Author:
Publication: India Resource
Date: Aug 2002
URL: http://members.tripod.com/~INDIA_RESOURCE/pok.html
The Struggle for Self-Determination
and Democratic Rights
International attention on Kashmir
has invariably focused on the tensions and conflict between Kashmiri separatists
and the Indian government. Any discussion on self-determination or human
rights is routinely prefaced on the assumption that the situation in Pakistan-held
Kashmir is "normal", that the Pakistani government is a "friend" of the
Kashmiri people, and it is only the Indian government that is hostile to
the "genuine interests" of the people of Kashmir.
Yet, Amir Humza Qureshi, founder
of the Gilgit-Baltistan Jamhoori Mahaz, and jailed on several occasions
for trying to represent the interests of the people of Gilgit (one of the
districts in Pakistan-held Kashmir which Pakistan euphemistically describes
as "Northern Areas") counters this view. In a letter to the Urdu daily,
Jasarat, Amir Humza Qureshi, wrote: "It is a fact that people of this region
(Northern Areas) are facing more human rights violations and whenever the
official (Pakistani) media talks of repression in (Indian) Kashmir, people
with strong hearts laugh at this hypocritical attitude, and people with
weak hearts cry."
"India is not perpetrating even
one hundredth part of the repression that people spread over an area of
28,000 miles have been facing for the past 50 years. The Indian Government
has given people all their fundamental human rights and in spite of that
they are in a state of confrontation against the government. But the people
of this region (Northern Areas) are far behind the rest of the world in
matters of fundamental human rights, justice and economic development."
(See http://www.jammu-kashmir.com/insights/insight980201.html)
This is in stark contrast to those
in the Islamic movement that see Indian Kashmir as territory that needs
to be liberated from the clutches of India, and see any retreat from confrontation
with India (regarding Kashmir) as a betrayal of the "Islamic" cause. For
instance, an opinion piece on khilafah.com argues: "Therefore, the only
way forward for Kashmir is to liberate it physically and return the rule
back to Islam. This is the verdict from Islam and as Muslims we are required
to accept the judgement of Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta'aala). The obligation
lies on the Pakistani army to move and overthrow this illegitimate Pakistani
regime (i.e. the Musharraf regime), and give its support (nussrah) to the
sincere sons of this Ummah who are calling for the re-establishment of
the Islamic Khilafah State which will work to reunite the land of Kashmir
with the land of Pakistan and one day Insha-Allah, the whole of India.
(Note that this view considers not just Kashmir as part of the "Islamic
Khilafah State" but all of India as well.)
Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam)
said in a hadith,"The killing of a Muslim is to Allah worse than the end
of the World". Now in Kashmir, Musharraf prepares to betray the Ummah yet
again. America pushed Pakistan and India to the brink of a 'war' neither
side can afford, so as to provide the cover and moral climate for Musharraf
(America's proxy dictator) to arrest, eliminate and dismantle the Mujahideen;
who during the Kargil incident, came heroically close to defeating the
Hindu army.
But such views are not shared by
the majority of the people living in Pakistan held Kashmir. In fact, human
rights leaders in Pakistan-held Kashmir describe it as "Occupied Kashmir"
(POK) insisting that only the "Pakistani part of Kashmir can be considered
occupied". And that is why virtually all the governments in Pakistan (military
or civilian) have gone to great lengths to suppress the democratic voice
of the people living in POK. Pakistan has deliberately kept the status
of POK (comprising "Azad Kashmir" and the "Northern Areas") ambiguous,
neither allowing them to secede, nor allowing these territories to be fully
integrated into Pakistan.
Residents of the sparsely populated,
and ethnically and linguistically diverse "Northern Areas" assert that
they have no legal status. They are neither a province of Pakistan nor
a part of "Azad Kashmir". They are ruled directly from Islamabad through
a Northern Areas Council which is headed by Pakistan's Minister for Kashmir
Affairs. An Islamabad-appointed chief executive, (normally a retired Pakistani
military officer), is the local administrative head. The Northern Areas
Council meets only when Pakistan's Minister for Kashmir Affair convenes
it. According to supporters of Amir Humza Qureshi, the Northern Areas were
annexed by Pakistan through an illegal attack in 1947 even before India
and Pakistan became independent. This was possible due to the chicanery
of the British colonial authorities (who at that time controlled the armies
in Pakistan and India). The British rulers ensured that the Pakistani flag
was unfurled in Gilgit even before they had conferred independence on Pakistan.
Although political activity is severely
repressed, political organizations such as the Balawaristan National Front
(BNF) have emerged to take on the Pakistani government in the Northern
Areas. The Gilgit Baltistan United Action Forum for Self Rule has been
demanding the right to self-rule. Another party, the Muttehada Quami Party
(MQP) wants to attain a status comparable to that of "Azad" Kashmir. Many
other groups however remain underground since any overt organizing or expression
of political will, even peaceful protests have led to arbitrary arrests
and long jail terms. Even demonstrations by students in Gilgit struggling
against high unemployment have been brutally crushed.
According to supporters of the BNF,
the "Northern Areas" have no university and no professional colleges. The
government has set up only 12 high schools and two regional colleges with
no post graduate facilities. Very few locals are able to get government
jobs, and when they do, they are paid 25 per cent less than non-native
entrants from Pakistan's Punjab province. The mainstay of the economy
is agriculture, but since much of the land is held by a small minority
of very privileged landlords, and since the absence of democratic rights
has allowed the perpetuation of feudal relations, the majority of the people
live in sheer misery. In addition, poverty and high taxes have forced many
of the smaller land-holders to sell their lands to rich settlers from the
plains. Although there have been efforts by local NGOs to set up village
schools, literacy remains very low. While 45- 50% of boys are now enrolled
in school in some villages, the enrolment of girls is much lower (less
than 15% in many cases). 55 years after it's annexation by Pakistan, adult
literacy in the Northern Areas is 14 per cent for males and 3.5 per cent
for women. There are no local dailies, or local radio or television stations.
According to the most recently available data, there is just one doctor
for 6,000 people. Piped water supply is virtually non-existent. And two
thirds of the population must do without electricity in an area where winters
are extremely harsh.
K2, Gilgit-Baltistan's only weekly
carries the following on it's mast-head: 'Sarzamin-Be-Ain Ki Awaz' (the
voice of the constitution-less). One of the biggest obstacles faced by
the people of Gilgit-Baltistan has been the systematic campaign of terror
and discrimination waged against the region's Shia population. Shias who
comprised over 75% of the original inhabitants of the land now risk being
outnumbered due to the continuous settling of non-locals (mostly Punjabis)
in the region, who now make up almost 40% of the territories' population.
Journalist Sriram Chaulia has noted
how expropriation of land and residence rights of natives in POK stands
in sharp contrast to strictly adhered provisions in the Indian constitution
disallowing non-Kashmiris to acquire property in J&K. Far from a 'special
status' that India's Article 370 grants to J&K, Northern Areas of POK
lack any constitutional status whatsoever.
According to an Aug 3, 2001 report
in the Times of India, Abdul Hamid Khan, chairman of BNF, called upon the
United Nations and the International Court of Justice to book Musharraf
and other Pakistani generals as "war criminals for the genocide" carried
out by them in the "Northern Areas". In his letter to the UN (a copy of
which was also sent to Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee), the
BNF leader noted that the Pakistani government and particularly its military
were settling their own armed citizens and Afghan and other terrorists
besides increasing the presence of "their notorious intelligence agencies
(i.e. the ISI) in Balwaristan to turn the indigenous people into a minority.
Comparing Gen. Musharraf to former military ruler Gen. Zia who had played
a heinous role in 1988 and 1999 by launching a "genocide campaign" against
the innocent indigenous people, he further asserted that more than 900
youth had been killed, 1,000 had became disabled or wounded, while 40 were
still missing and several civilian buildings were destroyed due to Pakistan
sponsored terrorist activities. Abdul Hamid Khan also stated that political
and human rights activities were completely denied by Pakistan as a result
of which more than 100 politically active people were facing sedition cases
and "no impartial judicial system existed in Balawaristan."
The situation in "Azad Kashmir"
is only marginally better. Even as Pakistan's military readers keep up
the sham of championing "self determination" for Indian Kashmir, for "Azad
Kashmir" i.e. POK, self determination, (as inscribed in the constitution),
relates only to the unconditional accession of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan.
Part 2 of Section 7 of the POK Constitution states: "No person or political
party in Azad Jammu and Kashmir shall be permitted to propagate against,
or take part in activities prejudicial or detrimental to, the ideology
of the State's accession to Pakistan".
Under Section 5(2) (vii) of the
POK Legislative Assembly Election Ordinance 1970, a person would be disqualified
for propagating any opinion or action in any manner prejudicial to the
ideology of Pakistan, the ideology of POK's accession to Pakistan, or the
sovereignty and integrity of Pakistan. The same caveat applies to anyone
who "defames or brings into ridicule the judiciary of AJK, of Pakistan,
or the Armed Forces of Pakistan".
In 1991, POK's " Prime Minister",
Mumtaz Rathore was dismissed, arrested and flown by helicopter to a Pakistani
prison in 1991. In the 1996 elections in POK, parties and candidates who
wished to participate on the platform of independence and refused to sign
the declaration calling POK's accession to Pakistan an article of faith,
were denied the right to field candidates. The oath of office for the President,
PM, Minister, Speaker, MLA or MLC of POK clearly includes the following
clause: "That I will remain loyal to the country (Pakistan)and the cause
of accession of the state of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan".
But such oaths are completely one-sided
since the residents of POK are given no rights in Pakistan - they may neither
vote in Pakistan's general elections, nor take their grievances to the
Pakistani Supreme Court. Nor may they hold any public office in Pakistan.
Nor do they have any rights on the Pakistan National Budget. But even those
who go along with such insulting inequities are then treated shabbily by
the Pakistan authorities. After the elections in June 1996, the "President"
of POK, Sikander Hayat Khan, was removed through a voice vote in the Assembly.
It has been further pointed out
that the POK legislative assembly lacks few powers since it requires Islamabad's
prior approval for all enactments of statutory rules, appointments, public
property, budget, loans, taxes, internal security and civil supplies. Administrative
justice handled by an Executive Council of 15 (7 of them non-Kashmiris)
that is directly responsible to the Pakistani government.
Dissident voices have been continuously
suppressed. Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, chairman of the United Kashmir People's
National Party (UKPNP) based in POK, was picked up by men from the Pakistani
security forces near Bagh and reportedly tortured. The London-based Kashmir
International Front (KIF), which is the international office for several
political groups fighting Pakistani occupation of Kashmir, sent out appeals
for his release.
After his release, Shaukat Ali Kashmiri
(who has now taken refuge in Switzerland) condemned the killing of innocent
villagers by the Pakistan-backed terrorists, observing: "What kind of freedom
struggle is that which kills its own people. We cannot continue like this
where the foreign mercenaries continue to kill the local inhabitants".
He also criticized the Pakistan Government for detaining several leaders
of Balwaristan, Gilgit and PoK for speaking against Gen Pervez Musharraf.
Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir
Peace Committee, Anwar Khan, pointed out that Pakistan had been regarded
as the aggressor in the region by earlier UN resolutions and hence should
vacate the occupied territory. The Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights Movement
(JKHRM) has stated that the Pakistani army intelligence and Pak-occupied-Kashmir
(PoK) authorities were committing inhuman atrocities and large scale repression
on political parties and workers demanding withdrawal of illegal Pakistani
army occupation the area. Justice (Retd) Mohd Akram, president of the JKHRM
has listed specific human rights violations by Pakistan intelligence agencies
and PoK police noting that Saloom Awan, vice president of NAP had been
subjected to inhuman torture by Pakistan ISI and state secret agencies
and had to flee the country as his life was in danger, Justice Akram said,
adding there were several "examples of physical elimination of political
leaders in PoK."
Toronto based 'Council of Advocates
International' released a report on human rights violations in PoK last
year in which it pointed to how terrorist groups harassed and blackmailed
ordinary residents. It specifically noted how Mushtaq Ali and Naseer Khawaja
were contacted by a group of Muzaffarabad-based "militant" leaders. The
two were asked to transport arms across the border into India. But when
they refused, the two were threatened with dire consequences. The next
day they were arrested by the ISI and held incommunicado in a house for
ten days. They were brutally tortured and humiliated. After their release
the local police started harassing them and threatened to charge them with
theft, arms trading and other
criminal acts. They were forced
to leave Muzaffarabad and are now in hiding. The report also cites cases
of sexual assault and repeated rape.
It is little wonder that Amir Humza
Qureshi has said that people of the Northern Areas "face more Human Rights
Violations than anywhere else in the world". Most recently, Altaf Qadiri,
secretary general of the Hurriyat Conference's Pakistan chapter was quoted
by Pakistani newspaper Daily Times as having told reporters: "...The present
government in PoK is worse than the Farooq Abdullah government (of Indian
Kashmir)" (As reported on July 26, in the Indian Express)
That such a statement should emanate
from a group widely perceived as being anti-Indian, and who for long was
considered the main, even sole "legitimate" voice of the Kashmiri people
ought to be the greatest indictment of Pakistan's claim to be the greatest
"upholder and champion of Kashmiri self-determination". Contrary to all
the rhetorical bombast, the Pakistani military is, in fact, one of the
greatest hindrances to the realization of self-determination in multi-ethnic,
multi-lingual and multi-religious Jammu and Kashmir.
