Daily Diary (DD) - Day 321 of 2025

1021hrs:

Countdown to end of 2025: 45 days

I can feel the shift today. I did wind down at c. 2100hrs (9pm) and got up at 0900hrs. A better quality of sleep than yesterday but still 6 hours to bridge and hardly any days left to practice any longer.

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 320 of 2025

1323hrs:

Countdown to end of 2025: 46 days

Although I retired early enough last night, I couldn't get to sleep at all throughout the night. It wasn't until about 0500hrs that I did. I got up at 1030hrs.

I intensely feel that the day I get this right, everything else will become alright too.

....

The following is the 3rd such offering by our forcibly exiled Kashmiri Pandit brother Kuldeep Pandita:

#rudranotes

The Paradox of Duality

A Journey into the Essence of Existence

Echoing through our consciousness are timeless questions that invite us to explore the mysteries of being. Who worships whom? Who is the deity and who is the priest? These enigmatic queries dissolve ordinary distinctions, urging us to embark on a voyage of self-exploration and deep introspection.

At the level of the absolute, all duality vanishes. The ultimate reality, Brahman, transcends subject and object, merging worshipper and worshipped into oneness. Yet, within the realm of appearances, the dance of duality persists, manifesting as paradoxes that challenge and illuminate our path.

Life and death, image and reality, illusion and truth – these dichotomies are transient whispers in the cosmic wind. The question of who pleases and who is pleased emerges as a reflection of relationships where selves and others blend, while the heart becomes a tapestry of interconnectedness.

Stillness resides at the core of ultimate reality, like a serene mountain lake disturbed only by gentle ripples. Against this tranquil backdrop, the symphony of creation performs an eternal dance. Within this cosmic rhythm, the acts of giving and receiving entwine, dissolving boundaries between benefactor and recipient.

The interplay of seen and unseen, observer and observed, master and slave, reveals the multi-faceted nature of existence. All roles – the hero and villain, the giver and taker – are threads woven by karma into life's vast tapestry.

Who speaks or listens? Who leads or follows? These distinctions blur in the realm of relationships, where the self becomes a canvas of shared experience. Who heals and who is wounded? Who chooses and who refuses? The answers dwell deep within us, where contradictions reconcile and paradoxes resolve.

Mountains and valleys, sky and earth – they symbolize the unfathomable mysteries of creation, where the universe eternally unfolds in duality's dance. Laughter and tears, birth and death – they mark the cyclical rhythms of existence, as the universe breathes in harmonious expansion and contraction.

Ultimately, it is the questions – not the answers – that liberate us. Within our being lie the truths behind every paradox. The journey is not toward answers but toward courageous asking and through inquiry, we uncover profound truths within ourselves.

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 319 of 2025

1057hrs:

Countdown to end of 2025: 47 days

Began retiring at c. 2100hrs yesterday evening and got to sleep not much beyond 2200hrs and woke at 0800hrs but didn't get up till about 0900hrs.

I must try much harder.

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 318 of 2025

1525hrs:

Countdown to end of 2025: 48 days

Every evening I am conscious of getting to sleep around the target time of 2000hrs (8pm) but somehow time drags to about 2200hrs before I am making serious preparation. This morning, my eyes were wide awake at 0600hrs but I remained determined to sleep till around 1030hrs, about 7.5hrs later than my target.

However, I remain committed to addressing this.

....

The following statement is attributed to Shaukat Nawaz Mir of Muzaffarabad, member core committee JAAC. In summary, he is saying that we have given a deadline of 90 days to the (Pakistani) government to resolve all matters as agreed in the (4th of October 2025) agreement. If it doesn't, then a new public strategy will ensue and the 'Powers That Be' will be responsible for whatever happens:

🚨

ایکشـن کمیٹی کے کور ممبر شوکت نواز میر نے واضح اعلان کیا ہے کہ حکومتِ پاکستان کے ساتھ ہونے والے معاہدے پر عمل درآمد کے لیے صرف نوے دن کی سخت ڈیڈ لائن مقرر ہے۔

 انہوں نے کہا کہ کسی بھی قسم کی نرمی یا تاخیر ہرگز برداشت نہیں کی جائے گی۔

شوکت نواز میر نے خبردار کیا کہ اگر نوے دن کے اندر عوامی مطالبات پورے نہ کیے گئے تو پھر عوام کو روکنا ناممکن ہو جائے گا۔ قوم اب ایک بار پھر اپنے حقوق کے لیے متحد ہے اور بغیر پیچھے دیکھے جدوجہد جاری رکھے گی۔

انہوں نے مزید کہا کہ حکومت کی تبدیلی کا ایکشن کمیٹی سے کوئی تعلق نہیں، کیونکہ جو بھی وزیراعظم آتا ہے، وہ اختیارات سے محروم ایک رسمی چہرہ ہوتا ہے۔

شوکت نواز میر نے دوٹوک مؤقف اختیار کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ معاہدے کے مطابق تین ماہ کے اندر مطالبات کی تکمیل نہ ہونے کی صورت میں عوامی تحریک ایک نئے مرحلے میں داخل ہوگی اور پھر اسے روکنا کسی کے بس میں نہیں ہوگا۔

یہ بیان مظفرآباد سمیت آزاد کشمیر بھر میں جاری عوامی حقوق کی تحریک کے لیے ایک واضح اور سخت پیغام ہے کہ اب قوم اپنے حق سے کم کسی چیز پر راضی نہیں۔

۔۔۔۔

.... 

The following is a telling statement from Arif Urfi of Muzaffarabad, who also works as a correspondent for Geo News in Pakistan. On the subject of changing prime ministers in AJK, he makes the following statement (translated from Urdu to English):

For those who do not possess the democratic right to choose their own prime minister, to what extent would they have the authority to choose their democratic and political future in a plebiscite (referendum)?

The above screenshot can be accessed on Facebook here.

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 317 of 2025

1109hrs:

Countdown to end of 2025: 49 days

Got to bed at 2200hrs last night (10pm) and got sleep not long after 2300hrs. I woke at 0800hrs which is a 2 hour improvement from yesterday, though still 5 hours behind schedule.

....

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 316 of 2025

1408hrs:

Countdown to end of 2025: 50 days

Despite getting to bed last night at 2100hrs (9pm) and falling asleep before 2200hrs, I couldn't get up before 1000hrs this morning. This has probably been my longest sleep at Maqbool Bhat Martyr's Square over these past 26 days of camping out at the square.

I will try again tomorrow.

.... 

One has to share the pain of a woman in Gilgit Baltistan, whose husband was shot in front of her. I knew her husband, he was an activist extra-ordinaire who worked long and hard for his people. He had visited me at my home in Sehnsa along with Nawaz Khan Naji, way back in 2013. 

To: The Honourable DIG, Government of Pakistan, Gilgit

Respected Sir,

I, Nashat Parveen, widow of the late Javed Qureshi, respectfully request that you arrest my husband’s killers as soon as possible and ensure they are punished according to the law. My husband was martyred in Tangir in front of me and our children, yet the police have still not arrested the perpetrators.

I am a woman — how long must I keep wandering from door to door? Are the poor, weak and helpless to be denied justice in this Islamic democratic society? To whom should I appeal? Will we not be held accountable before Allah? I am suffering greatly; please have mercy on my innocent children. The killers are roaming freely and without fear, yet they have not been apprehended.

I have just been informed that they are hiding in their home, in a wheat store, in Tangir. I beg you, by Allah, to take action: please arrest them and ensure they receive the punishment they deserve.

We will remain forever grateful and will pray for you.

Yours faithfully,

Nashat Parveen

Widow of Javed Qureshi

Gilgit.

....

 

From time to time, I will continue to feature snippets (or more) of conversations from other forums, just to give our readers an idea of where the battle of ideas is stuck at, in the few thinkers in AJK. Here is a part of what Yasin Anjum is writing in reference to upcoming elections in AJK (which I am vociferously against): 

البتہ انتظار نہیں۔۔ آنے والے الیکشن کیلئے مکمل سیاسی، معاشی ترقی کا پروگرام مرتب کرنا ھے

۔۔

The following was my response in Roman Urdu:

Aap aaney waaley election ka kyou intezaar kar rahey hain? Awaam ki power wazay hay, yaha ke nizaam ki nakaami bhi. Aap log itni choot kyou detey ho nizaam ko? 

Ghaaliban Pakistan se aye huwey federal team jis ne JAAC ke saath muzaakaraat kiye....unho ne bhi aap ke awaami numaindey (yani JAAC ki 3 rukni team) se poocha ke aap ke paas koi mutabaadil hay?

Ghaaliban un ka jawaab 'na' me tha.

۔۔

Saajid Hussain of Palandri put forward the following explanation:

ہم سب مستقبل کی اچھی خواہشات دل میں بسائے زندہ ہیں ان پر عملی کام کہیں نہیں ہو رہا۔ زبانی زبانی انقلاب لائیں گئے ۔

۔۔

In turn, I reminded everybody of my ultimatum:

Aap sab ke paas sirf 50 din bachtey hain. Apni soch aur strategy badal ne ka. Andar dekho, baahir nahi. Jo taaqat darkaar hay, wo yahi pe hay.

....