By Zafar Iqbal
Today Kashmir is boiling
again. Current unrest started after the killing of a young boy in June has
taken at least 112 lives and crippled daily life in Muslim majority parts of
Indian held Kashmir. Meanwhile, on the other side of the volatile Himalayan
region, Islamic militants have started re-emerging in various cities and towns
of Pakistani administrated Kashmir.
The key activists of banned
Islamic groups Jaish-e–Muhammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) have reportedly
been active since last few months. They have been addressing public gatherings
and meeting people openly.
Since last few years
Pakistan has been battling a fierce war against Taliban and other hard-line
Islamic groups. According to official reports, militants have killed over 2,450
army men and thousands of civilians since 2004. Pakistan government has
outlawed at least 24 Islamic organizations declaring them a great danger for
national security and stability.
Though, political situation
in Pakistan administered Kashmir is not as oppressive and alarming as it has
been witnessed by independent observers in Indian held Kashmir during last two
decades, the public sentiment against Islamabad is not very much different.
People in Azad Kashmir have been cautiously witnessing political,
administrative and social interventions by the federal government after the
catastrophic earthquake in 2005. They
have been protesting through local media that Islamabad is intentionally
pushing hardcore Islamists to the territory of Kashmir who have reorganized
their activities under the garb of earthquake rehabilitators.
The movement of banned
outfits has been observed mainly in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan
administered Kashmir. In past, this mountain-clapped city has been sanctuary of
different Islamic groups waging war against India in Kashmir.
Nevertheless, they had apparently limited their activities or ceased to
function openly and aggressively when former Pakistani president Pervez Mushraf
put pressure on them after US and Indian intervention.
Recent media reports have
indicated that there has been increased Jehadi activity in some of the major
cities in Pakistan administered Kashmir.
People are once again
witnessing the increased magnitude of public gatherings and processions as they
had observed during late ninetees. They are cautiously putting arguments that
how Pakistan can afford re-emergence of militant Islam in a highly disputable
area which itself is very close to the federal capital posing threat to its own
integrity.
A newly found militant outfit- Tahreek Azad e
Kashmir( Kashmir Freedom Movement), which has been on the forefront of militant
activity in this region, is believed to
be a new face of Jammat-ud Dawa (JuD) (the alleged mastermind group behind Mumbai
attacks) and Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM). Some of the local political groups, mainly
pro- independence JKLF have expressed their concern over these new
developments. They have warned that such movements could damage the indigenous character
of present Kashmir Intifada (as they describe it). If local authorities do not
take any action against these militant groups, they will be at large to
re-organise and re-launch Jehadi activity against India or Pakistan itself. The
Swat saga is not a matter of distant past.
According to reports, the
rebirth of pro-militancy organizations has been more remarkable in Neelum
valley than other parts of the divided state of the Jammu & Kashmir; the
same region which in past have been identified
as an incubator of Kashmiri insurgents.
‘Some strangers have hired
shops and houses in our area,” says a resident of the Neelum valley, whose name
may not be disclosed due to safety reason. People say that radical groups are
carrying out their work in pretext of charity job to help the needy,
particularly the victims of recent floods.
Neelum valley is the most
affected area in Pakistan administered Kashmir hit by devastating floods this
year. The Aid agencies have disclosed that recent floods have destroyed above 800 buildings, houses and shops,
affecting almost 40,000 people in this area. This calamity ridden region has already
paid a heavy price in tense years of post -1989
Kashmir militancy. The proxy war has stopped people’s access to health and
education services and ruined socio- economic infrastructure.
Majority of population in
the valley is poor and jobless. Several local people have been enrolled by
militant organizations to work with them as helpers, another resident has
disclosed.
When asked about the
identity of those militants, the cautious guide told that mainly they come from
Pakistani Northern Pashtun region and Punjab province. “They are not familiar
with hilly terrain and local mountainous paths. That’s why they need local
support for their mobility to enter into Indian Kashmir,” he said.
Local people in Neelum
Valley are again worried about the presence of these non-Kashmiri bearded
faces. They foresee that existence of
Islamic combats could cause awful bombardment along the Line of Control (LoC)
again.
Following years of tension along the LoC (Defecto
border between Indian and Pakistani Kashmir) both armies had halted their
hostile operations since Nov 26, 2003, when ceasefire came into effect on the
744-km-long and 34 –km-wide border.
Pakistan and India, however, have again started
violating the peace agreement. More than
four incidents of firing and shelling have been reported in last month. Civilians say that this
unusual firing and border skirmishes have escalated fears among them about
durability of peace along the volatile LoC.
“We were forced to leave our homes. We lost
businesses and our dear ones in the decade-long tension between Pakistani and
Indian troops”, says Fatima Bibi with tearful eyes, a victim of recent
cross-border tension between India and Pakistan. Her six years old daughter was
shot dead when playing outside her home on 20 October, 2010. Sitting near the grave of her daughter, Bibi
says that any more war like situation will make her life hell. “I beg to oppressors,
don’t kill our children.”
India blames Pakistan for
breaching the ceasefire accord, claiming that such shelling facilitates the
infiltration of guerillas into Indian controlled Kashmir. Pakistan denies,
although, former President Musharraff confessed in an interview with German magazine
Der Spiegel that Pakistan had trained the militants to fight against India.
Regardless of the concerns
of sane Kashmiri circles about the genuine achievements of current revolt in
Kashmir; the Intifada by and large remained separated from the direct clouts of
armed groups. This factor projected the representation of public resistance as
an aboriginal configuration; brushing away the previous Indian allegations that
Pakistan triggers anti-India violence in Kashmir.
This alleged bolstering and
pushing radical elements into Pakistani part of Kashmir by Pakistan will cause profound loss to
peaceful struggle of Kashmiri people on
the other side of the border which in recent months has gained momentum. This
totally civilian upsurge has won unprecedented attention of the independent
observers all around the world.
(The writer is a freelance
journalist and activist. He can be reached at: zafarjournalist@gmail.com )
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