shaukat KASHMIRI
‘IKA speaks for the people of Kashmir’. ‘We are pro people
and pro
peace’, declared IKA leaders. ‘Division of Kashmir is not a
solution’,
was the message of the leaders who participated in a
seminar organised
by International Kashmir Alliance. (Report by Dr Shabir
Choudhry)
As peace activities in South Asia get momentum Kashmiri
expatriates,
especially leadership of the IKA has taken a lead role in
organising
various activities in different capitols of the world.
As explained in the press conference last week, IKA
leadership
organised a seminar on Kashmir in London, which was
attended by
Kashmiri and Pakistani leaders from different towns and
from different
political background.
1. In his presidential speech the IKA Chairman Dr Nazir
Gilani said:
We have organised this seminar to give Kashmiri point of
view to these
talks. We have always encouraged the dialogue as thi s is
the best way
to resolve the differences. We welcome the peace process
and support
people to people contact which will help to build bridges
of confidence,
and help to revive the civil society.
We request the government of Pakistan to conduct its
Kashmir policy
under article 297 of its constitution, and regard Kashmir
as a separate
entity, and Kashmiris as separate people. If Pakistani
leaders and its
officials pursue a policy which demands of Kashmiris or
intimidates
them to accede with Pakistan then that is clearly violation
of
Pakistani constitution.
He said, APHC leadership has totally failed to provide the
kind of
leadership which was required during this difficult time,
and they have
failed to save Kashmiri lives; and we have lost whole
generation of
young people. They failed to react positively when the
Indian
government asked for dialogues and said that ‘Sky wa s the
limit’, and
as a result more people have died.
They have agreed to a dialogue now when situation is not
favourable to
the Kashmiris, and both India and Pakistan have met and
apparently have
reduced the role of the Kashmiris. This negligence and lack
of vision
has caused more bloodshed and made the Kashmiris more
vulnerable and
have left them at the mercy of India and Pakistan.
He said between 40 and 80 thousand people have lost their
lives, and
some one must be held responsible for this tragic loss of
life.
Kashmiris were not only killed by the Indian gun but they
were also
killed by a Pakistani and Kashmiri gun. It must be noted
that some one
provided gun to the Kashmiris to initiate this culture of
fear and
killing.
Dr Gilani said we have to ensure that this gun culture,
which is alien
to the Kashmiri society, ends and people can go about their
daily
busine ss without fear and threat to their lives. He said
those who
introduced gun into Kashmiri society are now trying to
pretend to be
followers of Mahatma Gandhi. People have right to ask what
has happened
during this change and have right to keep an eye on such
characters.
Those responsible for causing death and destruction could
be taken to
task some time in future.
2. IKA Secretary General Saradar Shaukat Ali said:
IKA was formed under the Geneva Declaration which has pro
people and
pro peace agenda. He said in any deal or process we must
put people of
Kashmir first. It is not appropriate for leaders of India
and Pakistan
to decide about our future. This right is vested with the
people of
Kashmir who are the main party to the dispute and who are
the suffering
party.
We support the peace process initiated by Prime Minister
Vajapaee and
reciprocated by President Musharaf, but i t must be
remembered that we
are equal partner in this peace process, and without our
active
participation and agreement there could be no peace in
South Asia. We
are in favour of these confidence - building measures and
urge both
governments to take all necessary steps to ensure that
killing of
innocent Kashmiris stop and peace returns to this
unfortunate region.
He said Jihadi forces supported by Pakistan have caused
enormous
problems to the people of Kashmir and the movement, and we
hope that
the authorities in Pakistan will prevail on these elements.
If Pakistan
still allows these communal forces to operate in Pakistan
and in Azad
Kashmir then it would be construed as no change of heart in
Pakistan’s
Kashmir policy, and these concessions would be seen as made
under
pressure to hoodwink the international community.
Pakistani authorities also need to change its policy with regard to
Gilgit and Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, which is virtually a
colony of
Pakistan. People of these areas also deserve peace and want
to live
with dignity. Pakistan seems to be too concerned about the
human rights
situation on the Indian side of the LOC, but pays no
attention to the
plight of the people under its occupation, who are deprived
of their
basic rights.
Pakistani authorities have promoted the gun culture in
Kashmir and we
expect them to play their role in ending terror in Kashmir
that all
Kashmiris could live in peace; and Pundit Community who was
uprooted
from their homes could safely return to their homes. He
said we have
been separated forcibly for the past 56 years and it is
time that this
artificial division is ended, the State of Jammu and
Kashmir could be
united and people of Kashmir could help and promote
economic stability
and prosperity in Kashmir an d South Asia.
3. Councillor and Deputy Mayor Mr Mushtaq Lashari said:
It was combination of internal and international pressure
that has
brought these two arch - rivals to the negotiation table.
Issues like
nuclear, international role and temptation of the Security
Council seat
has also played big role in it.
In the past while negotiations were being held, forces
which opposed
friendly relationship between the two countries were
allowed to
flourish and play their negative role. These forces still
don’t want to
see peace and stability in the region, and they are still
at work, so
both governments have to keep watch on activities of these
forces and
contain them.
Councillor Lashari who is also the Chairman of Third World
solidarity
said, I have always been anti imperialism, and believe that
use of
violence could not solve problems- best way to resolve
issues is
through a pr ocess of dialogue and I full support this
process.
He said whereas I fully support your principled stand- your
right of
self- determination, I request you to reconsider your stand
and see
what is practical under the given situation. You could
continue your
peaceful struggle for your principled stand, but in order
to save lives
of innocent people and to have peace and stability in South
Asia, like
India and Pakistan, you also need to make some concessions.
He said it is not easy for India and Pakistan to change
their stated
stands as well because for the past 56 years they have been
projecting
one line of action and claiming Kashmir. Situation since
9/11 has
changed, and it has changed more dramatically in Pakistan
where
yesterdays heroes have become zeros. Violence has to end
and those who
pursue this have to be controlled. Not everyone will
support your line
of approach, but don ’t disappoint those who can only walk
with you some
distance.
4. Abbas Butt, President of JKLF UK& Europe
IKA is doing a marvellous job in educating people on the
subject of
Kashmir. This is a selective gathering of thinking people
from
different political backgrounds. Public meetings and
rallies are held
to demonstrate political muscle, and seminars are not held
for this
purpose. Participants of this seminar are leaders and
thinkers from
different parties.
Situation in South Asia is fast changing and we people of
Kashmir have
to be part of those changes, and we have to play our
positive role to
bring about these changes which could be beneficial to all
of us.
Kashmir has more than one occupier and it looks that these
occupiers
are determined to take decision on behalf of people of
Kashmir. We have
to make sure that they don’t get away with it, but for this
we the
people of Kashmir have to play our role sensibly. In the
past we have
been let down by different leaders and APHC, and we hope
that IKA
leadership will speak for all the people irrespective of
their ethnic
and religion background.
We live in a place where talk of an independent Kashmir is
considered
as treachery- it is written on walls that ‘khud mukhtari is
ghadari’,
and in this kind of environment is created to oppress and
intimidate
people. We hope that people of Kashmir from all regions
will be part of
the peace process.
5. Najib Afsar, President of Kashmir Liberation said:
We should be debating the future of the region and not go
over and over
again what happened in the past- we should be talking of
future of our
motherland, and not what Vajpayee has said in Islamabad. To
me that is
irrelevant, because we were never part of that conference,
and Kashmir
was not part of SAARC proceedings. Kashmir was discussed
bilaterally by
the both countries in the shadow of the Conference, as if
Kashmir was a
side issue. They need to be reminded that Kashmir issue is
a core issue
in the South Asia, it is because of Kashmir they say that
South Asia is
a Nuclear Flashpoint.
I would request IKA leaders, who are doing a splendid work
at
international level, to take up the issue on these lines
and not on the
lines our occupiers give us. We need to tell the world that
Kashmir is
not a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan- this is
an issue
which affects our future and we cannot leave that in the
hands of
Pakistan and India, they have no right to determine our
destiny, they
have no right to decide our future whether it is at the
instigation of
the US, or any other power.
He further said no one has right to impose their will on
Kashmiri
peo ple and decide our destiny, and I take this solemn oath
today in
front of you, that we will leave not stone unturned and we
will not
accept any agreement which is shorter then Independence of
our
motherland - united independence of Jammu and Kashmir. We
don’t want
balkanisation of our motherland. No more Gilgit and
Baltistan directly
controlled by Pakistan, and no more forced division of
Kashmir.
We placed our faith in Pakistan 56 years ago, what did they
give us in
return? No, we cannot allow Pakistan to be our advocator
any more; we
should be a party to the negotiation process. It is time
India and
Pakistan realise that they can not contain us, they cannot
control us,
time has changed, we are living in 2004, it is time for
them to leave
peacefully.
Mr Chairman, Musharaf and Vajpayees are conspiring, they
are conspiring
to divide Kashmir, they are conspiring to lower our spirit
and they are
conspiring that they might have another ten year of brutal
rule on
these people. We hear about Azad Kashmir, what is Azad
Kashmir? Is that
truly Azad? Or is it another colony of Pakistan?
We welcome these talks but are they about Srinagar and
surrounding
areas or they about Jammu and Kashmir which has 86 thousand
sq miles
territory. In any final settlement all regions of Kashmir
the Valley,
Ladakh, Jammu, Gilgit and Baltistan and Azad Kashmir must
be included.
Mr Chairman, I urge you through your good offices and vast
experience,
to promote the cause of peace and unification of Kashmir;
and we should
not care what others say about us, our country and its
interest comes
first.
6. Riaz Malik President Tehrek e Insaf said:
I support Kashmri peoples right to live in peace but peace
with dignity.
They are forcibly divided and have suffered under brutal
regimes. It
would be wrong to blame Pakistan for wrongs in Kashmir,
biggest culprit
is India, and we must condemn human rights abuse there.
India has been
shifting its policy whenever under pressure, and it is
possible that
India is only fooling the world community and buying off
time in order
to crush the armed struggle.
More than 80 thousand people have lost their lives for a
cause and that
cause is not to stay with India or accept LOC as an
international
border. Of course there are many alternative options on
Kashmir but
people have sacrificed their lives for right of self
–determination,
and people won’t accept any forced marriage.
I support this peace process but people of Kashmir have to
be part of
the process, it is they who have the final say. While this
process is
going on human rights violation must stop,
7. Afzal Tahir, President Kashmir International Front
It wa s difficult for Pakistan to make a U turn on Kashmir,
because they
have pursued this policy for the past 56 years. Pakistan
was unwilling
to abandon this policy but 9/11 and other pressing issues
forced
Pakistan to say good -bye to its historic stand and policy
on Kashmir.
Pakistan was desperate to come to the negotiation table and
for that
they had to accept nearly all conditions of India.
Pakistan is facing enormous problems at present mainly
because of wrong
policies of establishment, which encouraged communalism and
supported
Taliban; and then abandoned them under pressure. India was
ready for
talks provided Pakistani establishment abandoned its policy
of
supporting violence in Kashmir; and now under different
pressure
Pakistan has satisfied all the conditions. We sincerely
support
dialogue and hope that this process will continue because
it is in the
interest of the regi on. Proxy war and proxy politics must
end now, and
problems should be resolved rather than pushed under the
carpet in
order to have friendly relationship. Our struggle is for
United States
of Kashmir where all regions and minorities will have their
rights
preserved.
8. Barrister Taj Mohammed Langa, President Saraiki Party
SAARC Conference and the dialogue on Kashmir are two
separate processes.
It was realised in the past that no SAARC Conference could
be
successful without full cooperation of the two big players
namely India
and Pakistan.
Indian diplomats played their cards cleverly and ensured
that even the
name of Kashmir should not be mentioned in any proceedings
of the SAARC.
They threatened to stay away from the SAARC Conference if
Pakistan
mentioned Kashmir, and Pakistan was desperate to stage a
successful
Conference because of internal and external pressures. And
it is
precisely because of this the Pakistani Prime Minister did
not even
mention the name of Kashmir. This situation is similar to
the one when
Rajeev Gandhi visited Islamabad and Benazir Bhutto removed
signboards
of Kashmir.
Barjesh Mishra, who had nothing to do with the SAARC
Conference, held a
number of meetings with the Pakistani establishment and
agreed on a
certain course of action. It looks that the fight was
between two
establishments and they did everything to settle scores,
and now they
have decided to end this ongoing fight because it was
hurting both
countries.
In this fight the main party which has suffered are the
people if
Kashmir, they were the main victim of this contest between
two
establishments. Now they will talk and settle the Kashmir
dispute of
course according to their interests.
Your struggle is for unification and independence, and I
fu lly support
this. You must continue this. You are a separate nation
which has well
defined territory, history, culture and distinct
population. When India
and Pakistan with help of their stooges will take a
decision on Kashmir
then your struggle will enter a new phase.
Those people who they present on TV and media are on the
pay list of
the GHQ, and they cannot go against the wishes of those who
pay and
control them. You have to expose this leadership which
looks after the
interest of those who control GHQ.
9. Sadeeq Mirza, President of Jammu Kashmir Plebiscite
Front
No one is against the process of dialogue, but question is
what is
there for the people of Kashmir. Have they any role in
these talks? Are
they going to be silent spectators like it happened in the
past?
We are the main party to the dispute and we cannot allow
our occupiers
to sit down by excluding us and take a decision about our
future. Any
decision like those in the past will be opposed and
rejected by the
people of Kashmir, just like we rejected the Tashkant and
Shimla
Agreements.
We never say that India has been kind to us Kashmiris, but
when we have
genuine complaints about the behaviour of Pakistan, we have
to protest
against that as well. We cannot remain silent just because
the violator
is Pakistan, and when India does something then shout about
human
rights violations.
10. Mansoor Raja, Peoples Party of Pakistan
We have also suffered because of Kashmir; our economic
progress has
been held back. We had to channel our resources to make the
country
strong militarily. We made Atom Bomb just because of
Kashmir dispute.
If there was no Kashmir dispute then no problem with India
and no need
of a war and no need of the bomb.
In my capacity as a diplomat and as a PPP worker I have
always
supported the Kashmiri peoples struggle. We are with you
but you should
get independence from India first, India is killing
innocent Kashmiris
in Kashmir, and that must stop before the next round of
talks.
11. Surrinder Kaul, Kashmiri Pandit from Srinagar
This move taken by IKA is very timely. We have to position
our selves
and support the peace process, which hopefully lead to
satisfactory
solution. In the modern world economic power dictates
agenda, and we in
South Asia are lagging behind just because we have been
spending huge
amounts of money on arms. We have to set our priorities
right and make
Kashmir and South Asia economically strong.
Peace, stability and trade will help to get economic
stability and
prosperity and that will lead to better understanding
between the
communities. The economic progress should not be held back
just because
we have some problems. In our region we have enormous
social problems,
and people are living below the poverty line. We must
channel our
resources to alleviate this.
12. Mohammed Nazam Bhatti, Senior Vice President JKLF UK @
Europe.
In Kashmir both countries are occupiers and both should
decide when to
take their army out that the State could be united, and
then people
decide about their future. How could people decide if they
are forcibly
divided and there is a large army there which does not
hesitate to
shoot innocent people?
Both parties are having talks according to their interests
and there is
no one to look after the Kashmiri interest. I support the
peace process
but the Kashmiri leadership should be on the table with
them.
APHC lead by Molana Ansari is the elected APHC, The other
group was
created to split the Kashmiris and look after non Kashmiri
interest. We
m ust oppose all those who try to divide the Kashmiris.
Economic power is important and I understand that this
region is
lagging behind, but people need to understand that the
Kashmir dispute
is not related to economics. The dispute is not about a
territory or
economic backwardness, but about a right of people to
determine their
own future without any intimidation or force.
IKA Spokesman 0044 (0)208 599 1400. Mobile 0044 (0)7941
295327
--
Dr Shabir Choudhry
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