 2015 | PNS | New Delhi

Toughening its stance further, India on Tuesday asked the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) to shift the venue of its annual conference from Islamabad, saying Pakistan has “forfeited” its right to host the meet by not inviting the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly Speaker in violation of the Association’s Constitution.

In a letter to CPA chairperson, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan also called for immediate settlement of the matter by ensuring invitation to the J&K Speaker. She reiterated that if the J&K Speaker was not invited, India would boycott the annual conference in Islamabad.

Referring to a meeting of the Speakers of all States on Friday, she said it was resolved to call upon the chairperson and CPA Executive Committee “to use her good offices to immediately resolve the matter” arising out of “unilateral” decision of Pakistan, failing which CPA India region, including the Union and State branches, will boycott the event.

Conveying the outcome of the meeting which was held last week, the Lok Sabha Speaker said the members felt Pakistan “forfeited” its right to host the 61st Conference by not inviting the Jammu & Kashmir CPA branch in violation of Article 8 of the CPA Constitution and that the venue of the conference be shifted to another country.

“I trust that as Chairperson of the Executive Committee, you would pursue the matter and ensure that the century-old traditions of the Commonwealth are upheld,” Mahajan said in the letter written on Saturday.

“The host Pakistan CPA branch has taken the unilateral decision not to extend invitation to Jammu & Kashmir CPA branch. This is not only in violation of the provisions of CPA Constitution, it is also against the principle that CPA is a membership organisation which has constitutionally been bound for over a century to invite all its member branches to the CPA annual conference so long as a branch is in good financial standing with the Association,” she said in the letter.

Last week, India had decided to boycott the conference in Islamabad from September 30 to October 8 in protest against Pakistan not inviting the Speaker of Jammu & Kashmir Assembly. Invitations for the conference have been sent to all the other Assembly Speakers in India.

Meanwhile the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is hanging tough. Speaker of the Islamic Republics National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq who also holds the position of Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) President:

“We will not invite the Indian Occupied Kashmir Assembly speaker to the CPA meeting schedule to be held in Islamabad despite India’s decline to attend it,” he said while talking to newsmen after the launch of the National Assembly’s Strategic Plan at the Institute for Parliamentary Services.

“The Bangladesh Assembly Speaker asked me to invite the Indian Occupied Kashmir Assembly. But I without consulting the government and the Foreign Office and keeping Pakistan’s principled stance on Kashmir told him clearly that I will not invite the assembly of Indian Occupied Kashmir,” he said.

“For us Kashmir issue is more important so we have decided not to invite the Indian Occupied Kashmir Assembly,” he added. ………………………..

From here:

Kashmir more important than CPA meeting: Ayaz

[saip]

SRINAGAR: A grenade exploded on Thursday in a mosque in India-held Kashmir, wounding 10 people, police said, the first such incident in 14 years in the region.

This is from Dawn. I have not seen it on any Indian papers. They are quoting Reuters.

[ramana]

SRINAGAR: A grenade exploded on Thursday in a mosque in India-held Kashmir, wounding 10 people, police said, the first such incident in 14 years in the region.

This is from Dawn. I have not seen it on any Indian papers. They are quoting Reuters.

They probably got advance info form ISI.

[vasu raya]

Jaleel has a opinion,

In fact- Pak terrorist: Some significant questions in NIA probe

J&K is different from other states in that laws enacted by Parliament, except those pertaining to defence, external affairs and communications, do not automatically become applicable to it

This is after the J&K interrogation of the terrorist was leaking like a sieve and in another instance Bangladesh asking for FBI's help to solve its own crime incidents

[wig]

The current LoC narrative and India’s response, by Lt Gen S A Hasnain ( Retd). The article is lucid

In conventional warfare command decisions are based on a range of options, the escalation matrix is well understood and risk is quite easily calculated on the basis of resources, surprise and leadership. However, in irregular warfare the challenge of decision making is sometimes of a higher order. Keeping the threshold low and escalation within control is difficult. The situation on the LoC in J&K is tricky and quite unlike situations which present themselves in conventional operations. However, a non-military mind may not fully grasp this as common perception prevails that there is nothing more to ceasefire violations than simply kinetic responses, the tit for tat concept. The ‘force on force’ approach has never found winners and is considered the unprofessional way of tackling an adversary. However, India’s military leadership which is quite capable of ‘indirect approach’ is yet to fully exploit the chinks in Pakistan’s armor. Has the time come for ratcheting our response by many notches?
The situation which presents itself needs a brief reiteration. The Valley and its LoC segment is comparatively quiet and even in the hinterland only small scale militant actions are taking place; mainly by our proactive search for contact. South of PirPanjal the LoC is active both in the Poonch-Rajouri segment and the Jammu IB sector. Large scale terrorist actions have not been attempted although the Udhampur ambush, Gurdaspur strike and the earlier actions at Samba and Kathua severely tested India’s will and tolerance despite being classified as small scale in nature, in the comparison of terror related events. Infiltration which can never be zero is down to very low levels although Naveed, the young Pakistani terrorist captured at Udhampur has confirmed his route of infiltration in Gulmarg sector. It may be incorrect to dismiss the ceasefire violations in passing; these are assuming dimensions larger than witnessed for many years. In pre-2003 daysthe exchanges were far heavier but they could still be accepted. In today’s world of televised news they form a breaking news story every day, hurting the sensitivities of the public. This in turn is putting pressure on the Government and much more on the Army which is required to respond and put an end to this. Armies are not very good at calibrated responses; they prefer a no holds barred engagement.
In trans LoC exchanges of fire there can only be temporary victories between armies; the effect on troops is marginal but the civil population in the vicinity suffers immensely. We are apparently still in the mode of counting the number of violations by Pakistan Army without realizing that the ceasefire in the South of Pir Panjal is as good as dead. It continues to hold in the Valley’s LoC segment. Can we declare boldly that the ceasefire has ceased to exist and India reserves the right to use its weaponry and manpower at place and time of choosing? There never was a formal ceasefire agreement, just a declaration by both sides with Pakistan no doubt taking the lead.
Pakistan is firm of the belief that India is too obsessed with her economic growth and development to risk a full scale conflict. It is calculating its risks very carefully so as not to breach the limit of tolerance or the proverbial ‘tipping point’. The nuclear capability is an artificial protection which Pakistan’s military leadership considers its trump card and which it assesses will keep India acting rationally. Its leaders give veiled threats of the use of the nuclear option if India responds conventionally. With this assessment Pakistan feels emboldened to play the J&K card even as it is embroiled in bitter and violent turbulence brought on by home grown terror. It is also seeking to enhance its strategic hold over Afghanistan. Having sensed J&K slipping from its control it has gone into an overdrive which it feels it can calibrate.
Given the analysis above it is clear that the nexus of the Deep State is completely outside the ambit of political control in Pakistan and it can act irrationally to the extreme without considering the impact or outcome of its actions. Pakistan’s recent foreign policy successes with different international players, has added to this confidence. The bottom line seems to be that India will not risk conflict, it will respond in kind on the LoC and this will help in sensitizing the international community on the potential of war in a nuclear environment. From the utterances on media there seems to be a tutored line to demand investigation by a neutral agency recommended to be UNMOGIP, in order to revive the UN resolutions. As a result of its actions Pakistan is attempting to brow beat India militarily, diplomatically and most important psychologically. In the season of the run up to the Golden Jubilee of the 1965 Indo Pak Conflict, Pakistan realizes that there is considerable research going on in India and the celebratory events will project the defeat of the Pakistan Armed Forces. By upping the ante through LoC exchanges it hopes to retain the self-image of being the victor of the 1965 conflict.
What are India’s options? This question a week before the slated NSA level talks does appear strange and puts the Government under pressure. Through history nations have often remained engaged in discussions even as armies fought on the battlefield. It is a part of the comprehensive narrative of war that whatever be the level of engagement the last edge of the war spectrum is never reached; a miniscule window is always open for reason or conveyance of messages. The Indian Government need never be under pressure on the issue of talks and engagement and can adopt other proactive measures which continue to counter the adversary’s intent. We too have a perception of an escalation matrix and can work within its parameters. What would this involve?
Firstly, public perception cannot be wished away. It cannot lose its confidence in the capability of its armed forces. Therefore a response in kind along the LoC is an absolute necessity. It needs to be to a plan and not just a shell for shell and bomb for bomb response. There are many areas in which we hold a major terrain advantage. In 2011 the J&K media would recall reports from PoK of a segment of people there who held a demonstration before the office of the local DC demanding that Jihadi terrorists be evicted from their area as the people did not wish to see the triggering of exchanges of shelling along the LoC. There are many such locations along the LoC where we hold a major advantage towards hurting the logistics of the Pakistan Army and imposing a time and financial penalty. These are well known within the Army. The transLoC small pin prick actions can be responded in kind quite easily as was done prior to 2003. These are just the first baby steps in response and we need not even be in denial mode on these as Pakistan is. Pakistan can escalate in response, by expanding the ambit to Ladakh; it is not as if we have not lived with this in the past. It is just the quest for rationalism and better sense which has dictated our response discourse. In the bargain a perception has been built within the Deep State that we will not defend our honor because we are obsessed with our growth process. This perception has to be firmly put down through an escalatory ladder of response.
Secondly, the openness of media and the free discussion on India’s military capabilities in the true democratic spirit may have hurt us in terms of a negative perception. This perception appears to have seeped into Pakistan’s thinking. The lack of modernization of artillery and air defence, the inability to induct helicopters and the MMRCA as also aspects such as insufficient ammunition holdings are no doubt issues of concern. However, many of these problems have existed and it is not as if the Pakistan Armed Forces are equipped optimally. India’s Armed Forces need to shed their reticence, speak up and demonstrate. They cannot be perceived to be defensive when offensive nature of conflict forms the cornerstone of their doctrine. The message should be clear; we are prepared always, the gaps are work in progress.
In recent years the Indian Armed Forces have taken a psychological beating due to being embroiled in nonprofessional issues. They are tied in thousands of legal cases involving personnel, pensions, land etc which dilutes the perception of their professionalism. This appears to be sending home incorrect messages to our adversaries. It is a world of perception and psychological warfare has never been our strongest point. The recent OROP controversy needs to be placed at rest the earliest as it is harming our national image. Pakistan must be under no delusion that this has affected our war fighting capability.
Only a few aspects of escalation have been explained above due to space constraints. Our professional warriors know the game well and need to demand their space from the Government. At the Government level my only recommendation is the early conception of psychological warfare machinery. It can start with the MoD loosening the ropes on the public information system of the three Services,in which strides are being made but only gingerly. Half the problem on the LoC is because of incorrect perception that the Deep State holds. Time we gave the perception that we can be even more irrational than what Pakistan is. Who better than the NSA to convey that message and leave the spectrum of response open as per our choice.

http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/the-curre ... -response/

[arun]

X Posted from the STFUP thread:

Guys, sections of DDM are reporting that the Harried rats have been put under house arrest. I think its a good move. The rats need to be shown their place. Will be interesting to see what TSP reaction will be.

Hindustan Times for one is reporting that the Mohammadden separatists invited by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to meet their NSA, Sartaj Aziz, have been under house arrest. HT reports the Mohammadden separatists under house arrest are Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Yasin Malik, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Moulvi Abbas Ansari :

Hurriyat leaders held under house arrest ahead of NSA talks

[Nitesh]

x post

rats have been released from house arrest, can't understand what is going on

http://www.ibtimes.co.in/kashmiri-separ ... lks-643537

[A_Gupta]

http://www.indiatvnews.com/politics/nat ... 31897.html
"PDP President Mehbooba Mufti behind release of Hurriyat leaders?"

[A_Gupta]

Omar Abdullah: Modi Government Has Lost Face, Big Time
http://www.ndtv.com/opinion/modi-govern ... me-1209239

I wish the government of India attached as much importance to not losing face as the Chinese do, because today, the Modi government has lost face, big time. There are two losers and two winners today with the Modi and Mufti governments the clear losers, displaying what can only be termed as gold medal-winning skills in twisting, turning and back tracking. The clear winners are the government of Pakistan and the Hurriyat for self-evident reasons.

[vasu raya]

Even during day time its the same case, if we want an advantage maybe take the first gen NVG with back-light provided by this illuminating shell when fired away from the encounter site but not too far, there are too many cases of these terrorists slipping away during the night, until night fall they bide time by just keep firing.

The below is not for marketing, we may need to develop the technology

Illuminating cartridges, or pyrotechnic flares, have been widely used by militaries for years, but they have previously only provided light in the visible spectrum, which the enemy can use as well. The Army’s new IR illuminating cartridges and projectiles produce IR light that is invisible to the naked eye, but is clearly visible through night vision devices that U.S. Soldiers use in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And above that the 155mm howitzers cover a radii of say 15km if the fuze is to go off at the topmost point of the trajectory, a swath of 30km can be always covered alongside the border

Even Sniper sights have to be compatible

[ramana]

Losing face is a very Arabic trait. Ralph Patai has written a huge book on that issue.

So Omar wants NaMo to worry about losing face!!!!


is there a progress report on the new PDP-BJP govt in Srinagar?

[A_Gupta]

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ ... tan-talks/

According to a senior government functionary, J&K DGP K Rajendra Kumar, acting on the advice of Director, Intelligence Bureau, put Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq under house arrest, detained JKLF chairman Yasin Malik and restricted the movement of other separatist leaders.

In J&K, there were two versions on what transpired in the hours before the detentions. A senior government functionary maintained: “The DGP acted on his own without informing Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. He will pay the price for this.”

...a PDP leader said the Chief Minister was told about the IB Director’s request to the DGP.

[A_Gupta]

IMO, if the Hurriyat insist on being a part of Indo-Pak talks, the agenda of which is terrorism, then they must accept that they are terrorists. That is, Hurriyat could argue they need to be included in any talks on Kashmir; but unless they are self-admitted terrorists, they have no standing in any talks about terrorism.

http://www.scoopnews.in/det.aspx?q=49848

[Tuvaluan]

Amitabh Mattoo appointed JK advisor

Who did this appointment? Amitabh Mattoo's resume reads like that of a jholawallah troublemaker -- JNU, Pugewash, professor of disarmament studies....what is up with this idiocy?

[ramana]

He is good one.

[vasu raya]

Illuminating cartridges, or pyrotechnic flares, have been widely used by militaries for years, but they have previously only provided light in the visible spectrum, which the enemy can use as well. The Army’s new IR illuminating cartridges and projectiles produce IR light that is invisible to the naked eye, but is clearly visible through night vision devices that U.S. Soldiers use in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The IR range for night vision devices are claimed to be good up to 1 micron, below is the spectrum, one can test the NVG recovered from the terrorists to know the actual IR range and better yet to reverse engineer it.

[SSridhar]

Amitabh Mattoo appointed JK advisor

Who did this appointment? Amitabh Mattoo's resume reads like that of a jholawallah troublemaker -- JNU, Pugewash, professor of disarmament studies....what is up with this idiocy?

I have always held a poor opinion of Kashmiris - both Muslims and Hindus. They are either completely pro-Pak or ambivalent at the most. Let us not talk of exceptions here and there.

Commenting on the talks, Prof. Amitabh Mattoo, who was appointed advisor to Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed, said: “Under any circumstances, it is better to talk than fight.” Link

[arun]

Mohammadden separatist Shabir Shah who arrived in New Delhi with intention to meet NSA of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan detained at New Delhi airport.

Let me hope that there is no backsliding as in Jammu & Kashmir when arrested Mohammadden separatists were released from house arrest by the governing BJP / PDP coalition:

Shabir Shah arrives to meet Pak NSA, detained at Delhi airport

[Rahul M]

SS he is a JNU prof and expert on 'disarmament'. what could you expect ?

[arun]

Mohammadden separatist Shabir Shah who arrived in New Delhi with intention to meet NSA of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan detained at New Delhi airport.

Let me hope that there is no backsliding as in Jammu & Kashmir when arrested Mohammadden separatists were released from house arrest by the governing BJP / PDP coalition:

Shabir Shah arrives to meet Pak NSA, detained at Delhi airport

Mohammadden separatist Bilal Lone who arrived in New Delhi with intention to meet NSA of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan joins Shabir Shah in being detained at New Delhi airport.

Let me hope that there is no backsliding as in Jammu & Kashmir when arrested Mohammadden separatists were released from house arrest by the governing BJP / PDP coalition:

After Hurriyat Leader Shabir Shah, Separatist Bilal Lone Detained At Delhi Airport

[SanjayC]

Commenting on the talks, Prof. Amitabh Mattoo, who was appointed advisor to Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed, said: “Under any circumstances, it is better to talk than fight.”[/url]

Islamists see this kind of talk as weakness and mark these type of people as a low-hanging fruit for conquest.

[A_Gupta]

Twitter;

Prabhu Chawla ‏@PrabhuChawla 1h1 hour ago New Delhi, Delhi

Are #Hurriyat leaders avoiding elections because they will have to reveal assets and income?

[chetak]

In case there were any doubts remaining about matoo

Sagarika Ghose ‏@sagarikaghose Aug 21

Delightful to run into dear friend @amitabhmattoo just now and delighted to learn he is now adviser to CM J&K with cabinet minister rank!
14 retweets 29 favorites

[prahaar]

There was similar celebration by Malini Parthasarathy. Almost bot like similarity in reaction of SG and MP.

[Tuvaluan]

‏@BDUTT Aug 21
Many congratulations @amitabhmattoo - Look forward to your wisdom, your empathy & your mental finesse in your new role in our beloved J&K

@MaliniP Aug 21
Proud of my friend @amitabhmattoo for his Cabinet-rank appointment as advisor to J&K Govt. He has the political imagination required now!

really curious about Mattoo's "political imagination" and "mental finesse" these media tools are yapping about...and how did they all get to know this guy so well, huh? A JNU disarmament jholawallah of Mattoo's ilk is usually an aakar patel clone..very predictable that way.

[CRamS]

Guys, I have studied Matoo guy for years. My humble suggestion is to go easy on the guy. He might sure come across like a WKK, but trust me, his bottom lines are: No TSP involvement in the valley including many a traitor "Joint Sovereignty" over valley that is the latent desire among many of them.

Reason why TSP wants Harried rats, and why WKKs in India don't object is because thats the direction traitors want. Joint "Joint Sovereignty" means TSP effectively gets a foot hold, and harried rats and closet separatists make sure under such a mechanism, valley falls into TSP's lap in slow motion. Plus, TSP will give up UN resolutions BS in a heart beat if India agrees to that because such a "solution" gives them the valley where India has developed a lot of infrastructure, and moreover, by curbing their pigLeT terror menace should India agree to that, they also get to enjoy the fruits of closer economic integration with India. You get the drift. I can assure you, Matoo will have none of this, even though he might make silly noises.

[SSridhar]

Guys, I have studied Matoo guy for years. My humble suggestion is to go easy on the guy. He might sure come across like a WKK, but trust me, his bottom lines are: No TSP involvement in the valley including many a traitor "Joint Sovereignty" over valley that is the latent desire among many of them.

I have also followed him but to me he always appeared as ambivalent as any other Kashmiri is on India, accession etc. The fact that people like Sagarika Ghose & Malini Parthasarathy are delighted by the turn of events proves the point. Besides, he has been appointed as CM's advisor by Mufti himself. What more proof does one need?

[Tuvaluan]

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ ... -kill-him/

The paki crowd in the valley makes up stories about the Indian army, given how there is no indication of who this mysterious "army major" was. The Indian Express reports this from only one side, and writes a headline stating it as fact, when the army has already stated there has been no case registered. You have to wonder on whose side the likes of Praveen Swami are, when they consistently spin stories re: J&K in this manner.

[RamaY]

If the above new is wrong Praveen Swamy must be arrested & put in jail for couple of years.
If the above news is right, punish the major.

Simple! Not doing anything is worse than doing something.

[johneeG]

If the above new is wrong Praveen Swamy must be arrested & put in jail for couple of years.
If the above news is right, punish the major.

Simple!

Exactly. Personally, I'd be happy if Praveen Swamy publicly accepts that his news was wrong and issues an apology in case the news is wrong.

[chetak]

Guys, I have studied Matoo guy for years. My humble suggestion is to go easy on the guy. He might sure come across like a WKK, but trust me, his bottom lines are: No TSP involvement in the valley including many a traitor "Joint Sovereignty" over valley that is the latent desire among many of them.

I have also followed him but to me he always appeared as ambivalent as any other Kashmiri is on India, accession etc. The fact that people like Sagarika Ghose & Malini Parthasarathy are delighted by the turn of events proves the point. Besides, he has been appointed as CM's advisor by Mufti himself. What more proof does one need?

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck and other mean ducks see it as a duck.........., do you really need more proof of malicious duckiness??

BTW what exactly did darkha butt mean by "our beloved J&K" ?? she is unquestionably paki pasand and hence the question onlee.

@BDUTT Aug 21
Many congratulations @amitabhmattoo - Look forward to your wisdom, your empathy & your mental finesse in your new role in our beloved J&K

[SSridhar]

Dialogue only way to resolve Kashmir issue, says Dr Fai - DT
This shameless criminal is out in the open?

SPRINGFIELD, Virginia – World Kashmir Awareness Secretary General Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai has said that the Kashmiris firmly believe that the only way to achieve a peaceful and lasting solution to the Jammu Kashmir issue is through dialogue and negotiations.

Addressing a gathering here, he said that there could be no solution to the Kashmir issue without the participation of the Kashmiri leadership in any process to settle it. He reiterated that it was a fact that Jammu Kashmir was not the integral part of any member state of the United Nations.

“In this regard, we appreciate the statement of Peter R Lavoy, special assistant to US President Barack Obama on South Asian Affairs who called Jammu Kashmir a disputed territory on August 20, 2015. “I think, it’s up to them (Pakistan and India) to address these issues together. I expect that they probably will,” Dr Fai quoted the aide statement.

– Million march in New York –

Dr Fai emphasised that the time has come for the world powers especially the United States to recognise the people of Jammu Kashmir as the central party to the issue. During the function, a ‘million march’ was also announced. The march will take place on October 25, 2015 at 12pm in front of the United Nations in New York.

The ‘million march’ will help the efforts of the Kashmiri expatriates to educate policymakers regarding the current situation in the disputed state and to focus attention on efforts to bring Pakistan, India and Kashmiri leadership to the negotiating table to explore all possible options to settle the issue once and for all.

– Invitation to Hurriyat Conference –

Dr Fai hoped that India would facilitate the travel document of Hurriyat Conference leaders Mirwaiz Dr Umar Farooq, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mohammad Yasin Malik and Shabbir Ahmed Shah to participate in this important event. Former Azad Jammu Kashmir prime minister Barrister Sultan Mehmood said that the ‘million march’ would be a joint platform of all Kashmiri expatriates and “our friends irrespective of their political beliefs, religious affiliations and linguistic limitations.”

Sultan informed the gathering that the Hurriyat leadership would be invited from the Indian-held parts of the disputed state to participate in the proposed march. “We want the United Nations and the United States to know that a political leadership exists in Jammu Kashmir with a popular support, which seeks a peaceful and negotiated settlement. That leadership is the Hurriyat,” he said.

– Hurriyat as an equal partner –

Sultan said that the Hurriyat was ready to negotiate the final settlement of Jammu Kashmir with the governments of Pakistan and India. “We know Pakistan has shown eagerness to accept Hurriyat as an equal partner but the question is whether India will join them at the peace table or opt for repression over dialogue,” he said.

Other speakers Junaid Bashir, Sardar Gulfaraz Inqilabi, Sardar Zulfiqar Khan, Rana Saadat, Iqbal Chand Dody, Zahoor Galyati, Sheikh Waqas, Yasir Buhter and Sharafat Shah also stressed that the US support in persuading India to join Pakistan and the Hurriyat Conference at a peace table and seek a peaceful settlement will be critical.

[SSridhar]

Women taking the forefront - DT

Fatima Akhter (name changed), a middle aged woman, recalls the memories she had kept to herself until now. Sister of a slain Hizbul Mujahidin commander, she smoothed back her silver hair with one hand while holding the hem of her headscarf with the other. A calm and always smiling lady thus spoke of her adventures in the mid-nineties. Then, a young mother of three children: two girls and one boy, a schoolteacher by profession, Fatima recalls with a sigh and a prayer: jannat aesin timan.

Before her brother was martyred, she would act as a courier for the mujahideen. She used to spend half of her salary on raising her brother’s family and half on her own, apart from helping the needy people in their neighbourhood. Her husband, an electrical engineer by profession, would never stop her from so doing; in fact he would always stand by her. “He once saved three mujahideen after a snitch led Indian forces straight to the house where they were having lunch,” recalls Fatima. “He told the army-men that the mujahideen had gone to buy some stuff from a neighbouring shop, thus giving them enough time to escape. As a punishment, he was tortured for more than a week in an army camp at Khanabal, Islamabad.

All her brother’s companions would call her Fatima Didi (sister). The day when her brother was martyred, they approached her one by one and expressed their condolences while proclaiming, “We all lost a brother, but your other brothers are still alive.” Fatima knew what they meant. Everyone wanted to continue the relationship of trust that they had developed through the resistance movement. After his martyrdom, Fatima had to look after her brother’s family and her unmarried sister too. She managed all singlehandedly. Her husband would also help but only intermittently — he was accused of having links with the mujahideen and subsequently suspended from his job. She married off her sister and sent her brother’s children to the same school her own children went to.

After he was martyred, the Indian soldiers, in an act of vengeance, ransacked her brother’s house before reducing it to ashes. While Fatima was still mourning her brother and trying to build a makeshift shelter for his family, the mujahideen sent a little girl to fetch her. She followed the girl’s instructions without telling anyone. Among the mujahideen that had summoned her were Tariq; from Malakhnag, Nazir Shiree; successor of her brother in the area, Shabnam; a student and only son of his parents Muhammad Shafi Khan from Dabran. Like her brother’s house, everyone’s house had been razed to rubble. They asked Fatima to visit one Nazir Ahmad in Badasgoum. Photographer by profession and fearless fighter, Nazir Ahmad’s nom de guerre was Tiger.

Fatima took along her cousin and boarded a bus to Badasgoum. Released from jail a few days earlier, Tiger was at his shop. After exchanging greetings, Fatima told him that they had come to visit his mother, Faz-aap. Tiger immediately understood the reason for their visit. He escorted them to his house. His mother was in the compound roasting the crushed rice for preparing saett, a powder normally poured into salt tea. As soon as her mother saw Fatima, she put coals in the samovar and boiled green tea for them. A small and skinny lady, Faz-aap would talk briskly. After draining the cups, Fatima asked the old lady, who seemed more than 60 years old, whether Shiree Saeb was expecting them to bring him something. Faz-aap stood up and went inside her house. After a while, she returned with a big aluminum pot filled with crushed rice. She dug both hands inside and pulled out four hand-grenades. Fatima was stunned. She felt unqualified for the job of transporting weapons. However, seeing the old lady handle grenades so sedately, courage filled Fatima’s heart. She took the grenades and slipped them inside her baend or undershirt. Withstanding the scorching heat, Fatima, while leaving home, had put on a Pheran. They got up and took leave of Faz-aap, who in turn blessed them with infinite supplications.

While revealing her secret adventure, Fatima’s eyes fell upon her brother’s photograph hanging on the opposite wall. She let out a sigh followed by a resigned smile. She asked her elder daughter to bring her some cold water, drank the whole glass in one gulp and continued. Faz-aap had kissed Fatima and her cousin infinite times while accompanying them to the bus stop. Only when they boarded the bus did Faz-aap turn back. According to Fatima, the bus might have travelled less than three kilometers before the CRPF stopped it on the highway. They were frisking every single passenger, not sparing even children or women. “Quite normal those days,” as Fatima puts it.

After the bus came to a halt, a CRPF trooper came inside and ordered all of them to disembark with their identity cards in hand. Everyone including Fatima’s cousin came hurriedly out of the bus. Fatima, who had preferred to remain standing in the bus, in order to prevent any collision of the metal inside, which could have made others suspicious, sat down on a seat and started rubbing her right leg. A CRPF trooper came and spoke angrily, “Why didn’t you come down when everyone did?” “Sir, I am taken ill and my leg is paining,” replied Fatima with the other hand still inside her pheran –a loose outer garment. She had learned that there were no happy endings or clear-cut choices in war. “You can only imagine what I was going through.” He spoke again but this time not so angrily, “Do you carry any medicine?” Fatima slipped her rubbing hand quickly in her pheran pocket and withdrew a strip of kalpal, or tablets for curing headache. The trooper took it in his hand like an identity card. She said that she was missing her three children but her index finger was still clinging to one of the grenade pins. To her good luck and the trooper’s too, he had nodded in self-assurance and handed back the strip. OK.

Fatima thanked God for saving her that day with Zangpal, as she calls the medicine. After half an hour of parades and frisking, everyone boarded the bus and it drove off to Islamabad. Fatima and her cousin, who couldn’t believe the miracle, disembarked at Breenth. The same little girl who had come with a note in the morning was waiting with another note and a lollypop in her mouth. She went to the walnut orchard mentioned in the note and handed over the package. Back home, no one asked Fatima where she had been. Everyone including the children expressed their silent approval.

Fatima recalls every one of the mujahideen for whom she had carried out this mission. She said that when Shabnam joined the mujahideen he was of the same age her own son is now. She prayed for the former’s place in jannah (paradise) and the latter’s long and healthy life. She remembers every single conversation she has had with her brethren. On that grateful day, when she was narrating the bus incident to the mujahideen, Nazir Shiree had said to her, “If it were not for our hamsher (sisters), moss would have sprouted on our graves already.”

[dsreedhar]

Would it be productive to have a counter protest march to condemn the religious separatism in J&K? The western world is now more aware of whats going on and the Kashmir issue will resonate akin to the current world events and turmoil related to islamic fundamentalism. The kashmir hindu pandit groups should call out the bluff of these separatists. IMO it is not just Indian Armys duty but the people also should rise up and speak in numbers at some point. Silence does not help in international forums. Silence is acceptance.

[RamaY]

Would it be productive to have a counter protest march to condemn the religious separatism in J&K? The western world is now more aware of whats going on and the Kashmir issue will resonate akin to the current world events and turmoil related to islamic fundamentalism. The kashmir hindu pandit groups should call out the bluff of these separatists. IMO it is not just Indian Armys duty but the people also should rise up and speak in numbers at some point. Silence does not help in international forums. Silence is acceptance.

Kashmiri Hindus doing a protest march against religious separatism and persecution has no meaning and value.

Kasmiri Muslim silent majority must do that. But India should contend with them coming to vote (Democracy wins) and only vote for PDP, NC and Congress (Secularism wins).

[SSridhar]

Reminiscent of 1965, Anti-India Radio Broadcast Started on Internet - IANS, New Indian Express

Using state-of-art technology, an internet radio exhorting Kashmiris to rise against India has been launched.

Posting the news about the launch of the anti-India internet radio on its website, anti-India news portal Kashmir Media Service said on Thursday: "Radio Sada-e-Hurriyet-e-Jammu Kashmir has launched its round-the-clock internet transmission. It has been effectively projecting the human rights violations by Indian troops in occupied Kashmir."

The launch of the internet radio assumes significance in the backdrop of the cancellation of National Security Advisor-level talks between India and Pakistan and the growing Line of Control (LoC) violations in Jammu and Kashmir.

During the 1965 India-Pakistan war, an underground radio station - Radio Sada-e-Kashmir - had started broadcast in September 1965 which used to air news about the actions carried out by infiltrator in the Kashmir Valley.

The infiltration had finally forced India to carry out military strikes against Pakistan on the LoC and the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.

Although 'Radio Sada-e-Kashmir' claimed to be carrying out its broadcast from the valley, it was later established that the broadcast was being aired from across the LoC in Pakistan-occupied part of the state.

To counter the anti-India propaganda carried out by 'Radio Sada-e-Kashmir', the local state-controlled Radio Kashmir also started highlighting the successes of the Indian Army against the infiltrators and on the borders against the Pakistan Army in 1965.

The latest anti-India internet radio broadcasts programmes in Kashmiri, Urdu, English and Hindu.

Intelligence agencies here were tight-lipped on Thursday about the broadcasts and on whether action was in the offing to block such broadcast.

[vasu raya]

Elite commando, 4 militants killed in Handwara encounter
Police say slain LeT men from Pakistan | AK-47 rifles, grenades seized

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 3
In a second firefight in less than 24 hours, four suspected Pakistani militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba and an elite para commando of the Army were killed in a gunfight in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. Three soldiers were injured in the overnight gunfight.

The encounter broke out on Wednesday evening in the forests of Sochalwari Vilgam in Handwara, nearly 85 km from Srinagar, when joint teams of the police and the Army launched a search operation in the area after a tip-off. The police said the four slain Pakistani militants were active in the area and it was not a fresh infiltration. The search operation was jointly launched by the Special Operation Group of the J&K Police, 6 Rashtriya Rifles battalion and 9 Para at 7 pm.

“As the searches were going on, the first contact with the militants was established around 9 pm. In the initial fierce gunfight, a militant was killed while a sepoy of 9 Para Battalion received grievous injuries,” sources said. The sepoy later died. The slain Para commando has been identified as Mohan Nath Goswami, a resident of Uttarakhand.

The fierce firefight continued between the two sides throughout the night and security forces maintained a tight cordon around the area to plug all exit routes. The three militants were later engaged by security forces near a stream inside the dense forest.

North Kashmir DIG Gareeb Das said the firefight ended at 7 am and the bodies of the four militants were recovered from the encounter site. “They are Pakistani militants and belonged to Lashkar,” Das told The Tribune.

Defence spokesperson Col NN Joshi said four AK-47 rifles, one UBGL and other warlike stores, including ammunition, grenades and radio sets, were recovered from the slain militants. “One Army soldier has attained martyrdom while three others have sustained injuries and are admitted to Army Hospital,” the spokesman said.

This was the second encounter in less than 24 hours in north Kashmir. On Wednesday an Army jawan and a local militant were killed in a gunbattle in Baramulla district.

The encounters between security forces and militants have increased in the recent past in Kashmir. Last week, four suspected Pakistani militants were killed and another was captured alive during a day-long battle in Baramulla district. On August 23, three Pakistani militants were killed in Krumhura forests in Handwara area.