Why Organise Events that Undermine the Kashmir Issue?
As another Kashmir Solidarity Day draws to an end with the joint resistance leadership (JRL) of the Hurriyat and United Jihad Council (UJC) chief and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) supremo Syed Salahuddin thanking Islamabad for observing it, one is tempted to reflect on what has this nearly two decade old annual event achieved in terms of […]
Killing ‘Mukhbirs’
Though killings are commonplace in Kashmir, the abduction and murder of Ishrat Muneer Bhat on January 31 is particularly repulse because of two reasons; first, the 25 year old victim was a girl and second, the killers posted a video on social media in which a terrified Ishrat can be seen begging for mercy with […]
Please Spare our Children!
During a gunfight with security forces in Majgund area on the outskirts of Srinagar that took place on December 9 last year, three militants belonging to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) were killed. While one of the deceased was identified as a Pakistani national, the other two were locals. News of our youth who have joined militancy and […]
Hartal Politics: Back to Square One!
Last month there was a report in the media that about the likelihood of the Hurriyat doing away with its hartal politics. This news was widely welcomed as shutdowns were putting the people of Kashmir through extreme hardships and untold miseries. Hopes were very high because while speaking on different occasions, separatist leaders had individually […]
The Looming Threat
Incidents involving multiple players are often very difficult to resolve due to conflicting interests of the parties involved. However, one such incident that had happy ending concerns 20 year old youth resident of Khanyar in downtown Srinagar named Ehtesham Bilal. Studying Radiography in Noida, he left the university premises without telling anyone after he was […]
Of Killings and Protests
Killings and protests are a routine affair in Kashmir. Probably that’s why the protest held by Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) activists in Srinagar two days ago against the “continuous human rights violation in Kashmir,” or news of the dead body of 18 year old Nadeem Manzoor of Safanagri village in Shopian district (who […]
‘Mules’ in Kashmir?
Recovery of arms, ammunition and grenades is nothing unusual in Kashmir. However, the recovery of 20 grenades alongwith a sizeable amount of ammunition by the police on Tuesday is not a normal seizure for three reasons. One, it is the largest single recovery of grenades from person in recent memory; two, this deadly consignment was […]
Shades of ‘Jihad’
At a time when educated boys picking up guns are being brandished as ‘trophies’ by both the Hurriyat as well as militant groups in Kashmir, news of Khanyar resident of downtown Srinagar Ehtesham Bilal who was pursuing his Bachelor of Imaging Technology course from Sharda University in Noida should have taken social media in the […]
JRL’s “Comprehensive Joint Strategy”
After six months of protests sparked off by the death of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) commander Burhan Wani in a gunfight with security forces, joint resistance leadership of the Hurriyat issued a statement in December 2016 informing the people that “Now it is time to consolidate our gains and build upon them in order to move […]
Politicising Human Tragedy
Every death is a monumental tragedy in itself but the intensity of the shock and enormity of grief that it causes increases many times over when one realises that the accident which claimed multiple lives could have been avoided. And in this week alone we witnessed two such unfortunate incidents; one on last Friday in […]
