Day 03 at Martyr's Square - Kotli - AJK
The third night in a row that I haven't been able to sleep properly. Two nights at Shaheed Chowk (Martyr's square) Kotli and one night prior which was spent in preparation.
I can barely sit and write but....the show must rumble on...
Malik Waseem is apparently missing again, according to Latif Akbar (President of Pakistan People's Party in AJK and hails from a constituency in Muzaffarabad tehsil/subdivision) who contacted me this morning, to enquire as to which police station was Waseem detained in. We've also been advised to file a habeas corpus petition on his behalf, by a very senior lawyer.
More (and much more) in a bit....I can barely keep my eyes open.
......
1512hrs: (Update)
I managed to get some much needed shut eye for a couple of hours in a friend's shop and this has re-energised me somewhat.
Rain remains incessant and the temperature is dropping too. I haven't been able to sit in the chowk today yet. There are tonnes of matter pending as anyone who is familiar with my work can imagine.
Meanwhile....
The police have insisted that the complainants reference Malik Waseem's detention (without charge) at Saddar Thaana should speak to the DC and that only he could release him. The complainants duly did so with their advocate. DC Nadeem Ahmed Janjua refused to entertain them or their application. This prompted me to contact the DC myself, whom I have been acquainted with in the past.
Me:
Huzoor....can you update us on the Malik Waseem issue. I have been conducting a 'Public Policy Workshop' at Shaheed Chowk Kotli for the past 3 days and there are a few thousand people constantly engaged on this issue - at home and abroad - I will be writing to the British government on this issue and related matters of governance, specifically in reference to their unfulfilled responsibilities under Indian Independence Act. Thank you.... Tanveer Ahmed
DC:
There are decisions of courts
Do study those decisions
Regards
Me:
There is an abundance of ambiguity and contestation about due legal process in reference to this case as well as over 80% of land (revenue department) related decisions in general, in AJK.
Please note the role of Judge Tariq Custodian who the evicted family claim tampered documents, which were then subsequently used as reference in subsequent court proceedings, which ultimately led to decisions being made against this family.
The evicted family have made it clear that they want an official enquiry into the court record on this issue.
The AJK administration is effectively displacing a poor refugee family from Evacuee Property to give it to another refugee who has since settled in England and who doesn't suffer from the conditions that this poor family does. In other words, the latter is not dependant on this land and will only sell it to the highest bidder. The human cost of this commercial transaction is too much for any right minded public rights activist to bear.
In the wider State of JKA perspective since 1947, this case takes us back to those events and forced migration in particular. The land in question belongs to the descendants of Ratan Singh and Sardar Singh and has been occupied by a poor refugee family of Kupwara, who in turn are being displaced once again for commercial purposes, based on an allegedly malafide procedure.
As this case continues to gain increasing traction at home and in the diaspora the implications could be very far reaching.
Meanwhile, thank you for your response. It has been duly noted.
End of communication....
Now, it has been intimated to me by other sources that Commissioner Muzaffarabad Masood ur Rehman has been tasked with managing this increasingly delicate issue (caught between the Indian, Pakistani and internal narratives of JKA). He's been given such tasks before in his previous incarnations and from direct experience of him, he has always murdered public interest for the sake of powerful lobbies - the Muhammad Ali Murtaza case on the LOC in Khuiratta 2013 - when he was DC Kotli, maybe an exception.
It is also clear from sources that the police and other authorities are keen on blackmailing Malik Waseem by conditioning his release, on him giving a guarantee that he will no longer publicly protest his plight. They've also conditioned the release of the womenfolk of his family from a refugee shelter on similar assurances, backed by a legal bond (machalka) of 50,000 rupees each.
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