Daily Diary (DD) - Day 108 of 2023

1707hrs:

No more slips ups in 2023 hopefully.

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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:

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 127 of 2022

2026hrs:

Break day 13 of district (Kotli) wide tour

Who knows when and where one's final destination will be but being in your homeland when the time comes has to be a luxury in this well travelled world.

A dear uncle of mine (Uncle Latif) died about 5 thousand miles away, a few days ago.

This is how far our tribe have migrated en masse in any serious manner, in the past 800 years at least.

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I was sent a request today by a co-citizen of mine in Turkey to obtain a report from UNMOGIP, which he needed as a reference for the purposes of immigration (which you will find in the following request to UNMOGIP on 11/06/22). Before that, I did try to contact the UNMOGIP office in Rawalpindi on numerous occasions but without success. I also tried other means too from within the UN mechanism but again, without success.

Update (11/06/2022):

Here's the text of the written request:

Obtaining a copy of a field report by UNMOGIP in AJK (ref. 15/11/2017)

This is Tanveer Ahmed, an independent action-oriented public policy researcher working uninterrupted on the ground in AJK since April 2005.

From time to time, we receive requests for vital information from our public, which they are unable to source through other means. Over the years it has become increasingly difficult to contact - in any shape or form - UNMOGIP or any other UN department which has a direct impact on the day to day lives of civilians living on this side of the LOC (The Pakistani controlled side), from our working perspective. We do understand that for all practical purposes - the people here - do not exist, just a neighbouring army with which you liaise. 

This particular case for which information is desperately sought by our co-citizen, is described as follows:

Details:

Aqeel Rauf

of

Village: Chattar South

Union Council (UC): Seri

Tehsil: Khuiratta

District: Kotli

AJK

On the 10th of November 2017 the Indian army bombarded this side of the LOC with artillery shells which hit his home. He was also injured and his home was severely damaged. Some members of UNMOGIP did subsequently visit his home and assessed the damage done, on the 15th of November 2017. 

What he requires is a copy of the report that they wrote in reference to the scene, for the purposes of the law and order authorities where he is residing as a war torn refugee, in exile.   

Some photos of the UNMOGIP visit that day can also be provided, if necessary.

We hope you can understand and forgive our sarcasm. After all, we have been stuck in a political straightjacket for 75 years and all peaceful, ethical, democratic and legal avenues seem to have been shut water tight but we'll battle on for the sake of humanity.

Regards

Tanveer Ahmed

Web: ajkpublicagency.org

Contact: 00923430860380

Twitter: @sahaafi

End of written request on UNMOGIP's website:

I received confirmation that the request had been received by them, as follows: 

However, to date (13/08/22) I have not received a response. In the interim, I had sent a note to Dr. Nazir Gilani who heads Jammu Kashmir Council on Human Rights (JKCHR) on 04/07/22 to pursue this request, if possible. In response, he said he would notify the 'Situation Centre' in New York where UNMOGIP reports are submitted and urge them to make such reports public. 

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 162 of 2020

2331hrs:

3 different exercises requiring an hour each per day every day for 6 days a week.

I've just about reached that milestone today.

Will the body build or break is almost similar to the question of Jammu Kashmir & Allied.

With Beijing, Delhi and Islamabad engaged, we need to return from New York to London.

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 270 of 2019

2156hrs:

A day among a few days in the year that belong to New York, where India and Pakistan refresh their membership of the community that is known as the United Nations.

Earlier, we came across this:

I had this say:

Does #ImranKhanAtUN mean what he says or is he following the tradition of calculated ambiguity about Pakistan's role in #JandK ?


2 weeks ago on this day, 21 year old Khwaja Mujtaba Bandey was arrested & tortured for chanting slogans for an independent Kashmir, in front of Imran Khan in Muzaffarabad: Link

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I hadn't listened to Imran Khan's speech at the General Assembly yet but decided to fire another salvo on Facebook, while he was speaking:

For those of you who can't read the text of the post:

We of the table strive for the battlefield to be dismantled, from our territory if not the world.

Who is preventing the construction of this home-made table?


Identify the alleged and activate the judicial process in #Gilgit #Jammu #Leh #Muzaffarabad and #Srinagar

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 269 of 2019

2340hrs:

We not only remember the fallen......we take inspiration from them too:

Red salute 2 the struggle of martyred #JKNSF leader comrade #Fahim_Akram on his 28th death anniversary.We will continue de mission of every comrade who resisted against occupation & died with the dream of independence. #Quit_JammuKashmir_Movement #IndependentJK #PNA #StandWithPNA pic.twitter.com/x3U8SmjTJz

— JKPNP (@JKPNP3) September 26, 2019

Here's a testimony from a member of the martyr's family:

"Today on 26 September 1991 we lost our beloved brave family member Faheem Akram Shaheed (Martyr) of JKNSF/JKNAP. My social media activism is a tribute for him. I started on 26 September 2018 last year."

End of testimony.... 

.......

This is sensitive but it is genuinely a part of our internal narrative in AJK:

Jammu Kashmir: Every single drop of blood, coffins, harrsment, humiliation, rape & even dreams of freedom being sold out by some traders in the fold of religion. JK peoples must stand up against such traders now. #Quit_JammuKashmir_Movement #IndependentJK #PNA #StandWithPNA pic.twitter.com/97usmgpmYR

— JKPNP (@JKPNP3) September 26, 2019

Yes, the poster to our right merits translation in public interest, especially for global civil society.

Thus:

The people of Pakistan! Come Forward

Become a balm for the wounds of the Kashmiri public

To highlight the case of the Kashmiri public at a global level

GIVE FINANCIAL DONATIONS

To remain active on the diplomatic, public and global arena

To conduct relief work for the Kashmiris


JAMAAT E ISLAMI PAKISTAN

End of translation of poster.....

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I am yet to attend this annual event. This is some form of consolation for the time being until I do. I shall also write a summarised version of his background in political activism and the events leading up to his murder in 1991 here:

فہیم تیرا قافلہ رکا نہیں جھکا نہیں✌️#RedSaluteToFahimShaheed pic.twitter.com/wC3YX3MB8F

— Adil Nazir (@adilnazir346) September 26, 2019

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Times Square in New York this evening. I remember the place vividly from my visit once upon a time. There probably is no square in the world more prominent than this and the wording is quite precise too:



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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 228 of 2019

1956hrs:

This morning I was rudely awakened by an email alert that informed me that my online petition to the UK parliament, submitted on the 11th of August had been rejected!

Details of email:

Dear Tanveer Ahmed,

We rejected the petition you created – “Take your share of responsibility for the avoidable dispute over Jammu & Kashmir”.

It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.

Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action. We're not sure exactly what you'd like the UK Government or Parliament to do. You could start a new petition explaining clearly what you would like the Government or Parliament to do.

Click this link to see your rejected petition: View your rejected petition

End of email....

Here's the text of the petition:

Take your share of responsibility for the avoidable dispute over Jammu & Kashmir

(Title of Petition is limited to 80 letters)

At least 5 reasons: 

-Words 'for ever' used n Article 1 of AmritsarTreaty 1846

-Maharaja's bid to avoid accession dilemma foiled by Brits pre1947

-BhutanBurmaNepalSikkimSriLanka avoided such, why not J&K?

-IIA 05/07/1947 still makes UK liable authority

-Mountbatten's proviso on J&K's accession.

(Background is limited to 300 letters)

We appreciate that J & K is coveted for its geography & water resources. We also understand that the issue of water was raised in British parliamentary debates pre 1947. However, dividing the region on the basis of religious identity was always going to be a recipe for war & existential claims on water. As the UK oversaw all that happened & didn't directly suffer from the decisions it made, it has a moral responsibility as well as technical grounding to take its share of responsibility to avert.

(More information is limited to 500 letters)

This reminded me of the difficulties I had in trying to obtain details of their communication with the Dogra rulers pre 1947, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Reference is linked here:

I have written the following to the petitions committee: 

I've given reasons for why the UK are at least partly responsible for the J & K issue and as the petition title suggests, specifically ask the UK government to take a share of that responsibility. Defining what those responsibilities are should be a matter for debate in parliament, based on interaction with appropriate stakeholders in the J & K dispute. Forgive the cliche but this is a process and not an event. One could provide a longer detailed specific plan on request. Given that we are given only 80 letters to draft our initial petition, is there any scope for us to challenge the original decision to reject the petition?

........

While I wait for a response to my possibility of challenging the rejection of the petition, I will be writing to my local MP in Luton, Kelvin Hopkins on the possibility of moving an EDM (Early Day Motion) in the parliament on this very subject.

Meanwhile, here's a freshly worded petition. I wonder if this passes the parliamentary radar:

Support democracy in an internal J & K political process, not Indo-Pak hegemony.

Our forbears in J & K pre 1947 were transitioning from autocracy to democracy. Post 1947, we feel even more disenfranchised for becoming victims of an imposed land dispute that consequently nullified indigenous voices & divided our State. This transition was effected by the British Parliament. 

Having adhered to a long deliberated sequence of independent research in AJK since 2005, an internal political process has been created here. Link: http://bit.ly/2ZbUxIR Since 1947, many a MP in the UK has reiterated that J & K belongs to its people & only they can determine their future. What was lacking was an internal resolution process & the UK's disinclination to share responsibility in this avoidable dispute. Our geography & water resources should be a blessing for humanity, not a curse.

End of petition...

For some contextual background, one could also read this article I wrote for Rising Kashmir in Srinagar on February the 9th, 2011 entitled, Britain's responsibilities in Kashmir 

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I don't think I need to add anything on the UN Security Council deliberations in New York today:

@Biiiyaa This happened. pic.twitter.com/cQ9u54P9Vu

— Sharjeel Khan (@SharjeeelTweets) August 16, 2019

.......

This too:

But, Pakistan can say that we internationalized Kashmir. That's the biggest bullshit I have ever seen. South China Sea is internationalized, ICJ has a damn verdict about it. Has it changed the status quo? It did NOT, despite all ASEAN and shit. International bodies can't do shit.

— Sharjeel Khan (@SharjeeelTweets) August 16, 2019

..........

Apologies...this too:

Hey @Natsecjeff
I seriously think China put UNSC meeting just to satisfy Pakistan.
That too a closed door meeting.
Moreover China is concerned about CPEC on one side and it can't speak more as it has Hong Kong issue.
So it tried it's best to make Pakistan happy.

— Akki (@Akki63434363) August 16, 2019

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I'm always keen to receive academic critique on my work and in this respect I'm equally keen on taking questions from experts, academics, think-tanks and political scientists in general.

Here's an example of part of an exchange today:

Me:

Their (Pakistan's) internal contradictions have reached a nadir. They are now at the most difficult crossroads of their 72 year history.

Academic/Expert:

What kind of internal contradictions are these in your opinion?

Me:

- To support self determination for the Valley of Kashmir and deny it to AJK and GB.

- To change demographics of AJK and GB and protest such changes in Indian-controlled J & K.

- To insist that it is an advocate of J & K at the cost of drowning the internal narrative and then seek to find more powerful advocates than itself to support its point of view on J & K.

- To insist that it is a stakeholder on the basis of UN security resolutions which made it a respondent to India's complaint that it was an invader. To dance around steps suggested to it to demilitarise and use its presence in UN deliberations as a means to control AJK and GB, repress their citizens and loot their resources. To cry 'UN resolutions' and 'Our Principled Stand' yet engage in bilateral negotiations with India to divide the territory. To launch militancy across the LOC in parallel to such negotiations and lofty rhetoric.

- To describe yourself as a fortress of Islam yet unable to muster any practical support from the Muslim World.

- To base your economy on conflict, chicanery, magnificent delusions and naked self-interest, gradually hollowing out your economy for 80% of your citizens.

- To indulge in geographic expansion when your economy and standard of governance is in the pits of hell.

End of discussion.....

There are of course many more contradictions that can be cited.

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I would add the following to the tweet below. Hypocrisy has no religion or nationality either:

All liquor stores in Pakistan are registered under a Hindu or a Christian name but mostly owned by Muslims. Money has no religion. https://t.co/gwJ9ssbBr6

— Puffin Man (@junaidakram83) August 16, 2019

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Its difficult enough for a public rights activist to gain the attention of the powers-that-be in a conflict zone, even the world's premier institution for human rights is having trouble communicating too:

“According to the UN records, more than 20 such visit requests, including to Kashmir, are pending at present. UN sources also said that between 2016-2018, the OHCHR Special Rapporteurs had sent as many as 58 communications, and had received no response” https://t.co/5sprwgg1Y5

— Hannah Barry (@h_barh) August 15, 2019

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 157 of 2019

2237hrs:

Towards the end of the second day of Eid, all those 'after Ramadhan' resolutions made during the holy month are beckoning.  

Meanwhile, if the following isn't potentially explosive - from an awareness and lobbying point of view - I don't know what is. 



Our diaspora throughout the relatively mature democracies of the world are an unparalleled force for sustainable peace and genuine democracy in AJK.

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Freedom of Movement across the LOC

Is it possible? Tomorrow may spring a surprise.

Tried contacting the UN's Political Affairs Dept. all day (New York's day that is) over the telephone....No luck, do they not work on a Friday? Are they all Muslims? I doubt it! Let's see what transpires tomorrow...A prominent PK channel will also be covering events at Seri - Khuiratta. The UN's Secretary General is in the region too and he's already given a strong statement in reference to the will of the people of Kashmir earlier today. Not to forget that PK's ISI is also working hard to subvert whatever is planned by JKNSF for tomorrow. Oh and last but not necessary least, Yasin Malik is due in Kotli on Sunday.

The letter that we wrote to them is available to read at the following link:

Seeking the advice of the UN's Political Affairs Department in crossing the LOC

Earlier in the month we had met the UNMOGIP representatives at their Kotli office where we handed them a memorandum from JKNSF (Jammu Kashmir National Students Federation) and also discussed our legal right to meet our brethren in Jammu:

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