Monday 29 August 2016



Pakistan's desperate moves in Kashmir Valley
Pakistan Telegraph (ANI) Wednesday 20th July, 2016
By Anil Bhat
New Delhi, July 20 (ANI): The mayhem in Kashmir Valley following the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) poster boy Burhan Wani, worth a bounty of Rs. 10,00,000/- and ten of his cohorts by security forces, is the culmination after a build-up of several events and issues.
How did the young, handsome ex cricketer Burhan Wani become the leader of HM, a Kashmiri group raised by Pakistan's military and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)? And, how did his being killed, followed by a large gathering at his funeral spark off an agitation with unprecedented violence against our security forces? A look at some past events and developments throws light on how the situation in the Valley was precipitated in July 2016.
The HM, with its cadre base being drawn from Kashmiri Muslims and Pakistanis, was one of 32 outfits proscribed under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002. It was inducted into the Kashmir Valley in September 1989 as the militant wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), an Islamist organization, at the behest of the ISI, to counter the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) which had advocated independence of Jammu and Kashmir.
Many of its early cadres were former JKLF members. The HM has claimed to stand for the integration of Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan and since its inception. It has also campaigned for the Islamisation of Kashmir. Headquartered in Muzaffarabad, in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), the HM is presently headed by Syed Salahuddin, who also heads the United Jihad Council. The HM is believed to have strong links with the proscribed Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).
Following the assumption of power by the BJP in May 2014, Pakistan went into overdrive with unprecedented pressure of unprovoked firing across the International Boundary (IB) South of Akhnoor and a step-up in attempts at infiltration by Pakistani terrorist groups - mainly Lashkar e Taiyyaba (LeT) and Jaish e Mohammad (JeM) across the Line of Control (LoC) and IB.
The aggressive responses to both by the Border Security Force on the IB, the Indian Army on the LoC, and other security forces, including Jammu and Kashmir Police in the Valley, resulted in a fair amount of interceptions/arrests/elimination of Pakistani terrorists.
While much of Pakistan military and ISI's efforts got neutralized South of Pir Panjal, in the valley, the ISI gave the HM a boost with a fresh induction of Kashmiri youths. Burhan Wani was made the poster-boy and social media was aggressively used to radicalise and inspire educated Kahmiri Muslim youth to join its ranks. Owing to the many successes of the security forces in eliminating Pakistani terrorists, the ISI pressed the separatists to deliver and the modus of agitation with violence was resorted to.
On February 8, 2016, New York Times correspondent Carlotta Gall reported that experts have found evidence that Pakistan facilitated the Taliban offensive.
Gall said, "This behaviour is not just an issue for Afghanistan. Pakistan is intervening in a number of foreign conflicts. Its intelligence service has long acted as the manager of international mujahedeen forces, many of them Sunni extremists, and there is even speculation that it may have been involved in the rise of the Islamic State....the region's triumvirate of violent jihad is living openly in Pakistan."
She named the three- Sirajuddin Haqqani, leader of the Haqqani network, new leader of Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour and Al Qaeda's leader, Ayman al-Zawahri- all enjoying sanctuary in Pakistan.
In October 2014, Lt. Gen. Subrata Saha, then GOC of the Indian Army's 15 Corps, which is headquartered in Srinagar (and now Deputy Chief of Army Staff ), speaking to this writer, reiterated what he had cautioned then: "The emergence of ISIS flags merits concern and deserves the highest attention of the security agencies to prevent the youth of Kashmir from getting lured into ISIS."
While former chief minister Omar Abdullah had dismissively stated "The flag was waved by some idiots, which does not mean that ISIS has any presence in Kashmir," by April 2015, there were reports of not only protesters raising anti-India slogans and waving ISIS and Pakistan flags after Friday prayers at the Jama Masjid, but also of setting ablaze flags of PDP.
Since then, the waving of ISIS and Pakistani flags has become a routine affair outside the Jama Masjid on Fridays. Further, Kashmiri separatists through their network revived the 2010 tactic of stone-pelting.
On May 31, 2016, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, while concluding the discussion on the Governor's address in the Legislative Council, lashed out at separatists for disturbing peace on Fridays. Without naming any separatist leader, she said they had turned blessed Friday into a stone-throwing day. She said she was being branded as anti-Muslim and anti-Kashmir.
"It is not only you (Opposition), many others (separatists) have been issuing fatwas that I am anti-Muslim. Kashmiriyat is that we should safeguard our religion and stay together. Our Islam is not what they (separatists) say you have to do (protests and stone pelting) on Fridays," she said.
The chief minister said Islam did not preach "slaughtering and shouting religious slogans".
She reiterated the PDP-BJP government's stand of bringing back migrant Kashmiri Pandits with respect.
"First, we have to put them in transit camps. We have to give them breathing space. We can't tell them to go directly to their villages. How is this possible?"
Mehbooba asked. "Workers of the Congress, PDP, NC and BJP are living with security. When they can't live without security, is it not important to provide a sense of security to Pandits? Once they feel the situation is conducive, they will go back to their villages.. Kashmiri Muslims are fed up of violence. Kashmiri Pandits are not afraid of Kashmiri Muslims. They are afraid of those who perpetrated the Wandhama massacre. Who killed Abdul Gani Lone? Who shot Mirwaiz Moulvi Mohammad Farooq?" she asked.
Earlier, while speaking in the Assembly on the rehabilitation process of displaced Kashmiri Pandits and other migrants, Mehbooba is reported to have said she would "not throw Kashmiri Pandits like 'pigeons before the cat' ".
While the National Conference said the Chief Minister owed an apology to people of Kashmir, hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani said she had "lost her mental balance after gaining power". She hit out at critics over the allegations that bringing back Pandits with Article 370 was totally wrong.
On June 12, 2016, Mehbooba Mufti visited the much revered Kheer Bhavani Temple, in Ganderbal, 35 km from Srinagar, where thousands of Kashmiri Pandits had converged to attend the annual 'mela' (fair), and said, "Kashmir is incomplete without Kashmiri Pandits.... They will be brought back to Kashmir."
She also met with two Pandit pilgrims who were injured during stone-pelting clashes between protesters and police over the establishment of a police post, a day earlier. Calling the incident "unfortunate", Ms Mufti said, "It creates a wrong impression as lots of young Kashmiris are studying outside. There will be stigma associated with those involved in stone pelting incidents in the future."
On Mufti's earlier instructions to review stone-pelting and such like cases between 2008 and 2014, state government approved withdrawal of 104 cases and on July 5, 2016, as a gesture of amnesty on Eid, 634 persons facing stone-pelting charges were released. In 2013, the Omar Abdullah Government had released 1,811 persons involved in cases of stone-pelting in the valley during 2010.
All agitations/lock-outs/stone-pelting by local populace are the direct result of incitement/motivation by Kashmiri separatists beholden to ISI. Through their intricate network of agents down to localities/colonies/streets, locals, particularly youth are direct them to perform disruptive acts.
Pakistani terrorists who have succeeded in infiltrating or lying low are also assisted by the separatist network. And all this is supervised by ISI and Pakistani terror groups it supports.
After Wani's killing, Hafiz Saeed not only addressed meetings in Lahore and Muzaffarabad to mobilize terrorists and separatists to up the ante in the Valley, but has been ranting afresh that Pakistan should sever diplomatic relations with India, ban Indian films, media etc. And to top it all, Kashmiri separatist leaders not only have meetings with the Pakistani High Commissioner and his colleagues in New Delhi, but also attend Pakistani terrorists leaders meetings/rallies in Pakistan.
On the very important priority of the way forward, the thrust has to be twofold-tackle security and political alienation. For security, firstly, separatists and their wide network must be neutralized and not be allowed to be reorganizing again and secondly, India must redevelop the capability to covertly strike at terrorists beyond its borders.
Both these require political will which must be exercised. For overcoming, the alienation that Kashmiris face, keeping in view that all of them of the age of forty or so, have been deprived of post -Independence Indo-Pak history. Government must make sustained use of internet and social media to educate not only young Kashmiris, but also powerful nations who have already been targeted by terrorists, or may be so in future.
The views expressed in the above article are that of Lt. Col. Anil Bhat, VSM (retired), a strategic analyst. (ANI)



















Sify News

Pakistan's desperate moves in Kashmir Valley exposes its frustration and support of terror

Source : ANI Last Updated: Thu, Aug 11, 2016 14:47 hrs


Anil Bhat, New Delhi, Aug.11 (ANI): Yet another desperate attempt was made from Pakistan to further incite people of Kashmir Valley to rise and widen the ongoing unrest there following Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) commander Burhan Wani's killing. On August 1, 2016, Pakistan's largest religious organisation and one of its mainstream political parties, Jamat-e-Islami (JeI), led by its leader, Senator Siraj-Ul-Haq and other leaders marched from Lahore to eight kilometers short of the Wagah border near Amritsar to hold a rally. Ranting venomously against India during the rally which was attended by about 10,000 people, Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) 'supreme commander' Syed Salahuddin (actively supported by Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI)), urged Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to immediately "suspend trade and diplomatic ties" with New Delhi, and asked why the Pakistan government had invited India's Home Minister, Rajnath Singh to the SAARC Home Ministers' conference. Members of the Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD), led by Hafiz Saeed (also head of Lashkar e Taiyyaba (LeT) and prime perpetrator of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack) and some Hurriyat/Kashmiri separatist leaders were also seen taking active part in the rally, making anti-India hate speeches and threats of launching a violent resistance to stop Rajnath Singh's visit. "Inshaallah, we will do everything to stop him", said Salahuddin, while protest organiser Senator Siraj-ul-Haq called on the Pakistan government to ban Rajnath Singh's visit. The organisers even made children holding toy guns participate in the rally. Saeed, whose 26/11 Mumbai attack was widely aimed not only at Indians, but also at foreigners, particularly Americans and Jews, is on the United States' most wanted list with a USD 10 million bounty on his head.

Ironically, the Jamat-ud-Dawa is on the Pakistan government's 'terror watch list', while the HuM is a declared banned militant organisation as per the Pakistan Interior Ministry's records. Yet, they freely hold protests and rallies in major cities of Pakistan. The JeI is planning to hold another such a march and rally on August 15, 2016 from Muzaffarabad to Chakothi in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

Also on August 1, 2016, thousands of people in the Kashmir Valley reportedly reached the Karimabad graveyard in Pulwama district, following a call given jointly by hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, so-called 'moderate' faction leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman Yasin Malik to pay tributes to terrorists killed during the recent unrest. Abu Dujana, the most wanted LeT terrorist, was also reported to have participated in the gathering, wearing a mask and surrounded by many people, as pro-freedom and anti India slogans were raised with the waving of Pakistani and LeT flags.

 It may be pertinent to mention that in 2015, there were 117 attempts by Pakistani terrorists to cross the Line of Control (LoC) into Kashmir Valley of which 33 were successful. In 2016, till July itself, there have been 80 such attempts, of which 54 have been successful. These have led to 96 terrorists being killed in 2015 and 93 being killed till July 2016, both near the LoC and in the hinterland. Only 170 terrorists remain in the valley after such attrition which is a major reason for increase in frustration/desperation by ISI and terrorist leaders.

Daanish Bin Nabi has written an article in the online website Daily O titled "South Kashmir becoming hotbed of terrorism" that elders are wary of the emerging discontent, and its manifestations. He further states that they believe that the political, economic and social rights of the youth have been compromised by the state government, and that they blame social media tools like WhatsApp and Facebook for playing an important role in the recruitment of militants and in the radicalising the Kashmiri youth. He adds that after Burhan uploaded his video in early September 2015, in Nizampora, Shopian, terrorist organisations recruited 17 youth.

On Pakistan's role in Kashmir, its "non state actors" (NSAs) and use of social media, Mohammad Shehzad, one of Pakistan's bold journalists, says in his piece titled 'The War Within'(December 2013 issue of Newsline), is very relevant: ".the ground reality is that we are a state at war with itself, a state sans the state's writ. The society is being governed by non-state actors - terrorists, religious extremists, clerics and criminals. The state has cowardly ceded its writ to non-state actors, of which the most powerful are the jihadis and sectarian outfits who are exceedingly well-organised down to the street level. .. violence against Shias and Ahmediyas, terrorist attacks against hapless civil populace by Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan ((TTP)  and a large number of jihadi outfits, including those meant specifically for anti-India operations has been business as usual, despite claims of disbandment of some of the outfits, which have merely been changing names and street locations. The Nawaz Sharif government's promises about tackling terrorism and sectarianism amount to naught, because at least 55 of its members represent some or the other jihadi outfits, with the TTP being a major factor". × Shehzad also wrote that during the tenure of People's Party of Pakistan (PPP), jihadis/sectarian outfits started making use of the social media to extend their dangerous mission, not only in Pakistan, but across the world. However, instead of banning the provocative pages, the PPP government blocked all those Facebook pages and Twitter accounts that raised concerns about the rising militancy and sectarianism in the country. The electronic media too played a very negative role by glorifying the jihadi/sectarian militants.

There are some very interesting and significant inputs on the current situation from senior Kashmiri journalists this writer interacted with, whose names are not mentioned for the sake of their safety. One is about a very recent incident in North Kashmir, where an Army officer's reaction to grave provocation was highly praised. A violent crowd converged on an army post shouting anti-India/'Azadi (freedom) slogans and throwing stones. When the officer came out and requested the crowd to stop stoning, one of the ringleaders came up to him and slapped him. The officer surprised the agitators by not reacting aggressively and urging the crowd to listen to him. He conveyed that while it was very easy for him to react by firing on the crowd with telling effect, he did not do so as he considered them as his own countrymen, though they were agitated. He explained that the army could not grant them Azadi (Freedom), but said their demands should be addressed to the government. In this situation, if the officer had ordered his troops to fire, the public reaction would have spread far and wide in North Kashmir. "This officer's very mature and patient handling of the situation despite great provocation, saved many lives.hats off to him," said the journalist.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken, albeit over a month late, and appealed for "insaniyat" (humanity/humanism) , "jamhooriyat" (republic/democtacy), Kashmiriyat (spirit of Kashmir), "India loves Kashmir..only some have been misled", he said, and also said that he would be guided by the policy followed by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. BJP's National General Secretary Ram Madhav has also been reaching out to people in Srinagar. While there is no doubt about robust political initiative and reaching out to sooth hearts and minds, steps are still required to assuage hurt feelings and this can only be possible with the help of a strong political will and deftness. The involvement of the army has been debated and there are experts who have questioned whether their presence is required. What is important is to break the apparatus which keeps Pakistan supported terrorism alive and incites the public to commit acts of violence. This must be neutralised.

The media must also stop eulogizing and lionising terrorists. They must report correctly and in a balanced manner. They must show the plight of victims of terrorism and not be mindlessly driven by TRPs, sensationalism or circulation figures. Unfiltered/unedited footage by audio-visual media can cause much damage as it did during the 26/11 terrorist attack on Mumbai.

And last but not least, innovative use must be made of the same social media which has been misused by the ISI and separatists for radicalizing Kashmiri youth. Having interviewed many Kashmiri children brought on all-India tours by the Army and BSF over the past two decades, one can say that all is not lost and there is hope for retrieval. And now, no time should be lost in taking the necessary steps for security and the launching of positive projects.

The views expressed in the above article are that Lt. Col. Anil Bhat, a strategic analyst

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Pakistan’s desperate moves in Kashmir Valley exposes its frustration and support of  terror