Daily Diary (DD) - Day 267 of 2019

1851hrs:

Earlier this afternoon:

The earth has just shook heavily for almost a minute in Dadyaal......just a minute ago.......

AJ English were very quick in breaking the news worldwide:

No confirmation on any possible casualties from the earthquake in Mirpur, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, yet. Disaster management officials say reviewing reports of infrastructure damage, particularly to roads. All the latest on @AJEnglish here: https://t.co/XvHuY9BqNu

— Asad Hashim (@AsadHashim) September 24, 2019

Just over 2 hours later:

#EarthquakeAlert, Pakistan's #Mirpur earthquake death Toll rises 19. With Over 300 injured, Says SSP Mirpur#EarthquakeInPakistan#earthquake pic.twitter.com/RjOwiri4gQ

— Ghulam Abbas Shah (@ghulamabbasshah) September 24, 2019

Mirpur, Jammu and Kashmir acknowledged by Facebook

Reflecting on what happened on a day which will be remembered as the 24th of September, the day of the Mirpur Earthquake:

It felt as if the earth underneath us suddenly transformed into sea waves...such was the vibration....

The death toll is going to continue to rise unfortunately, as are other losses.....it could be days before we can correctly assess the extent of damage.

It is comforting to notice so many people active on social media responding to relief and rehabilitation efforts so rapidly.

AJK has already received an unprecedented level of attention from global media in these past few weeks and now this happens...we thank humanity, our neighbours and global institutions for their continued attention.

List of the people who died and injured today in #earthquake #Mirpur #Jammu #Kashmir pic.twitter.com/F3uU8DxNhk

— #SaveRiverSaveMuzaffarabad (@khawajaatteeq) September 24, 2019

The use of the word Pakistan to describe disaster in AJK is a bit irksome, though we appreciate the attention and solidarity:

My condolences, on behalf of all of us at the British High Commission, to everyone affected by today’s earthquake in Pakistan. We are in close touch with the local authorities. https://t.co/aLIjxjTShb

— Thomas Drew (@TomDrewUK) September 24, 2019

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This issue has been heavily monitored by the people of Jammu & Kashmir over the past few days and further pinpoints the inability of the Pakistani State to advocate for J & K:

شاہ محمود اور عمران دونوں نے کہا کہ ہمارے پاس 50 سے زیادہ ممالک کی حمایت ہے اس کے باوجود 19 ستمبر تک قرارداد کیوں نہ پیش کی گئی جسکے لیے صرف 16 ووٹ درکار تھے؟؟#ImranKhanDoctrine pic.twitter.com/Be1I0MjkZL

— Engr AQ Khan (@aq263) September 23, 2019

The tweet is translated thus:

Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Imran Khan both have said that we have the support of over 50 countries. Despite that, why could they (Pakistan) not submit a resolution on the 19th of September, for which they needed just 16 votes?

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 253 of 2019

2243hrs:

We have finally arrived at the most serious end of State (re)formation in J & K.

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Good to see politicians in the UK pro-active on Kashmir but there remains a hazard:



I thought it fit to respond to this short, sharp yet highly informative video with the following remark within the post:

Everything you say is timely but your final suggestion in reference to the United Nations is deflective. I mean that it possibly deflects away the responsibility of the UK and is likely to confine the issue to regional bilateralism. There is a danger of us continuing to pass the buck between the regional and international order without any consideration for the local order in J & K, which holds the solution. 

End of my short speech to the Labour Party MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill..... 

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Equally active perhaps is this MEP from the Midlands too:



He responded to my friend's query about the slogan 'Kashmir Banega Pakistan' (Kashmir will become Pakistan) in relation to Pakistan's claim of advocating for self-determination.

Phillip Bennion to Sagir Ahmed:

I opened my statement saying that calling for Kashmir to join Pakistan was one of the road blocks to a solution. At no point did he counter this in his reply. He did refer to the autonomy agreed by India in the original agreement with the Maharajah

End of Phillip Bennion's response in the FB post above......

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 225 of 2019

0546hrs:

The heat of Dadyaal is incessant.....

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If I can respond (along with so many others which may decrease my chance of actually getting through to him) for the sake of posterity - if anything - to Jeremy Corbyn then doing likewise with a seemingly buoyant Narendra Modi shouldn't be too much of a leap in imagination:

We salute them all 2. Now that #JandK is free of emotional blackmailers & this is a victory 4 people's empowerment; that has to be created from within, surely? No doubt the #BJP also grew from within 2 become the formidable force it is today. We maintain our faith in democracy. https://t.co/VBz6MORtny

— Tanveer Ahmed (@sahaafi) August 12, 2019

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This may be a very apt lesson for the stricken aspiring citizens of an undivided J & K:

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This could possibly be one of the major highlights of Shah Mahmood Qureshi's visit to AJK yesterday:



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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 224 of 2019

1336hrs:

It is Eid today and this is the first time in over 2 years of living in Dadyaal, that I'm celebrating Eid here.

It could and perhaps should've been Eid on the LOC but it can be described as Eid on the cold border. This is how we describe our border with Pakistan, as opposed to the frequently hot border at the LOC.

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Earlier this morning, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistan's foreign minister read Eid in AJK's capital Muzaffarabad. As soon as he came out the public began chanting slogans of, "Azaadi is paar bhi lengey..Azaadi us paar bhi lengey" (Freedom we will take on this side..Freedom we will take on that side too) repeatedly:



Pakistan's graph in AJK has dwindled rapidly since India's seemingly unilateral action to downgrade 48% of the State of J & K into 2 union territories of India. 

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I have elaborated at some length on that previous sentence here:



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....Yes, this gentleman in Azaadi Chowk Muzaffarabad is asking Pakistan to sit down, repeatedly. That it has stood for too long for Kashmir and Kashmiris....it must be tired....

Fantastic.......words of the week perhaps..... https://t.co/iUuBOFezeP

— Tanveer Ahmed (@sahaafi) August 12, 2019

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