Daily Diary (DD) - Day 21 of 2025

0530hrs:

30 minutes later than intended but in a new territory, though no excuses have any merit. 

....

Mahmood Ahmed Musafir who embarked on a fresh journey from Bhimber to Muzaffarabad a few days ago (17 January and featured on this weblog) has given his latest interview near Chakswari:

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 17 of 2025

0500hrs:

On the dot for the first time this calendar year. 

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Our vlog for today is possibly the most significant of the year:

Public Alert for the people of AJK:

#Conflict2Peace Financial Strategy in Journey from #AJK to #JKA

Aim - for the public of AJK (& its diaspora) to directly fund the formation of a genuine people's government in AJK; using strictly peaceful, ethical, democratic and legal means.

This financial strategy has emerged after almost 20 years of a struggle - in general since April 2005 and focussed since September 2009 - which gradually created the following:

JKA PUBLIC AGENCY is a unique public institution in that it is exclusively owned by the public of AJK, while it has absolutely no affiliation or commitment to or with any country or other public institution, anywhere in the world.

From its origins of almost 2 decades, it has always upheld 4 non-negotiables with all its own people (the public of AJK & its diaspora), with all its co-citizens in the rest of JKA, with all its neighbouring countries and with the rest of the world - all powers large and small. 

1) Geopolitical neutrality

2) The 'Riyasati' (People's) Reference

3) Ideological harmony & co-existence (of whatever nature: religious, political, philosophical etc.) 

4) Ecological concerns of the territory of JKA 

These have been the poles that have evolved and matured as our compass since the outset of this un-anticipated journey in April 2005. This forms the roots of a contemporary Citizen-State contract from AJK to JKA.

In recognition of all sacrifices made by our co-citizens before this era and that have been made since, this is a new dynamic era which heavily relies on economy, technology, research, law and creating the necessary people's power behind that law.

We have a choice to either resign ourselves to continue investing in a #ConflictEconomy and pay the price for coming generations, or we can begin investing in a #PeaceEconomy .

At JKA PUBLIC AGENCY we have created an elaborate financial strategy which should deliver gains of 10,000% on a 10 year fixed deposit, equivalent to 1,000 (one thousand) UK pounds (or c. 3.5 lakhs in local currency), payable over a year. Of the approximately 2,200 of our co-citizens who have financially contributed since 2012 (when we began direct public funding), they can subtract what they have accumulatively paid so far from this amount of £1,000 and pay the balance (in installments over a year if they wish).

The gains we envisage are 100 x, which means 1,000 UK pounds invested today should be worth 100,000 UK pounds in 10 year's time. These gains are estimated in line with the projected growth of the AJK economy over the next decade as we move towards a genuinely free government, whereby the current 'government' is operating in minus and when economic levers are restored here, we would convert from an economy worth less than a billion (US dollars) today, to one that is worth at least 10 billion (US dollars) in 10 year's time. During this period, JKA PUBLIC AGENCY would also be investing in the economy and thus, making better use of the growth envisaged, compared to the economy as a whole.

Those of our co-citizens who consider their financial capacity to be less than the amount requested (viz. the equivalent of £1,000 payable over a year) they can partner with other co-citizens to create shares within 1 share, according to their individual capacities. For example, if someone is capable of investing £100 they can find 9 other co-citizens who can contribute an equal share within this 1 particular share.

Every co-citizen can only buy 1 share over this 10 year period, so that every other co-citizen has an equal opportunity in becoming a shareholder.

I will be sending this note directly and individually to as many of my co-citizens as possible (beginning Fri 17 January 2025), while keeping a public statistical record of how many people have responded and in what manner at jkapublicagency.org and AJK Public Treasury's Facebook page at: facebook.com/ajkpublictreasury

If I - Tanveer Ahmed - operating on behalf of JKA PUBLIC AGENCY am not able to convince at least 1,000 of my co-citizens to part with the equivalent of £1,000 in the year 2025, then I will have to resign from working in the public interest of AJK > JKA.

I will then resort to resume living a private life for private interests where I will no longer be able to advocate or protect the national interest of JKA, as I have been doing, particularly since September 2009. I will of course, return all the money that has been provided to me by the public since 2012.

This journey which started as 'subject' to 'citizen' in April 2005 has been a uniquely testing experience for me as an individual and of course for all my well-wishers (including my family & friends). I do know that such a social experiment has never been attempted before (to be at the mercy of the public's benevolence, especially since 2012) and I don't know if such an experiment can be attempted by anybody in the future. Indeed, I'm not even sure that our people's reference (which provides us - aspiring - citizens overwhelming legal authority over the territory of JKA) will account for anything, if a genuine people's government is not restored/created in AJK in the very near future. Such have the efforts of our neighbours and global powers matured with respect to this territory that AJK is the last remaining bastion of the people's reference. This has been my compass from the outset and I have maintained its direction thus far.

Please do not hesitate to question me on this matter, which has affected us all for generations and will continue to do so unless 'we - the people' choreograph the future. 

The latter words were put forward in a discussion on global media in 2017 

reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl0D0fd5xGc&t=1315s

JKA PUBLIC AGENCY Note: #E191317012025

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Mahmood Ahmed Musafir has featured prominently on this weblog, especially in 2018. Today, he has embarked on another journey from Bhimber to Muzaffarabad. This time he's driving a vehicle and not 3 donkeys and a camel. 

Here's an interview he gave on the beginning of his journey in Bhimber:

Here's the banner of his demands:

It may be translated thus:

(Note: words in brackets are for emphasis and clarity of message)

Protest! Struggle & Struggle (against a) Corrupt System (of Governance)

Struggle & Struggle Against a 98% Unbridled Bureaucracy - Protest!

A Long March from Bhimber to Muzaffarabad

Let's Go Let's Go (from) Bhimber to Muzaffarabad

For Ourselves and for our Future Generations

Our Demands:

- Sacrilege of the graves of our forefathers must be stopped

- An international airport must be constructed in Azad Kashmir (AJK)

- A (Government) notification must be issued in light of the agreement on 17 January 2023

- A judicial commission must be set up to investigate (inquire) as to how all those (people) were killed in protests from 9 May 2024 to date, how hundreds of members of the public and government employees were injured and who is responsible for the billions of rupees of financial losses.

- The looting of consumers who use 3 phase electricity must be ended

- The bridges at Haar Kas, Kaneli, Jarai, Amb in Dadyaal and Gulpur should be doubled (in width).

Let's Change Society Not (merely) Faces

Courtesy:

Mahmood Ahmed Musafir

Mandi Dharra, Jail Road Kotli

(Contact): 03065838206   

End of English translation of Urdu banner above....

....

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 289 of 2022

1902hrs:

Day 133 at Maqbool Bhat Shaheed Square - Dadyaal.

0758hrs

My punctuality surplus has increased to 20 minutes.

Punctuality percentage: 78 days on time or early of 133 = 59% punctual.

....

The following may or may not become a daily feature too. It all depends on how much interaction is generated from these clips. Our discussion today revolves around Mahmood Musafir's struggle for rights and the character of Masood ur Rehman, who is currently divisional commissioner of Muzaffarabad and was deputy commissioner of Muzaffarabad in 2018 when he slyly sabotaged Musafir's struggle. Now, in 2022 he has been deputed once again to contain Mahmood Musafir's efforts to make the AJK government fulfil its neglected responsibilities to the people: 

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 62 of 2022

0032hrs:

Day 43 at Martyr's Square Kotli 

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Once again, not an early start but a late finish.

Last night I got about 5 hours of sleep. Strangely enough, I felt fresher throughout the day than I did with 8 hours sleep a day or two before!

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Some notes on Gilgit Baltistan after receiving prompts and queries from other co-citizens of JKA:

0900hrs on 03/03/2022

The people of Gilgit Baltistan (GB) have been living in a black hole since 1947 and if they become a part of Pakistan, that black hole will just get darker and deeper.

The Pakistanis have been settling their own citizens there since 1947 and now about 25% of the residents there are not genuine inhabitants of GB. They are Pakistani settlers, just like Israeli settlers in Palestine. Most large businesses in GB are owned by these Pakistani settlers. In other words, the Pakistanis have been profiting by depriving the local people of basic needs and rights.

The Pakistanis have deliberately deprived the local inhabitants of any say in their own society and polity but to simply follow the dictates of Pakistani officials, ruling them as a colony. Many local inhabitants have been killed in manufactured sectarian warfare by the Pakistani State, many others have been jailed indefinitely for raising their voices for basic rights and facilities. Some were even given decades long sentences for simply protesting and were only released in late 2020, after sustained local and international pressure.

The Pakistanis have worked hard to fool the local people in the name of religious affinity and have conducted huge propaganda campaigns to distance the people of GB from the rest of Jammu Kashmir & Allied areas (JKA).

Solutions:

No solution will work if the genuine inhabitants of GB (as defined by State subject rules of JKA in 1927) are not given exclusive veto power over their present and future.

It is for them to design solutions for their ongoing plight. The State subject rule of 1927 will protect their genuine interests and prevent China and Pakistan from exploiting their land and resources.

We cannot dictate solutions to them but would urge them to be a part of a confederated JKA, whereby they would be constitutionally protected from any hegemonic advances from within JKA as well as from outside. They would have a right to secede from JKA as a non-negotiable default clause for example.

No other country in the world can offer the terms of affiliation and natural protection from the 'Great Game' that JKA can to GB. 

Another example: if GB becomes a part of Pakistan they will barely have 1% participation in decision-making over their own affairs, let alone Pakistan's.

If they continue to be a part of JKA, they will have 100% decision-making over their own affairs and about 25% say in affairs relating to the rest of JKA.

The people of GB need to clarify who are the genuine inhabitants of GB, what is representative public opinion in their territory and they must have unfettered access to basic rights such as control over their taxation affairs, right to defining and protecting local citizenship, access to trade routes to all surrounding regions; freedom of expression, movement, assembly etc. 

These are all fundamental rights that Pakistan and China have deprived them of. Jammu Kashmir & Allied areas recognise these inalienable rights of the genuine inhabitants of Gilgit Baltistan and will support them in whatever they genuinely decide, without undue influence or coercion from outside. 

Even if that decision goes against the interests of a neutral and independent JKA.

....

Notes written by Tanveer Ahmed - an independent action-oriented public policy researcher, working uninterrupted on the ground in AJK since April 2005. This has included a visit to Gilgit Baltistan in October 2010 whereby 4 public forums were conducted in Gilgit, Hunza, Skardu and Astore. These forums were able to attract a good cross-section of political thought and positive interaction; in reference to GB's past, present and future.

End of notes....

An Urdu translation of the above:

 

متحدہ جموں کمشیر کے دیگر ہم وطنوں  کی طرف سے اشارے اور سوالات موصول ہونے کے بعد گلگت بلتستان کے بارے میں کچھ نوٹس

0900

 بجے

03/03/2022

 کو

گلگت بلتستان (جی بی) کے لوگ 1947 سے ایک کنویں میں رہ رہے ہیں اور اگر وہ پاکستان کا حصہ بن گئے تو یہ کنواں مزید سیاہ اور گہرا ہوتا جائے گا۔

پاکستانی وہاں 1947 سے اپنے شہریوں کو آباد کر رہے ہیں اور اب وہاں کے تقریباً 25 فیصد باشندے جی بی کے حقیقی باشندے نہیں ہیں۔ وہ پاکستانی آباد کار ہیں، بالکل اسی طرح جیسے فلسطین میں اسرائیلی آباد کار۔ جی بی میں زیادہ تر بڑے کاروبار ان پاکستانی آباد کاروں کی ملکیت ہیں۔ دوسرے الفاظ میں پاکستانی، مقامی لوگوں کو بنیادی ضروریات اور حقوق سے محروم رکھ کر معاشی فوائد اٹھا رہے ہیں۔

پاکستانیوں نے دانستہ طور پر مقامی باشندوں کو اپنے معاشرے اور سیاست میں کسی بھی قول و فعل سے محروم رکھنے کے ساتھ ساتھ، محض ایک کالونی کے طور پر حکومت کرنے والے پاکستانی حکام کے حکم پر عمل کرنے کے لیے، یہاں کے رہائشیوں کو رکھا ہوا ہے۔ بہت سے مقامی باشندے پاکستانی ریاست کی تیار کردہ فرقہ وارانہ جنگ میں مارے جا چکے ہیں، بہت سے لوگوں کو بنیادی حقوق اور سہولیات کے لیے آواز اٹھانے پر غیر معینہ مدت کے لیے جیل بھیج دیا گیا ہے۔ بعض کو محض احتجاج کرنے پر دہائیوں تک طویل سزائیں بھی سنائی گئیں اور انہیں مقامی اور بین الاقوامی دباؤ کے بعد 2020 کے آخر میں رہا کیا گیا۔

پاکستانیوں نے مذہبی وابستگی کے نام پر مقامی لوگوں کو بے وقوف بنانے کے لیے بھرپور ریاستی توانائی صرف کی ہے اور جی بی کے لوگوں کو باقی جموں کشمیر اور اتحادی علاقوں

(JKA)

سے دور کرنے کے لیے زبردست پروپیگنڈہ مہم چلائی ہے۔

:حل

کوئی بھی اس وقت تک حل کام نہیں کرے گا جب تک کہ جی بی کے حقیقی باشندوں (جیسا کہ 1927 میں متحدہ جموں کشمیر کے باشندہ ریاست کے قانون میں بیان کیا گیا ہے) کو ان کے حال اور مستقبل پر خصوصی ویٹو پاور نہیں دیا جاتا ہے۔

یہ ان کے لیے ہے کہ وہ اپنی موجودہ حالت زار کے لیے حل تیار کریں۔ 1927 کا باشندہ ریاست کا قانون گلگت بلتستان کے عوام کے حقیقی مفادات کا تحفظ کرے گا اور چین اور پاکستان کو جی بی کی زمینوں اور وسائل کے استحصال سے روکے گا۔

ہم ان کے حل کا حکم نہیں دے سکتے لیکن ان پر زور دیں گے کہ وہ ایک متحدہ جموں و کشمیر کا حصہ بنیں، جس کے تحت وہ آئینی طور پر متحدہ جموں کشمیر کے اندر اور باہر سے کسی بھی بالادستی کی پیش قدمی سے محفوظ رہیں گے۔ جی بی کے عوام کو متحدہ جموں کشمیر میں  غیر مشروط طور پر علیحدگی کا حق حاصل ہوگا۔

دنیا کا کوئی دوسرا ملک 'گریٹ گیم' سے وابستگی اور قدرتی تحفظ کی وہ شرائط پیش نہیں کر سکتا، جو متحدہ جموں کشمیر اپنے جی بی کے عوام کو دے سکتا ہے۔

:ایک اور مثال

اگر جی بی پاکستان کا حصہ بنتا ہے تو وہ اپنے معاملات میں فیصلہ سازی میں بمشکل 1 فیصد حصہ لے سکے گا، پاکستان کو تو چھوڑ دیں۔

اگر وہ متحدہ جموں کشمیر کا حصہ بنے رہتے ہیں، تو ان کے پاس اپنے معاملات میں 100% فیصلہ سازی کا اختیار ہو گا اور تقریباً 25% بقیہ متحدہ ریاست جموں کشمیر کے معاملات میں فیصلہ سازی کا اختیار ہو گا۔

جی بی کے لوگوں کو یہ واضح کرنے کی ضرورت ہے کہ جی بی کے حقیقی باشندے کون ہیں، ان کے علاقے میں نمائندہ رائے عامہ کیا ہے اور انہیں بنیادی حقوق: جیسے کہ ان کے ٹیکس کے معاملات پر کنٹرول، مقامی شہریت کی وضاحت اور تحفظ کا حق، تمام ارد گرد کے علاقوں کے تجارتی راستوں تک رسائی، آزادی اظہار رائے، چلنے پھرنے کی آذادی، اسمبلی وغیرہ۔

یہ وہ تمام بنیادی حقوق ہیں، جن سے پاکستان اور چین نے انہیں محروم کر رکھا ہے۔ جموں کشمیر اور اس کے اتحادی علاقے گلگت بلتستان کے حقیقی باشندوں کے ان ناقابل تنسیخ حقوق کو تسلیم کرتے ہیں اور باہر سے غیر ضروری اثر و رسوخ یا جبر کے بغیر جو بھی حقیقی طور پر فیصلہ کریں گے، اس میں ہم ان کی حمایت کریں گے۔

چاہے وہ فیصلہ غیر جانبدار(نیوٹرل) اور آزاد متحدہ جموں کشمیر کے مفادات کے خلاف کیوں نہ ہو۔

۔۔

یہ تنویر احمد، ایک آزاد عمل پر مبنی عوامی پالیسی کے محقق، کے لکھے ہوئے نوٹس ہیں جو اپریل 2005 سے آزاد جموں و کشمیر میں عملی طور پر بلاتعطل کام کر رہے ہیں۔ اس میں اکتوبر 2010 میں گلگت بلتستان کا دورہ بھی شامل ہے جس کے تحت گلگت، ہنزہ، سکردو اور استور میں 4 عوامی فورمز کا انعقاد کیا گیا۔  یہ فورمز جی بی کے ماضی، حال اور مستقبل کے حوالے سے سیاسی سوچ اور مثبت تعامل کے ایک اچھے حصے کو راغب کرنے میں کامیاب رہے ہیں۔

۔۔۔۔

End of Urdu translation....

....

JKNAP were conducting a sit-in protest in Rawalakot for the past week or so. They had also conducted such a protest about 2 months ago too but postponed their activity when current AJK 'State' president Barrister Sultan promised them solutions within a month. They gave him two (months) but he reneged and disappeared from the scene.

This is not unusual in AJK:

It is also not unusual, that when the AJK 'State' cannot meet the public's just demands, they resort to violence and incarceration of political workers.

This is what happened in Rawalakot yesterday evening. 

What are their demands?

1) Examine GB's constitutional and political status.

2) Restore subsidies on flour in AJK.

3) Provide free electricity to a State whose land and resources are used to generate billions of dollars (international market prices) worth of electricity, almost free of cost to Pakistan but at almost irredeemable cost to the humans and environment of AJK.

4) Freedom of expression

and much much more...a la Mahmood Ahmed Musafir  

  

Here's some footage of Liaqat Hayat sending out a message to the public, directly from his cell in Rawalakot police station:

....

For those who can't read the text in the FB post below:

Martyr's Square Kotli becomes all weather.

Many thanks to more than 10 co-citizens for preparing this development, despite the inclement weather 

Roman Urdu:

Shaheed Chowk Kotli ab har mausam ke liye tayaar.

10 se zaid mere humwatan shehryo ka bahut bahut shukrya is peshraft ko qaim karney me, is ke bawajood ke baarish bhi musalsal rahi...

 

....

The Kanwal Matloob case has gone haywire it seems. Another tragedy on top of a tragedy:

 

Kashmiri angel Kanwal Matloob becomes the latest target of brutality
credit:- @WaqarBagga #Justice4KanwalMatloob @HamidMirPAK @Jalalmughal @PMOAJK @saifullahawan40 @RaiShahnawaz @sanaejaz2 @salmanmasood https://t.co/YX6pfRaNOr

— Zaara (@zaara_kashmiri) March 3, 2022

.... 

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 50 of 2022

1000hrs:

Day 31 at Martyr's Square Kotli

Throughout the day, I sensed that the Spring of 2022 has arrived, on the 50th day of the year.

The temperature has decreased, the air has changed and the kind of creatures that usually surface in spring are becoming visible.

.......

Well noted by Dr Nazir Gilani:

Dr.#Qadeer #Khan died on 10 October 2021. His writ petition seeking #Freedom of Movement has been fixed for hearing before the single judge of Supreme Court on 24 February 2022. This explains why World Justice Project ranked #Pakistan 130 out of 139 countries on rule of law.

— Syed Nazir Gilani (@JKCHR) February 18, 2022

......

Mahmood Ahmed Musafir was our distinguished guest today:  

Latest Update on Malik Waseem (Land & People of JKA saga) - 

Tue Feb 19 2022 at 1600hrs

The UK government is engaged on the Malik Waseem 'Land & People' case, through their citizen Faisal Fyaz, it is reported.

We also understand Ali Amin Gandapur and Zulfi Bukhari are engaged on this case too, possibly on behalf of the Pakistani government.

We also require an international lawyer to represent Malik Waseem, accessed through a globally recognised human rights organisation, as he is being denied legal defence in a neutral territory called AJK. 

This is an alarming situation....

Especially for Ratan Singh and Sardar Singh's descendents.

They should be found but I don't think the Indian government is co-operating, I could be wrong but they are as intent as Pakistan to change the demography of Jammu Kashmir & Allied areas (JKA).

AJK Public Agency

End of update....

.......

Journalist Fazal ur Rehman with his latest offering on the Malik Waseem case:

........

Day 31 Notes at Martyr's Square Kotli - AJK

Monument Project at Shaheed Chowk - Kotli

4 storey glass and wood library

Includes winding staircase, bookshelves, a table with 4 chairs on each storey and a data/financial resources protection cabinet/safe on the top floor.

Note: The local administration has already wasted millions of rupees in just the past decade on un-planned and un-maintained infrastructure. 

We cannot afford to waste any more time, energy or resources.

End....

An Urdu translation of the above note:

An Urdu translation of above: 

شہدا چوک کوٹلی - آزاد جموں و کشمیر میں 31 ویں دن کے نوٹس

شہید چوک - کوٹلی میں یادگاری منصوبہ

4 منزلہ شیشے اور لکڑی کی لائبریری

سمیٹنے والی سیڑھیاں، کتابوں کی الماری، ہر منزل پر 4 کرسیاں والی ایک میز اور اوپر کی منزل پر ڈیٹا/مالی وسائل کے تحفظ کی کابینہ/محفوظ۔

نوٹ: مقامی انتظامیہ صرف گزشتہ ایک دہائی میں ہی غیر منصوبہ بند اور غیر منظم انفراسٹرکچر پر کروڑوں روپے ضائع کر چکی ہے۔

ہم مزید وقت، توانائی یا وسائل ضائع کرنے کے متحمل نہیں ہو سکتے۔

.......

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 19 of 2022

2144hrs:

Of course, I am primarily consumed with the Malik Waseem case. This is their third day out in the cold. I felt a lot of anger inside me for 'allowing' this to happen. One always feel there is more that they could have done to prevent matters from getting this far.

In my morning conversation with him it became clear that mounting pressure is developing on him by the administration to make a 'deal' but his response is that why isn't his adversary given a 'deal'? Why is he being uprooted? 

He also has the answer.

There is a new judicial complex being built nearby and that has increased the value of Ratan Singh's land. Land speculators want him out first, knowing that he and his family will resist - and is resisting - and they also know that the other members of the community may not put up such a resistance on their turn. It should be remembered that this is 'evacuee property'. It cannot be sold or commercialised - its occupancy can only be interim - until the evacuee's descendants return or some other amicable solution is arrived at, to the satisfaction of the people of Jammu Kashmir & Allied areas. The Indians played ball on 'evacuee property' on that side until the 5th of August 2019 - in general - and as far as one has gathered from anecdotal evidence thus far. However, demographic changes are apace there now, we are informed.  

In short, the 'big fish' want to gobble up the 'small fish' without mercy. The classic contest between strong and weak is in full flow.

This is why the Commissioner of Muzaffarabad Masood ur Rehman (remember him? does Mahmood Musafir ring a bell?) cannot agree with Malik Waseem's story, as pointed out in yesterday's weblog entry. Apparently, some bureaucrats and members of the judiciary have already worked out how much and who is going to benefit from this land grab.

The original Sikh owners are nowhere in the picture. The claiming adversary of Malik Waseem lives in the UK and will profit from acting as proxy. Someone needs to interview him, if possible.

Meanwhile, it may be notable to add that Malik Waseem's father Ghulam Qadir and his paternal uncle Wali Muhammad are retired soldiers of the Pakistani army. They have both appealed for help, protection and justice. In a sea of drowning hope, they have both made a plea to the Pakistani army to intervene:

Father Ghulam Qadir

Uncle Wali Muhammad 

Coverage of Waseem's family issue has expanded to various platforms on social media. Here's an example:

AJK Point (media channel in Muzaffarabad) also made a thoughtful video which cannot be embedded for some reason, despite several attempts. (You can click the hyperlink 'embedded' in the previous sentence to access it though.

In the evening I called Sardar Shameem Sahaab for an emergency meeting on Malik Waseem's issue. Here's a summary of the conversation:

It seems the pressure on Waseem from various quarters has forced him to retract or clarify his statement about India's prime minister. Who else but Irfan Ashraf (remember him from Tehreek e Jawanaan vs. JKNSF in Kotli?) to provide the platform:

Most of us will be able to add 2 + 2 together above.

.....

As we are on the subject of enforced migrations, let's find time to also explore the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits:

Kashmiri Pandits Observe 32nd Black Day https://t.co/ZOYmAcShE9 via @dailytimespak @manojsinha_ @ashokbhan11 @santoshkashmiri @rraina1481 @MuzzafarShah1 @tarigami @ghulamnazad @HCI_London @RahulGandhi @SheikhAamir_inc @Iftikhar_Misgar @MUHAMMA88520330 @AdvNeelofar

— Syed Nazir Gilani (@JKCHR) January 19, 2022

.....

Let's change the subject now, or at least some of it. I thought the following Dogri song was striking, inclusive and our geographically distinct identity was clarified. Well done!

Me kali Kashmir di they Jammu da Ghulab da:

I did check the whole video on YouTube. The channel had a distinctly Indian name and the rest of the video had very different themes. This segment took on the national question in a very creative way. For example, she says Pakistan and China dream of it and this is neither Delhi or Punjab! (She couldn't say India for obvious reasons, so the creativity in lyrics was smart. Saying this is not Delhi is effectively giving the same message). Dogra museum and I think the Tawi bridge in the background. Claiming ownership of both Jammu and Kashmir was also interesting I think.

.........

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 338 of 2019

1537hrs

We spent more than 5 hours at the courts today but we got an acquittal in 40 days. At the very least, unusual for the judiciary in AJK, from the date of arrest to acquittal.

We've managed a video update for each of the last 14 days here in Muzaffarabad, except the 2 Sundays in between:

(Update 07/12/19):

We managed to obtained a copy of the court's decision in our favour but it took us 4 days. Here it is courtesy Mahmood Ahmed Musafir:



In an attempt at greater clarity, here are the scanned papers of the judgement:

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

Of course, a translation into English is in order:



End of update.....

......

  
Gems that the public of AJK should be conscious of:

Courtesy: Whatsapp

The image above is translated thus:

"Leadership or slavery is not dependent on power or the lack of it, it is dependent on your mental character."

.....

The Daily Kashmir Uzma remained vigilant on our case and reported on yesterday's proceedings in court:

Daily Kashmir Uzma - Muzaffarabad (Urdu)

Back Page

Page 3 Section 7

......

Before the end of the day, an online news portal highlighted the court's decision in our favour in the following manner:



...... 

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 307 of 2019

0940hrs:

So, I am now sitting down to write a report on what has transpired over the past couple of weeks in AJK:

As with previous such reports where public interest activity has been directly disrupted by Pakistan's clandestine agencies, I will follow a chronological format identifying the main aspects of this most recent disruption.

Previous such reports:

1) 2011 - Baghsar - Smaahni

2) 2015 - Leepa

3) 2016 - Abbaspur

Thus, this would be the 4th such report which provides the reader with direct insight into how governance in AJK is run - not by the local administration/government in AJK - but by shadowy figures originating from Pakistan's GHQ (General Head Quarters) in Rawalpindi. Without any writ, justification, accountability or transparency of any kind. This 73 year old governing structure in AJK ensures that everything of public interest value here is repeatedly sacrificed at the altar of what are perceived to be goals promoting Pakistani national interest in Jammu & Kashmir.

Background:

Since the 5th of August 2019, when the Indian government decided to de-operationalise Article 370 of the Indian constitution and consequently downgrade and bifurcate 48% of the territory of J & K, an unexpected wave of unbroken sentiment in favour of the citizens here has erupted throughout the world. This Indian maneuver also instigated a reaction in AJK - with many hitherto sympathisers of the Pakistani narrative in AJK - now convinced that the Pakistani State was complicit in permanently dividing the territory of J & K.

In such a scenario, my action-orientated research had to be accelerated in order to devise an appropriate ownership-building process (for reference please read: From CBMs to OBMs). Amidst various protests throughout AJK since the 5th of August, there have been 4 major protests (events) which I also happened to have had the opportunity to cover:

1) 26th of August 2019 - PNA (People's National Alliance) 

2) 7th of September 2019 - JKLF (Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front - Sagheer faction)

3) 4th of October 2019 - JKLF (Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front - Yasin faction)

4) 21st of October 2019 - PNA (People's National Alliance)

Note: Some of the most notable footage or text relating to each event maybe found in subsequent diaries to the dates linked above. Reading through each day's diary will provide further clarity and context. 

Amidst all this commotion, I had been pro-active in raising the issue of internally securitising AJK under a transparent and accountable mechanism, which would protect public interest and ensure an internal political process is developed to resolve our outstanding national question.

Here is a chronological sequence of important notes/events - written/conducted to bolster this internal political process:

1) 6th of August 2019 - Protest in Dadyaal in reaction to India's seemingly unilateral action the day before

2) 28th of August 2019 - The most succinct clarification of J & K's legal status by retired Chief Justice of High Court AJK Abdul Majeed Malik

3) 1st of September 2019 - The UK's insistence on UN resolutions and an Indo-Pak bilateral conflict resolution process which gives zero agency to the legal inheritors of J & K: its people

4) 3rd of September 2019 - Details of 2 online petition rejections by the British government

5) 9th of September 2019 - Written Structures for an internal political process in AJK (c. 10,000 words divided into 4 parts)

6) 17th of September 2019 - Raising the issue of security and a local IG (Inspector General) in AJK

I have spent most of the last month involved in intense public activity to cover what probably measures as unprecedented in the 73 year history of AJK. Most of this time has been spent either in the capital of AJK or its vicinity viz. Muzaffarabad. Discussions with various senior members of the AJK government have indicated their will to build consensus in AJK on its empowerment, which tallies with the internal political process being developed on the ground here. 

3 features are very clear (to us in AJK):

1) The sentiment for independence in AJK has surpassed the 73% extrapolated by July 2017 ref. Citizen Public Opinion Survey - AJK 

2) The Pakistani State is complicit in wanting to divide the territory of J & K as part of what can only be described as an 'out of court' settlement, without due democratic procedure. Over 73 years, they fooled many of our people into thinking that they (Pakistan) were present in AJK and GB only to help us reclaim the rest of J & K. It is now clear to most of us that they cannot retrieve the Valley of Kashmir but are content in trying to make AJK and GB their own legal entities, to be integrated into adjacent parts of Pakistan proper. To then fight another day for the Valley. 

3) The State of AJK and GB (Gilgit Baltistan) are being governed by shadows which prevent any meaningful internal discourse in or between these 2 territories that have emerged out of the Dogra State of J & K in 1947. This has intensified the security dilemma for local citizens who could be sentenced for up to 90 years in prison, merely by expressing their views in public interest, without any accountability or even the right to nominate the culprits, who conveniently remain in the shadows. Ref. Iftikhar Hussain Karbalai Indo-Pak bilateralism supported and encouraged by the UK, USA and - in its own way - China is a cul de sac which can only manage conflict and not resolve it. This is unsustainable, undemocratic, unethical, illegal and based on 'might is right' rather than 'right is might'. We believe it was the latter metaphor which influenced the creation of the UN Charter.

In this frenetic and charged environment it has increasingly become 'a matter of life and death' that the security of this region is handed back to its legal inheritors through a gradual ownership-building process that ensures that no security vacuum or vulnerability arises in the interim.

Whatever we the people decide between ourselves should be respected by all, within the disparate parts of J & K as well as throughout the world at large. Our struggle is strictly:

1) Peaceful
2) Democratic
3) Legal/Constitutional
4) Ethical

What happened on the 22nd of October 2019 in Muzaffarabad was proverbially "the straw that broke the camel's back".

Here's a link to a video report I made barely half an hour before the police violently pushed back the protestors of PNA, who simply wished to march from Uppar Adda (Laal Chowk - Muzaffarabad's Red Square equivalent of Srinagar) to the Assembly Secretariat, where they wished to put their demands (for empowerment of AJK and GB) before the AJK Legislative Assembly. Indeed, a minister of the AJK government namely Mushtaq Minhas (Minister for Tourism) went to chairman PNA Zulfiqar Ahmed Advocate's residence a few days hitherto and agreed on this arrangement, on the condition that the protestors would not conduct a sit-in protest after presenting their demands.

However, the shadows running AJK behind the scenes - read Pakistan's clandestine agencies - who only report to their GHQ in Rawalpindi, had other ideas. Less than an hour before the AJK police were directed to prevent the public from proceeding to the Assembly Secretariat, DIG (Deputy Inspector General) Muzaffarabad Sardar Ilyas was commanded to report to the 'White House'. This is an office/military complex in Jalalabad which is in fact the headquarters of Pakistan's ISI in Muzaffarabad. On his return to Upper Adda, where the public was becoming increasingly incensed at the government's behaviour, DIG Ilyas whispered something in DSP (Deputy Superintendent) Riaz Mughal's ear. He in turn commanded his police colleagues to charge forward and disperse the crowd by hook or crook. Violence erupted, tear gas shells were fired, batons were used and stones began being exchanged between public and police. Both affectees of shadow governance had been trapped into diverting public interest away from their genuine needs.

Confrontation lasted for many hours in various parts of Muzaffarabad city. Many homes were tear gassed too and on each occasion viz. Upper Adda, Chela, Gilani Chowk and later in the evening at the central press club, DSP Riaz Mughal was the chief agent provocateur. 

Later in the evening, a delegation of the PNA leadership met the prime minister of AJK. He confessed ignorance over knowledge of what happened throughout the day. In other words, he was by-passed. He could not even dare to sack or discipline DSP Riaz Mughal because the latter was acting as prime proxy in executing the will of the shadowy Pakistani governing set-up in AJK. It is ironic that the very agencies who prevent Raja Farooq Haider from acting as chief executive of AJK commanded him to visit the central press club the very next day; to apologise for 'his' police's behaviour the previous evening. This move was to embolden the perception that somehow the AJK prime minister is responsible for whatever happens in AJK and that he was apologising for behaviour under his 'charge'. However, he patently 'enjoys' no such charge or control.         

These events motivated me to 'up the ante' and bring the discussion over the importance of a local IG more intensely into the public domain. Most of us felt that we cannot afford to let the genuine sentiments for freedom in our society be repeatedly curbed in such a manner. We now had to pinpoint and identify the culprits exploiting our minds and extrapolating our resources in the name of religion. We were obviously rattling our enemy's cage and true to their character, they reacted. 


My ancestral home in Gurutta, tehsil Sehnsa which has been unoccupied for the last 2 years but lies on the main road between Kotli and Rawalpindi in Pakistan and barely 2 kilometres from the tehsil headquarters, visible from many kilometres in a 360 degree radius - where my own tribe has effectively ruled for the past 700 years - it is also adjacent to the main masjid and local bazaar but it was still raided in the early hours of the morning of the 24th of October. 

What should have been the most secure location for my record-keeping of material in public interest, had been rudely and slyly penetrated by Pakistan's clandestine agencies. They must have spent at least a few hours there as the bed underneath which much paperwork from my life pre-2005 was safely kept, was rifled through and it takes at least a couple of people to dislodge the bed, in order to get to the paperwork. Contrary to certain reports in social media, none of my post 2005 work in AJK was affected, as it wasn't kept there.

The next morning which of course remained the 24th of October; my cousin who lived nearby informed me of what happened. I promptly asked him to contact the local police station in Sehnsa and obtain a report. This didn't happen and I spent the rest of the day in Upper Adda and Laal Chowk (Muzaffarabad) in particular, engaging with the public in a form of sit-in protest. I wanted to spend the night there but couldn't obtain a charpoy (mobile bed) in time. 

Having spent the night nearby in someone's residence, the next morning (the 25th of October) I began making efforts to try and convince the government of AJK to take the matter of the raid on my house seriously and understand that it was directly connected to campaigning for a local IG; so that we could make sense of the security of our territory.    

I arranged for a banner to explain my message, a charpoy to conduct my sit-in protest at Laal Chowk with ease. However, by about 4pm (1600hrs) a mobile police unit headed by Younis Bhat ASI (Assistant Sub-Inspector) categorically explained to me that I couldn't put up a charpoy in Laal Chowk. Further, that I should seek permission from DC (Deputy Commissioner) Muzaffarabad. When he departed from the scene, I made an impromptu decision to mount the ladder used for constructing Laal Chowk and climbed to the highest perch possible. This was about 30 to 40 feet above the ground. 

In a matter of minutes the public began converging on Laal Chowk and suddenly the AJK government was all ears to find out what was disturbing me. Various local citizens felt it their moral duty to mediate and I learned that DC Kotli was ready to file an FIR (First Information Report) and even identify the accused as 'clandestine agents of the Pakistani State'. On the matter of installing a local IG I was told that this is an impossible task. In response, I took pains to explain that we can no longer afford to be governed by shadows in the digital age. Public interest in AJK had suffered for the past 73 years on this count. Many of us have been killed and many others have expended their health, wealth and honour in the pursuit of freedom. If we cannot develop consensus among ourselves on this sensitive matter, how on earth will we attain the larger target of freedom? Further, that nothing is impossible but everything requires a format and process. We the people of AJK are sovereign, not the AJK government and most certainly not Pakistan. How can the Pakistani State insist on controlling us and advocating for the Kashmir Valley what it suppresses in AJK and GB?

I gave the appropriate link to the 'internal political process' in AJK to Afzaal Suleria, press secretary of PNA and prime mediator - at the time - between the AJK government and myself.

By 10:30pm (2230hrs) the AJK police swarmed to the scene and began dispersing the public. They located Mahmood Ahmed Musafir within the crowd and began employing him as the mediator. He climbed half-way up the ladder and suggested that I nominate someone in Muzaffarabad to speak to the administration about my concerns and try and find a way of amicably climbing back down. I explained that I had already given my statement on video and Afzaal had been provided a link for the AJK government to read. He insisted on me nominating someone and said he would return in 15 minutes.

By the time Mahmood returned, a lot was happening behind my back, While engaged with Mahmood in conversation I was pounced on by someone who described himself as part of the 'rescue services'. He had climbed up using a rope and the scaffolding attached to the monument of Laal Chowk. I could have done much to drop him from there but decided otherwise. After a scuffle, I gave way to the next phase of my struggle. Contrary to some reports in social media, at no point did I ever threaten to immolate myself.

As I was escorted to a waiting police wagon, AC Muzaffarabad requested the police to not use violence on me. What this confirmed was that violence was a norm to combat peaceful protests in AJK. What it also meant in coded form was to ensure that I was thrashed into submission. Sitting roughed up in the police wagon before me was Mahmood Ahmed Musafir. By the time we reached City Thana (police station) it transpired that Mahmood had been used and subsequently abused by the police, in order to get to me. Who was the instigator of this tactic? None other than Pakistan's most effective proxy on the ground in Muzaffarabad: DSP Riaz Mughal. 

At the station, we were ushered into a room where apart from SHO (Station House Officer) Raja Ansar Sajaad (of Pateeka) at least 3 other plain-clothed personnel entered the room too. It soon became clear who these shadows were. Slap upon slap and kick after kick ensued. Musafir who has not eat anything that contains wheat, maize, barley, oats or rice for more than 18 months; under protest from being ignored by both the AJK and Pakistani governments for his demands in public interest, was already physically fragile but he was not spared either. His repeated protests that he was engaged by DSP Riaz Mughal in mediation fell on deaf ears. I decided to keep quiet and ride the momentary storm.     

Mahmood Ahmed Musafir's profile can be read here.

In the presence of Pakistan's clandestine agencies, the SHO had to prove his efficiency to his illegal masters. While trying to beat the hell out of us we witnessed some memorable slurs and questions he demanded answers to. 

Why are you conducting protests in Muzaffarabad?

Why can't you conduct protests in Kotli?

You're an aatankwaadi (Hindi for terrorist) and funded by India!

Take his clothes off!

The IG (Inspector General) is our father. Why do you have a problem with him?

Sodomise him!

Kaan pakar! (Hold your ears!) This term is normally used to humiliate someone and force them to repent.

All the above was addressed to me or in reference to me, amidst the multiple physical blows I was receiving. Thankfully, they only took my jumper off and half of my kameez (long shirt) off before they tired themselves out. They then used my chappals (sandals) to thrash the soles of my feet. I never saw my chappals after that! One of my torturers then decided to stand on my thighs, presumably to check if I could withstand his weight.

To my relief they didn't attempt to sodomise me and I certainly wasn't going to hold my ears. Indeed, I had nothing to repent over.

The police and clandestine agents also used this opportunity to mock Mahmood Ahmed Musafir's struggle while he continued trying to explain to them that he had nothing to do with my action.

In such circumstances, I always make a point of avoiding dialogue and eye contact. I have a habit of only responding to questions in an amicable environment.

I was then dragged along the floor to my cell where I learned that there were no bathroom facilities available. Yes, a range of empty plastic bottles were available to urinate in at will. 

It wasn't long before we were woken and dragged to an adjacent cell holding about a dozen inmates, including 2 juveniles (aged 12 and 14). We found out that this was because a recent female accused had to be accommodated in that cell. Of course, this police station only had a total of 2 cells to go around.

The next morning was the 26th of October and my physical torture hadn't ended yet. In the meantime, the police provided a window of opportunity to relieve ourselves in conventional bathrooms, which were across a badminton court. I used this opportunity to try and reclaim my sandals but to no avail. This discussion ended with further blows to my face and kicks to my body by a number of policemen. Some drops of the blood that oozed out of my nose fell on my jumper and are still there almost 10 days later.

When the first group of visitors came to see me, I explained all that had happened. I asked them to pursue medical attention for myself and Mahmood. The latter had complained of acute pain in his ribs all night. I also asked one of the visitors to contact the British High Commission on my behalf and explain my status. When we were arrested on the previous night and brought to the police station, the police had not followed procedure in confirming with me the possessions of mine that they were confiscating from me. We were tortured, abused and then dragged into a cell.

It was also decided by our well wishers that we move an application for bail as an FIR had been lodged against us. The charges were APC 325/109. I had been charged with trying to commit suicide while Mahmood was declared as the mastermind behind my protest. While I agreed with receiving bail and fighting through the courts to prove the validity of my public protest, Mahmood was against receiving bail as he felt he had been trapped by DSP Riaz Mughal and thus his stance was (and is) that the charges against him should be dropped, without him having to resort to a court to prove his innocence. 

A copy of the FIR can be read here.

We remained confined in City Thana Muzaffarabad until Monday the 28th of October (3 nights and 2 days) when we were taken to the district courts to appear before a judge. My sandals were still not returned to me and PC (Police Constable) Azhar gave me his sandals to wear in the meantime, while assuring me that my sandals would be found. Indeed, we appeared before a judge as well as a Qazi (someone trained in Islamic jurisprudence) and we reiterated our need for medical attention. We later learned from one of our lawyers that an application for medical attention had already been put to the judge on Saturday (the 26th of October).

It also transpired that our bail application had not yet been processed and thus we followed a number of other prisoners into a police truck, which transported us about 11 kilometres down the Kohalla road to an over-crowded Raara jail.

During my incarceration in Chinari sub-jail for 16 days in 2016, the judge handling my case had explained that he had made repeated requests for Raara jail to be expanded or other jails to be built to accommodate a growing number of prisoners in our society. As his requests remained unheeded, he suggested that I lobby for this facility when I eventually attain my 'freedom'. I remembered his words as soon as I entered the jail. There were just 3 barracks holding about 145 prisoners, whereas the capacity was around 90 prisoners. In our barrack there were 45 inmates and Mahmood and I had to sleep for 3 nights in a crowded corridor huddled between other prisoners.

The next day (Tuesday the 29th) DC Muzaffarabad, SSP (Senior Superintendent of Police), a couple of lawyers and some shadowy figures presenting themselves as human rights workers visited the jail, ostensibly to check on the conditions there and note any complaints of the prisoners. When I sought clarity on who these human rights workers were I received a jumbled answer. However, DC Muzaffarabad assured me that the much larger prison being constructed adjacent to these tin barracks would be ready within a maximum of 2 months from now. SSP Yasin Baig also informed me that my bail had been approved, subject to a guarantor providing a bond.

During our 3 days there, I was able to identify many victims of the LOC who not only face Indian firing but are also likely to be used by the Pakistanis to collect information or send 'goods' to and from across the LOC. When they are no longer needed or a dispute arises or the Pakistanis feel that they have too much information, these tormented citizens are abducted by Pakistan's agencies, tortured for months and years, usually taken to Pakistan and hence disregarding the Geneva conventions, put up before a military court, further tortured before being transferred to a jail in AJK. No habeas corpus here. In some cases, it is also alleged that the womenfolk of these abductees are enticed into visiting Muzaffarabad on the pretext that their case will be heard by senior military officialdom or compensation will be transacted for the bereaved. Once reaching Muzaffarabad, they are allegedly taken advantage of in the most morally reprehensible way possible. I have assured these victims that I will fight for their right to be presented before a proper court and the allegations against them thoroughly examined.

It was also painful to meet a number of juveniles languishing in jail too.

On the evening (Wednesday the 30th of October) before we were released on bail, I made a fresh attempt to get the AJK government to sit down and seriously discuss the growing dilemma of governance in AJK. 

Soon after lock-down at 4pm (1600hrs) on Thursday the 31st of October Mahmood and I were summoned to the gates of the jail where a police wagon was waiting for us. No paperwork was exchanged or signatures taken. We were informed that bail had been granted. However, as we soon discovered we were not yet free. The police wagon instead of turning right at the bottom of Raara hill towards Muzaffarabad moved in the direction of Kohalla, beyond which was the State of Pakistan!

I suddenly felt agitated and anxious. I had not visited Pakistan since my first abduction by Pakistan's army in 2011 (referenced at the beginning of this report). I had no documentation to visit Pakistan viz. no visa and no ID card to lay claim on a Pakistani nationality. If I were dropped off there, I could very easily be picked up and never heard of again, without any access to habeas corpus. I could be killed or any number of unpleasant ordeals could transpire. The PI (police inspector) given charge of us - Ijaz Abbasi - was kind enough to confirm that we were to be taken to Pakistan on the orders of those very shadows who we seek deliverance from. 

Many a citizen including some lawyers who represented us became involved and convinced the police to drop us anywhere in AJK. We were finally dropped off in Arja (district Bagh) where I was handed over most of my belongings that had been confiscated by the police on the 25th of October. I checked the itemised list which should have been shown to me when I was initially arrested, to confirm what belongings of mine were being confiscated. However, upon checking I noticed that 7 items remained missing and I wrote to that effect on the itemised list.

Missing items not returned by City (Thana) police station Muzaffarabad:

1) Sandals (by Clarks of UK)
2) Glasses (Rodenstock frames from Germany and reactolite lenses)
3) Black sleeping bag and cover
4) Perfume (by Dior of France)
5) Phone microphone x 2 with lead (of Sweden)
6) Thermos 
7) 500 PK Rupees (given to PC Azhar by a visitor to the police station on my behalf)

Now:

I have spent the last few days since my 'release' in tehsil Dheerkot, in heavy consultation with civil society over how to proceed with public interest in AJK. Indeed, after spending a night in Arja, I proceeded the next morning (the 1st of November) to the tehsil courts of Dheerkot, where I tried to meet the president of the lawyer's bar association. I engaged some journalists too so that I could update them on our status. During this activity, DFC (Detective Foot Constable) Qamar Shah also appeared on the scene and began taking notes. As every government servant in AJK is compromised and compelled to share his or her notes with the shadows who actually govern AJK without licence, some locals decided that we proceed to the citizen stronghold of Rangla.

I have written up this comprehensive report without glasses - for the first time in my adult life and now aged 47 - which still remain in the custody of the city police in Muzaffarabad. 

Intention:

This report is being forwarded to:

1) The AJK High Court 

- To aid a writ petition that will seek justice on torture conducted by the police, retrieve my possessions, clarify the right to peaceful public protest in the capital of AJK and obtain a stay order on any future attempts by Pakistan's clandestine agencies to evict me from my own territory, whereby my life would be put in immediate peril.

2) Local, regional and global civil society/media and academia

- To make them aware of how civility and democracy in AJK are sacrificed on behalf of Pakistan's calculated ambiguity over the territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
- We are dealing with a country that is totalitarian in its approach to governance and fascist in its delusion of Muslim superiority over people of all other faiths.
- Despite an autocratic regime in J & K pre 1947, our State had evolved more than most other nation States at the time. 3 elections had already been conducted and the activism in this territory was also correspondingly evolved. For example, Sheikh Abdullah's 'Naya Kashmir' manifesto in 1944 proposed rights for women that were more progressive than considered in Western Europe at the time. Public mobilisation for peaceful protests via social media began in the Valley of Kashmir in the summer of 2010, many months before the Arab Spring. Identification of subjects/citizens/residents had already begun in the 1880s and was finally formalised with the State Subject Rule in 1927, much before most other countries. Even labour strikes/activism in our territory preceded Chicago (USA) of 1886.
- Neither the autocrat (Maharajah Hari Singh) or his subjects (the public of J & K) were ever given consideration as to what they wanted for the future of J & K post British withdrawal in 1947. The Maharajah wanted our State to be neutral a la Switzerland with him as constitutional monarch a la the Queen of the United Kingdom. Our people wanted to progress away from autocracy towards representative democracy but they were thrusted into an accession debate in 1947. This confusion had been improvised over the preceding decades, particularly by the British administrative innovation that political constituencies should be based on religious identity.
- Today we wish to retrieve our territory over which - we the people - are sovereign but are occupied against our will since 1947. If any part of J & K wishes to accede to any country we will not obstruct that, subject to us being able to interact with each other unfettered. This is something we've collectively been deprived of since 1947. It would be folly to divide us legally (and permanently) as a fait accompli.
- We are cursed for our water and geography which if not for political expediency should be a blessing and boon for mankind. We want to avert future conflict over water and our guarantee for doing so would be to become the world's most efficient managers of water. India and Pakistan have both performed abysmally on this count and investing so much in militarised structures in our territory hasn't helped.

3) The UK Government and State

- To clarify that I am in no way a citizen of Pakistan and to make clear my resentment at any such association. I may have arrived in Pakistan in April 2005 on a British passport and Pakistani visa but I am first and foremost an aspiring citizen of Jammu & Kashmir, where my family have lived for over 700 years. Furthermore, I haven't travelled to Pakistan since my first abduction in 2011 and thus see no reason why I should obtain a Pakistani visa. I was born in Jammu & Kashmir and am working tirelessly for almost 15 years to address our enduring national question. It would be almost impossible for me to travel anywhere in the world without a direct link that bypasses the territory of China, India and Pakistan. I have never obstructed or worked against the genuine national interests of the United Kingdom and appreciate that at least 4 generations of my family and more than 8 generations (since the 1880s) of people from my territory have enjoyed the dispensation of justice. economic opportunity, security of life, wealth and honour among many other benefits including a world class education system. 
- However, the above does not in any way immunise the UK government from its share of responsibility for what happened here in 1947. Indeed, many people throughout South Asia are still suffering from that legacy. The UK's fixed stance of relying on Indo-Pak bilateralism is a closed door and qualifying that with asking both countries to take into consideration the will of the 'Kashmiri' people is a cruel joke given the standard of freedom of expression and assembly here. Quoting UN resolutions is equally cruel as we are not even a party in that framework, which is essentially a land dispute between 2 neighbours, both of whom invoke question marks over how they entered this territory in 1947. 
- We suggest that the UK takes the lead in recognising an internal J & K political process without external interference. The international community can do much to ensure our basic fundamental rights are protected in this regard. It is impossible for us to negotiate our future with a proverbial 'gun to our head'.       

End of report......

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Some thoughts about Kashmir's independence, from Germany:



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From Germany back to the United Kingdom - on opposite sides in the 1st and 2nd world wars of the 20th century - Germany seems to have learned from its mistakes but we are still waiting for the remnants of the British empire to come round:



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This is what I call biting off more than what one can chew! Thank you Pakistan:

Schedule 4 has been imposed in POJK. Public processions & demonstrations are totally banned. Violators will enjoy 6 months to 10 years jail term. Pakistan is forgetting that none can kill our freedom movement #StandWithPNA #QuitJammuKashmirMovement ⁦@UN⁩ ⁦@BBCWorld⁩ pic.twitter.com/VViJTp1vBJ

— JKPNP (@JKPNP3) November 3, 2019

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