Daily Diary (DD) - Day 120 of 2023

2349hrs:

Should never leave it so late.

....

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 119 of 2023

2315hrs:

On the precipice. We have been here a few times before.

....

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 118 of 2023

1457hrs:

A different routine accompanies different targets and ultimately different results.

....

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 117 of 2023

2025hrs:

Tortoise like but moving ahead we are.

....

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 116 of 2023

2335hrs:

Working hard in the background....

....

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 115 of 2023

1923hrs:

.....  

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 114 of 2023

0616hrs:

An even better time to log our daily entry. We have been giving more than usual time in the past 3 days to tackling hypocrisy in our society. We consider it a prudent investment. When one hypocrite falls they all fall.

....  

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 113 of 2023

0727hrs:

This would be about the right time to input our daily diary entry.

....

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 112 of 2023

1251hrs:

Its another day of Eid, which has its own meaning for those who are occupied.

....

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 111 of 2023

1436hrs:

Getting earlier by the day. 

Meanwhile, 30 days of Ramadhan are welcome - as opposed to the 29 that we usually have - as Muslims always seeking shortcuts to paradise.

.... 

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 110 of 2023

2007hrs:

Inputting an entry earlier than yesterday....

Every improvement in punctuality is a boost

....

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 109 of 2023

2313hrs:

Leaving this entry for the 11th hour (or rather the 23rd hour to be more precise) is also not good practice. We hope to change that from tomorrow.

....

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 108 of 2023

1707hrs:

No more slips ups in 2023 hopefully.

....

We considered it newsworthy to present the following 'development' at the UN headquarters in New York, courtesy one of the more experienced members of our AJK diaspora, now living in political exile in the USA:

Dear friends, 

I have very recently had the opportunity to attend the 56th session of the United Nation's Commission on Population and Development (CPD56), at their headquarters in New York between the 10th to the 14th of April (2023).

This session was attended by many nation States (members of the UN), civil society organisations and NGOs. Each government and organisation in attendance presented their respective policies on the domain in which they operate.  

Each country and organisation had been allotted a desk with their nameplate to identify them. I found it astonishing that the Pakistani desk was totally absent throughout the session. Hailing from a Pakistani-controlled territory - namely AJK - I had been keen to find out who was representing Pakistan.

Everyone was seated in alphabetical order and thus after O, I began searching for Pakistan amongst the P's. Alas, despite searching thrice I couldn't find the name of Pakistan anywhere.

Most member States of the United Nations were present and representing their countries' policies regarding population, education and sustainable development. Cuba, India, Serbia, China, Russia, Germany, Egypt and many other countries narrated robust policies on health, education, gender equality, technical education and capacity building of youth amongst other subjects.

One country who's absence was conspicuous was Pakistan.

  

I then tried to find out why the Pakistani desk was absent in this annual session of the UN Commission on Population and Development. I learned or was rather reminded of the bitter reality that throughout the UN and its affiliated organisations, it is usually former Pakistani army officers or retired diplomats that are hired to represent Pakistan.

In such an apathetic scenario dear friends, what can be expected from these old lethargic self-centric beings?

Narrated by Dr Akhlaq Barlas of Ser Kakuta, tehsil Hajeera, district Poonch AJK and now living in political exile in the USA after the Pakistani army extrajudicially hanged his son, by falsely implicating the latter in an assassination attempt on the then president (military dictator Parvez Musharraf) in 2003.

..one can also read his thoughts in Urdu via the image below:

....

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 107 of 2023

 0004hrs:

I missed out on yesterday's diary (Day 106 of 2023) just because of deep engagement in our daily Twitter Space, despite setting up to write my entry about half an hour before midnight (c. 30 minutes ago).

It is painful. 

The 4 days missed last year (2022) were totally unavoidable because I was in Kotli jail for 4 full days of the 6 spent there between the 10th and 15th of March 2022.

Viz.

Day 70 of 2022

Day 71 of 2022

Day 72 of 2022

Day 73 of 2022

This year (2023) has produced 4 lapses so far, of which all were totally avoidable and a result of absent-mindedness.   

Viz.

Day 82 of 2023

Day 94 of 2023

Day 103 of 2023

Day 106 of 2023

We must at least equal last years record of 361 daily diary entries. We have no more room to slip up. Excellence in any field is likewise. We must equal our record if we cannot excel it. Life permitting, we will try and achieve the maximum of 365 daily diary entries in 2024.

We can now move on to work at hand.

....

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 105 of 2023

2311hrs:

The learning curve for our people is still steep. 'Direct Democracy' and 'Popular Sovereignty' are such terms that are on the other side of the hill.

....

Amongst the various and multiple activities that we carry out in public interest are such as editing and advising on the following letter drafted for all our immediate neighbours by Quayyum Raja, founder of the recently initiated 'Centre for Jammu Kashmir Public Diplomacy':

A Joint Letter to Jammu Kashmir's Neighbours:

Afghanistan, China, India and Pakistan 

Respected Excellencies

Having been involved in the struggle for the reunification of Jammu Kashmir for decades, we recently founded the Centre for Jammu Kashmir Public Diplomacy (CJKPD) in Mirpur, AJK. The Centre doesn't want to confine its outreach to within Jammu Kashmir’s borders, as it is equally concerned with the stability and prosperity of the wider region in its midst, with a view to designing sustainable peace with all our neighbours.

Evidently, at this juncture there is no need to delve into the history of confrontation within the region, though we sense that one of the causes of this region’s vulnerability to conflict is our over-reliance on materialistic influences, at the cost of humanistic imperatives. This has made us vulnerable to policies undertaken by imperialist forces.

We suggest that unless confrontation is not replaced with co-operation for the betterment of humanity, we are unlikely to change the fortunes of this region.

We would like to concentrate on discussing solutions as opposed to reiterating problems that have dogged us, particularly since European colonialism came to the ascendency in this region. Their legacy is evident from the geographic mapping of our respective territories. We are clear that this has stunted our collective growth and hampered the revival of this region as the centre of the world’s economy.

Realistically speaking, it is not an easy task but it has to start from somewhere.  

Initially, in our opinion, we suggest people-to-people contact through research organisations or ‘think tanks’, to share concerns and aspirations. Our respective populations deserve a much better future and therefore we hope we can elicit a positive response from each of our neighbours, without prejudice to any of our respective stances on politics, geography or any other subject for that matter. 

Yours faithfully, 

Quayyum Raja - Chairman CJKPD

Edited by: 

JKA PUBLIC AGENCY 

15 April 2023

..end of letter

....

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 104 of 2023

0001hrs:

Missed out on Day 103 of 2023 by just about a minute.

I will publish notes related to this belated day below:

Work on a #Referendum in #AJK began on the 10th of April 2023, after seeking renowned legal opinion from our diaspora; to research, verify, authenticate, manage and execute public policy in AJK, via public opinion.

 آذاد جموں کشمیر میں 10 اپریل 2023 کو جموں کشمیر و متحدہ علاقہ جات کے بیرون ملک مقیم قانون کے ماہر باشندگان سے مشاورت کے بعد۔۔۔۔
 آزاد جموں کشمیر میں پبلک پالیسی کے لئے  تحقیق، تصدیق، توثیق، انتظام اور لاگو کرنے کے لئے عوامی رائے کے ذریعے
  ریفرنڈم پہ کام شروع ہوا۔

Interim research findings:

عبوری تحقیق کے نتائج*

1) The 5 yearly AJK election process can be commended for its continuity since 1985 and for reaching out to as much as 60% of the population of AJK but its affinity to material inducement and blackmailing fear in the people: are at least 2 of its deficiencies that disallow it from being the sole arbiter of public opinion in AJK.

1)

ہر پانچ سال کے بعد 1985 سے تسلسل کے ساتھ ہونے والے الیکشنز اور تقریباً 60 فی صد آبادی کو متحرک کیے رکھنے کا یہ عمل قابل تعریف ہے لیکن کم از کم دو کمیوں جن میں اول طور پہ اس عمل کا دھونس اور دھاندلی کی بنیاد پہ سو فیصد  قابل عمل نہ ہونا اور لوگوں کو چھوٹے چھوٹے مسائل پہ بلیک میل کر کہ خوفزدہ کرنے کی وجہ سے، یہ واحد عوامی رائے جاننے کا ذریعہ نہیں ہے۔

2) Elections are never an arbiter of questions that are of national or international significance. The examples of Brexit and Scotland make it clear that even political parties with a majority in parliament (ref. Conservative Party in the UK) cannot decide matters that ultimately impact popular sovereignty.

2)
  انتخابی عمل کبھی بھی قومی اور بین الاقوامی اہمیت کے سوالات کو حل نہیں کرتا، اس ضمن میں بریگزٹ (یورپین یونین میں رہنے یا نہ رہنے کے لئے ریفرنڈم کا اہتمام)اور سکاٹ لینڈ کی واضح مثالیں ہمارے پاس موجود ہیں کہ ایک سیاسی جماعت( برطانیہ کی کنزرویٹو پارٹی) واضح اکثریت رکھنے کے باوجود بھی ایسے معاملات پہ حتمی فیصلہ نہیں کر سکی جو برطانیہ کی حق حکمرانی کو متاثر کر سکتا ہو)

3) JKA PUBLIC AGENCY has produced an accurate representation of public opinion in AJK by conducting a public opinion survey between 2011 and 2016. This produced a sample that was twice the standard of international public opinion survey practice. We are working on obtaining the rich academic eye of the London School of Economics to interrogate, critique and verify our survey's representative character and establish confounding variables, if any.

 3)

جموں کشمیر و متحدہ علاقہ جات کی عوامی ایجنسی* نے آذاد جموں کشمیر میں 2011 سے 2016 کے درمیان رائے عامہ کو جانچنے کے لئے ایک سروے کیا، یہ عوامی سروے بین الاقوامی طور پہ رائے عامہ جانچنے کے دوگنا معیار رکھتا ہے، ہم لندن سکول آف اکنامکس کی عالمی شہرت یافتہ مہارت کے ذریعے، اس سروے کے عوامی نمائندہ کی حیثیت ہونے اور دیگر ممکنہ  پیچیدگیاں کو دور کرنے کے حوالہ سے تحقیق، تنقید اور تصدیق کروانے کے لئے کام کر رہے ہیں۔

4) An on the ground referendum is the missing gap in public policy to authenticate the people's sovereignty, which is academically described as 'popular sovereignty'. Pre 1947, we have merely been in transition from 'titular sovereignty' to 'popular sovereignty', just as we have been transitioning from 'autocratic constitutionalism' to 'democratic constitutionalism'.

4)

پبلک پالیسی بنانے کے لئے زمینی حقائق سے مطابقت رکھنے والے عوامی ریفرنڈم کی ایک بہت بڑی خلا موجود ہے جو کہ عوام کی حاکمیت، جو کہ مقبول حاکمیت کہلاتی ہے،کی تصدیق کرتا ہو۔ 1947 سے پہلے ہم شخصی حاکمیت سے عوامی حاکمیت کی طرف سفر کر رہے تھے بالکل اسی طرح جس طرح ہم  شخصی آئین سازی سے جمہوری آئین سازی کی طرف بڑھ رہے تھے،

The king and his subjects were both deprived of sovereignty while India & Pakistan began developing their claims under the guise of an international dispute, minus the king and his subjects.

 مہاراجہ اور اس کی رعایا دونوں ہی اقتتدار اعلی سے معزول کیے گئے تھے جبکہ انڈیا اور پاکستان مہاراجہ اور اس کی رعایا کو پس پشت ڈال کر ایک بین الاقوامی مسلہ کی آڑ میں جموں کشمیر و متحدہ علاقہ جات کے دعویدار بننا شروع ہو گئے۔

We have been duped in order to be deprived. We now have the perfect opportunity to democratically address this deprivation.

 ہمیں اختیار سے محروم رکھنے کے لئے بے وقوف بنایا گیا، اب ہمارے پاس جمہوری طریقہ سے اس مسلے کو حل کرنے کا سنہری موقع ہے۔

In the spirit of the word 'Azad' or 'Free' (the A in AJK) referendums have been conducted in this territory in the past by various political parties, so this is not a new phenomenon or a 'ruse'. It is to clarify what Robert Wirsing described as the "calculated constitutional ambiguity of AJK".

 آذاد جموں کشمیر میں لفظ آذاد کے پیش نظر مختلف سیاسی جماعتوں کی طرف سے اس علاقہ میں ریفرنڈم کروائے جاتے رہے ہیں لہذا یہ کوئی نیا رجحان یا کام  نہیں ہے۔ یہ واضح کرنا باقی ہے کہ رابرٹ ورسنگ نے  "آذاد جموں کشمیر میں منظم آئینی ابہام" کے بارے میں کیا بیان کیا ہے۔

The late Abdul Majeed Malik of Mirpur and Dr Nazir Gilani of Baramulla have noted and clarified the legal and constitutional status of AJK and the rest of JKA in their works.

میرپور سے مرحوم عبدالمجید ملک اور بارہ مولہ سے ڈاکٹر نذیر گیلانی نے آذاد جموں کشمیر اور بقیہ ریاست جموں کشمیر و متحدہ علاقہ جات کے آئینی ابہام کو واضح کرنے کی سنجیدہ سعی کی ہے۔

(Instead of the lazy approach to ask for citations I would urge all those unfamiliar with Wirsing, Malik and N Gilani to begin taking their work seriously. 

I'll leave you with a clue: all references are available at tanveerandkashmir.blogspot.com)

بجائے اس کے ڈاکٹر نذیر گیلانی، مرحوم جسٹس عبدالمجید ملک اور رابرٹ ورسنگ کے بارے میں مجھ سے پوچھیں، درج ذیل لنک سے آپ کو 

ان کے بارے میں خود معلوم کرنا چاہئے۔۔۔۔

tanveerandkashmir.blogspot.com

As always, we need the public's assistance to reinstate popular sovereignty in AJK and by extension to the rest of JKA, subject to the people's will in those territories including but not necessarily restricted to Gilgit Baltistan, Ladakh, Kashmir Valley and Jammu. 

They all have a default right to unconditionally secede from this political reunion of the erstwhile princely State but that also requires:

 ہمیشہ کی طرح، آذاد جموں کشمیر اور بقیہ جموں کشمیر و متحدہ علاقہ جات میں عوامی حاکمیت کو دوبارہ قائم کرنے کے لئے ہمیں عوام کی مدد کی ضرورت ہے جبکہ گلگت بلتستان، لداخ، وادی کشمیر اور جموں کے عوام کی منشا سے مشروط طور پر،
 ان تمام اکائیوں کے پاس سابقہ شاہی ریاست کے ساتھ سیاسی طور پہ رہنے یا نا رہنے کا بنیادی حق ہے لیکن اس کے لئے بھی درج ذیل شرائط ہیں
: 

1) Consultation between all the divided parts of the State. Agreeing to disagree where necessary.

1)
  ریاست کی تمام منقسم اکائیوں کے درمیان مذاکرات، جہاں ضروری ہوں وہاں نا اتفاقی پر بھی اتفاق ہونا چاہئے۔
 

2) Unwinding the Indo-Pak bilateral process and the UN template on this territory preceding that or running concurrent to that.

2) 

پاک بھارت دو طرفہ تعلقات اور اقوام متحدہ کی ریاست جموں کشمیر کے حوالہ سے ٹمپلیٹ کے دونوں میکانزمز کے اندر سے گزر کر نکلنا پڑے گا۔ 

As advised, the referendum question should be confined to 1 sentence with 4 options:

 بعد از مشاورت طے کیا گیا ہے کہ ریفرنڈم ایک ہی سوال پہ مشتمل ہونا چاہئے اور اس سوال کا جواب چار جوابات کے ذریعے دے سکتے ہیں جو کہ درج ذیل ہیں۔

1) Yes

2) No

3) Don't know

4) Explanation of your answer (optional)

1-ہاں
 2-نہیں
 3-نہیں جانتا/جانتی
 4-اپنے جواب کی تفصیل (اختیاری)

The question I put to the people of AJK (people from the rest of JKA can also provide their suggestions) is:

 جو سوال ہم  آذاد جموں کشمیر کے لوگوں سے پوچھنا چاہتے ہیں (بقیہ ریاست جموں کشمیر و متحدہ علاقہ جات کے عوام بھی اس متعلق اپنی آرا دے سکتے ہیں)

What should that sentence be?

 کہ وہ ایک جملہ کیا ہونا چاہئے؟

#AJKReferendum2023

#PopularSovereignty

#PublicOpinion 

#PublicPolicy

اےجےکےریفرنڈم2023#
 مقبول_حاکمیت#
 عوامی_رائے#
 پبلک_پالیسی#

JKA PUBLIC AGENCY Note: #EU093013042023

جموں کشمیر و متحدہ علاقہ جات عوامی ایجنسی نوٹ:
 #EU093013042023

..