A Journey in Jammu Kashmir & Allied areas (JKA)............................
from Subject to Citizen
.........autocracy to democracy
.........Dogra Raaj to Awaami Raaj
.........1947 CE to...........................
#WhiteFlags
#Neutrality
#WaterManagement #MirpurtoLondonviaCentralAsia
We drive on..............conscious of all those specks of information that undesirably get ignored along the way.
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Manzoor Pashteen (27 year old chairman of 'Pashtun Tahafuz - Protection - Movement') is dominating public space in AJK for the past few days, particularly after JKNSF (Jammu Kashmir National Student's Federation) invited him to their convention, to be held in Kotli on the 24th and 25th of December.
چلو چلو کوٹلی چلو سربراہ پشتون تحفظ تحریک منظور پشین کو کوٹلی آمد پر خوش آمدید کہتے ہیں 24_25 دسمبر 23واں مرکزی خودمختار جموں کشمیر کنونشن بمقام کوٹلی پاکستانی مقبوضہ جموں کشمیر.#JKNSF#PTMpic.twitter.com/zLQVbvLVyc
Yesterday, the 'home department' of AJK came into action with the following notification to effectively ban Manzoor Pashteen from entering as well as publicly speaking in AJK:
جے کے این ایس ایف ا ایسے تمام ہتھکنڈوں کو مسترد کرتی جن سے ریاست جموں کشمیر کی عوام کی آواز دبانے کی کوشش کی جائے، نام نہاد آزاد کشمیر میں تمام پاکستانی لیڈروں بشمول حافظ سعید اور معسود اظہر جیسے دہشتگردوں کو سرکاری طور پروٹوکول میں لایا جاتا ہے تو پھر منظور پشین پر پابندی کیوں. pic.twitter.com/xG7msjM4Pm
Since, this issue emerged I have been requested by various co-citizens - including the current chairman of JKNSF namely Faran Mushtaq - to give my opinion on these latest attacks on freedom of speech, expression, assembly and movement conjured up by Pakistan's clandestine agencies; on this occasion by using the obscure 'home department' of AJK as a proxy:
This evening, a programme involving Faran Mushtaq, anchor Khwaja Kabir Ahmed and 2 barristers of Poonch - both based in Canada - namely Junaid Bahadur Khan and Hamid Bashani, discussed this issue threadbare on JKTV:
At some point during the day, Liaqat Hayat of NAP (National Awami Party) who has his own version of JKNSF as a student wing, also challenged the Pakistani State to prevent Manzoor Pashteen from entering AJK, as follows:
Update 24/12/21:
I also chipped in with my Pahaari version of a statement in reference to this critical issue:
Everything is a choice,an opportunity, a risk and a fight between some variation of good and bad.
....
Although this programme actually took place after midnight my time (which is AJK time), in consideration that this discussion took place with someone in the UK namely Claire Bidwell and with somebody in the USA namely Mary Scully, both representing 'Let Kashmir Decide' and both of whom were in a time zone reflecting today's date, I've embedded the programme here:
Now, in just the past few days I've been engaged in two web programmes that were diametrically opposite in their approach. The earlier programme last Sunday was presented from a pro Indian angle and this latter programme today approached the subject with an overwhelming focus on India's role in Jammu Kashmir & Allied areas.
Every angle is entitled to their views just as much as I am entitled to mine, which focuses on neutrality and developing water management technology in this overly contested region.
According to some very senior analysis in this territory it seems the knives are out for me, just like they were for my predecessors (some of whom I didn't agree with). Namely, K. H. Khursheed, Maqbool Bhat, Sardar Qayoom, Sardar Ibrahim, Mirwaiz Yusuf, Choudhary Ghulam Abbas and Mumtaz Rathore. All these were gigantic/titanic personalities but the State (read: Pakistan) did not allow them to flourish. We have everything available but when we go against the State, they have the apparatus, the machinery, they have other resources available to kill us and kill our work..and they succeed. For example, they (read: Pakistan) promote Raja Najabat Hussain who perhaps cannot even write his name (simply meaning that he isn't able to articulate much in writing) but they need him as the latter is ever ready to sell his soul. In reference to me, if they (the Pakistanis) arrest me again, through some pretext or the other (maybe by planting some drugs in my home or whatever), its a strange world.
On my part, I will continue to remain vigilant and preempt anything untoward by Pakistan's clandestine agencies - using the various methods at my disposal - to transition from an economy of war to an economy of peace. Will this make the Pakistani State's raison d'etre and military dominance of society evaporate? I don't want to speculate but pursuing pro life policies for the sake of humanity at large cannot be stalled for the sake of intermittent destruction that benefits the few.
An albatross on the neck of the world's conscience.
It's a shame that I can't detail everything that I notice in public interest every 24 hours. The amount of calls I get on a daily basis informing me of something or the other that merits my attention is unmanageable. One such example was the following protest that blocked the main road between the district capital of Kotli in AJK and Rawalpindi/Islamabad in Pakistan at Potha in Sehnsa, my home subdivision. The issue: Many retired Pakistani army personnel of our territory have not been paid their pensions for months and I understand similar complaints have emerged from other parts of AJK too.
.....
The following is an example of something being published today that I submitted yesterday but had been due many days earlier, if not for the swamp of work at hand:
Many thanks to #NewsIntervention for printing my answers to their questions ad verbatim. It really is a pity that no Pakistani media has ever put any questions to me in 16 yrs & 8 months. It is even more disturbing that #Pakistan is light years behind the rest of the world. https://t.co/p6yesgPgA2
Speaking to someone 43 years older than me and he's sharper than I ever could be.
He's 92 and I'm 49.
He remained sharp throughout the conversation which lasted for over 1 and a half hour.
........
Earlier, I was engaged in a somewhat novel TV discussion aired from Srinagar, which is clearly pro-India in its approach. It was interesting trying to gauge the relative merits or otherwise of India coming to take over this part of Jammu Kashmir & Allied areas compared to the merits of locally conceived strategies for water management and neutrality that I am pursuing. It would also have been meaningful for a Pakistani perspective to have been featured too, rather than seeking answers to Pakistan's ills from me. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the discussion and hope we can build on the engagement in future:
On Youtube:
On Facebook:
I did leave the following comment on their Facebook video:
Thank you for an engaging conversation. I hope we can build on such engagements in an open-minded manner and include further perspectives that exist throughout the State of Jammu Kashmir & Allied.
Very smooth sailing today, except for a couple of minor shortcomings which had been overlooked by public agency....
Just before that a brief interview with a local channel:
.......
Here's advance notice of an upcoming programme on JKTV, to be hosted by 'Let Kashmir Decide':
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I had to make a note of the following video, for its quick witted humour as well as a short yet valuable history lesson:
The above is a screenshot, as alas I cannot embed it here. However, I can provide the link.
My immediate reaction upon watching this video was:
British arrogance or sharpness of mind needed to deal with geopolitics of 21st century?
I then decided to ask Portmir founder Reiss Haidar on what he made of it:
British humour is dry, and you need to live amongst Brits to appreciate what they're like - so I would say alacrity to assimilate information quickly.
I grew up amongst Brits, and this is why I don't feel threatened by them. I understand the humour, the banter, the joking at one's expense, they're just people, ordinary people - the clip you sent is Brits laughing at themselves.
I can put my hand on my heart and say I've experienced more humanity from Brits than I have members of my own ethnic community, and this is me being honest. They don't take liberties, Apne (our people) do, or at least, that's been my experience.
Tribal loyalties borne of deep seated grievances can blind a person, we need to take our intellectual cues from the West because they've become redemptive. We don't need to take sides anymore.
No Brit would have ever dragged you across the floor for removing the Union Jack from Parliament, they're just not like that (white supremacists excluded), but if you listen to people constantly conjuring up the past (Islamists, Marxists, Pan-Africans, Communists, Russians, etc etc) you'd be left with the residue of observations that no longer apply.
They've moved on massively from the days when people were chanting "rule Britannia..." Britain is a very different place today, it's not perfect, but compared to Pakistan and AJK it's a breath of fresh air.
However, I will say that there does seem to be a lot of envy against them, not least because they can lay claim to a heritage that they're still connected to - one that is respected across the world.
It doesn't erase all the bad things of colonialism, but we come from Zamindar backgrounds. How did our people view people lower in the social hierarchy? How do we treat women, children, even the elderly?
Old people's homes? The usual put-down. When I get older I would like to retire to an old people's home even though I took care of my dad before he passed away, because that was his culture, and I honoured his wishes. I know the difference between realities and sentiments.
So, yup geopolitics requires an understanding of raw realities, and not sentiments.
As any regular reader of this weblog can assess, we move from logging one issue to the next - usually without much respite - and the following issue demanding our attention relates to 'Evacuee Properties' or 'Matrooka Jaidaad', as they are referred to in Urdu.
Like most problems affecting the public here, they all either originate from the needless conflict imposed on this region in 1947 or relate to governance - usually the absence of it - and both aspects are usually inter-related or even inter-dependent, when searching for sustainable solutions.
......
Before we enter into specific details of the case I am focussing on; let's provide an overview of the status of the revenue department (Mehekma e Maal) in AJK, courtesy a video report by Dunya News (a prominent Pakistani media channel) on March the 1st 2018:
Let me provide a word for word translation of the video above:
Tazeem Yasin (presenting journalist)
According to jail records there are about 800 prisoners in Azad Kashmir, of which most prisoners have (allegedly) committed a crime - in relation to land disputes - and have landed behind bars in prison.
Lawyer in Muzaffarabad
Our whole judicial system relies on cases generated by the land revenue department. Of which the basic framework begins with the patwari (lowest rung of land record keeping and collecting staff) system, that has held all the public of Azad Kashmir as hostage and I think that if there are reforms conducted within the revenue department, the courts would just have 20% of cases left to resolve.
(Another) Lawyer in Muzaffarabad
Those who are in jail at the moment, those who are facing trial or serving sentences, most of them are comprised of those people who are embroiled in land disputes. Due to the revenue department, particularly due to their incorrect inputs on land record documents. There are murder cases, of which many are due to these incorrect/false inputs on land record documents.
Tazeem Yasin (presenting journalist)
According to judicial statistics too, the cause of most crimes committed is the weak and bogus system of the revenue department.
Journalist in Muzaffarabad
Disputes over land have increased so much, that prisons are being filled and there are thousands of cases which transfer from one generation to the next. The fundamental cause is that written note of the patwari, which who knows developed in which era.
Tazeem Yasin (presenting journalist)
In this modern information technology age we (are still) using a land revenue system developed in the 16th century, which has not been reformed yet. Whereas the hand of the criminal is equipped with modern tools to alter the land record.
As the revenue department's system is outdated and bogus, large financial scandals in Azad Kashmir are also emanating from this very department.
End of translation of video report......
Let's now move on to the private land of Ratan Singh (his widow Kishna Bi) and Sardar Singh (his widow Guru) of Naluchi in Muzaffarabad city, which so happens to be adjacent to the land of the 'Chatti Badshahat' (translated as 'sixth kingdom') in reference to Guru Gobind Singh, the 6th Guru of the Sikhs, after whom this Gurdwara is named.
In old(er) records the names Ratan Singh and Lakha Singh (both sons of Santoo Singh), Sardar Singh, Balwant Singh, Kishna Bi (widow of Ratan Singh), Guru (widow of Sardar Singh), Virnaam Singh, Jagat Singh, Bhagat Singh and Preetam Singh (all aforementioned four were sons of Hukam Singh) who had shared landholdings with Pakka Singh, all feature. Most, if not all of these Sikhs would have very likely had some devotional or even occupational connection with the 'sixth kingdom' of the Sikhs of Muzaffarabad:
We are in search of their descendants wherever they may be in the world, after being forced to flee in the 2 nation theory based 'operation' in 1947. Not least, so that they can help prevent the same tragedy happening to someone else, as happened to them in 1947. Everything does come full circle and humanity has a tradition of biting back.
We know that Ratan Singh and Sardar Singh had children. We also know that the Sikhs living in the area of Naluchi and Gojra - in the vicinity of the gurdwara - were one of the first areas that the tribesmen from Pakistan's then North West Frontier region and beyond attacked around the 22nd of October 1947.
This particular issue has been brought to my attention by Malik Waseem, the son of Ghulam Qadir, whose father was Ahmed Malik, whose wife was Sarwar Jan, the paternal grandmother of Malik Waseem. After Waseem's paternal grandfather Ahmed Malik died in 1952 his paternal grandmother Sarwar Jan later married Sher Khan in 1958. The following is the original certificate confirming proprietary rights ('maalkana huqooq' in local parlance) to this family (to Sarwar Jan) of the land of Ratan Singh (and his descendants) on 25/06/1986:
The above certificate of ownership cannot be obtained without the following declaration form, which clarifies details of the land in question, construction on those lands, details of members of family with proprietary rights, date of initial habitation (occupancy) and date of being allotted:
Malik Waseem's family (grandparents) had migrated to Muzaffarabad from Kupwara in 1947, which came on the Indian side of the divide. Specifically they migrated from what is now Union Council Luderwan, in tehsil (subdivision) Handwara - which was then part of district Baramulla - and is now a part of district Kupwara.
They began habitating on this land in 1949 since when they have been settled here, prior to which they had lived in a refugee camp, since they migrated in 1947. On 16/05/1968, Waseem's paternal grandmother Sarwar Jan was allotted 12 kanaal and 5 marla.
Here's the document (Allotment Chit in local parlance) confirming this:
Kanaal = a unit of area measuring 605 square yards (505.857 square metres) or 1/8th of an acre.
Marla = there are 20 marlas in 1 Kanaal
Malik Waseem's paternal grandmother had over the years forfeited a total of 9 kanaals and 3 marlas to 6 other refugee families who she felt were needy and deserving while retaining the remainder of her entitlement (3 kanaal 2 marlas) for her descendants.
The land in question (3 kanaal 2 marlas) is documented below with the land revenue department ref. 27/06/1986 (2 days after receiving the ownership certificate as shown at the beginning of this post):
Khevat = was Zamindar\'s record of rights prior to Zamindari Abolition
The fifth and final official document outlining her entitlement can be witnessed in the following image, which in local parlance is described as 'Khasra Gardaawari' as recorded before the re-distribution of land in 1997, in reference to the area in question namely 'Naluchi':
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(Update 18/01/22 at 0134hrs):
A lot happened yesterday viz. 17/01/22 and remains unresolved....
I received a call from Malik Waseem at about 1630hrs and sent out the following message when the call ended:
Our friend Malik Waseem has been evicted from his home by AJK police. His family migrated here from Kupwara in 1947. The land belongs to a Sikh family (Evacuee Property) who we have been trying to trace for the last month or so. His whole family is now conducting a sit-in protest on the road and he is threatening to commit suicide in the next hour or so if the Commissioner Muzaffarabad division does not intervene.
The following video was attached too:
The rest of the evening yesterday and up to this point have kept me engaged with Muzaffarabad, a couple of other places in AJK, the UK diaspora and their North American counterparts.
Just over an hour later....
His father has suffered from a suspected heart attack while sitting on the road after being evicted. His elderly mother, wife and 2 young children are also on the road and the police are still giving them a rough time. Meanwhile, Malik's father has been rushed to Ambor hospital:
Malik Waseem's father at Ambor hospital, Muzaffarabad:
At about 2100hrs I am informed that the commissioner suggests that there must be a written complaint in order for official action to be taken. I know Malik Waseem is in no condition to write a complaint and thus I suggest that he send me an audio clip with the necessary details to intimate to the commissioner, which I will then summarise in written form on his behalf.
Here's the letter to the Divisional Commissioner of Muzaffarabad:
Complaint ref. Land issue/eviction from evacuee property
Complainant:
Malik Waseem s/o Ghulam Qadir
ID Card number: 82203-5742876-9
Address: Mohalla Naluchi, Ward number 25, Muzaffarabad - AJK
Addressed to: Divisional Commissioner - Muzaffarabad
Copies to: Global human rights organisations & related miscellaneous
Date: 17/01/2022
Time: 1947hrs
Dear Commissioner
My family (ailing parents, wife and infant children) and I have been sitting outside on the
street since around 1500hrs (3pm) today when we were forcibly evicted from our home by
Saddar (Thana) police - earlier while only womenfolk of the house were present - and they were accompanied by tehsildar Syed Sabir Hussain Naqvi. Our property was sealed in an
opportune manner, without prior notice.
No such legal order to evict us and/or seal our property has been passed by the civil,
session, custodian, high or supreme court. We do not know who ordered this 'action'.
At around 1800hrs (6pm) while sitting with my family on the roadside and whilst trying to
fend off the police and local administration my elderly father suffered a heart attack - he
wasn't allowed access to his medicine at home either - and has since been admitted at
Ambor hospital.
On the 14th of January our stay of execution had been dismissed from civil court number
one. We appealed against this in the district judge's court and received another stay of
execution this morning. Having received this order and before I could reach home I
received a call from my parents that the police had forcibly entered our premises,
frightened my children and humiliated the womenfolk of my house.
Over the past few years, I have been writing excessively on these issues and raised them at
various public forums over the past few years but never received appropriate remedy.
Background:
Raja Tariq Khan was a judge in the Custodian court who visited England some years ago
and during that visit my adversary in this case namely, Sheikh Faisal s/o Fayaz Qureshi
(who resides in the UK) fed many people money in the (land revenue department) chain
from top to bottom, including judge Tariq.
The term 'zaid ul mayaad' (English translation means overdue) was quoted in the earlier
supreme court hearing. Our argument is that we have been living here since 1949 and fraud has been conducted to evict us. It is been allotted to someone else whilst we were still
residing here.
These lands belong to those non Muslims who were killed or driven away from this
territory.
As refugees ourselves, we were allotted this land in 1968 and had been occupying it since
1949. In 1985, we also paid 'maalkana' to the custodian for effective formal occupancy.
Since then, nobody has questioned our presence till 2019 when an application was made in
the tehsildaar's office. Patwari Ghulam Abbas Qureshi at the time misguided my father to
challenge the allotment claimed by the other party (our adversary), which didn't even have
legal status. Thus, the patwari instead of correcting our record put my father on a
deliberately misguided course, as a result of which a 'miyaadi' (effectively time limitation
clause) was enforced.
Demand:
What I am demanding is a comprehensive re-inquiry be conducted of this whole case,
which I allege widespread fraud has been committed over. A commission should be formed comprising of honest people. All the manipulation of land records in the revenue
department should be investigated. For example, the land that we have been allotted (to my paternal grandmother Sarwar Jan); if we cannot stay here then where is the land that we
have been allotted? Who has committed fraud and at what stage was it committed?
I feel that this act is simply a conspiracy to spread anarchy in this region and to spoil the
peaceful environment of AJK. This I understand. The authorities have humiliated and
disgraced us. They have forced us to conduct a sit-in protest on the roadside with nowhere
to go in this freezing cold.
My father is in hospital at the moment and if anything untoward happens to him, I did say
that I will immolate myself (burn myself to death). I have momentarily retreated from that
because the administration is saying that they will now measure the land in question. I
responded that if they do so, then we will get up from the roadside. If indeed the land
measurement exercise clarifies who is entitled to occupancy.
I also put these questions and dilemma to Muzaffarabad's social and political organisations. Furthermore, even local human rights organisations, the press and lawyer's bodies. Is
trespassing into a home of womenfolk and disgracing them an act of humanity? Is this the
standard we have set ourselves? Is duplicity in all matters the norm and are we all resigned
to that?
We remain peaceful. It should be remembered that it was this very AJK government that allotted this land to us and we do not want to fight. All we can do in reaction is sit on the road and protest. At the moment my father is critical in hospital. May Allah give him life and
health. Everything now depends on his unfolding condition and we will lay out our next
plan of action accordingly.
If anything happens to my father I will immolate myself as well as my wife and children;
either in Gilani Chowk, outside the press club or even inside the supreme court itself.
Yours sincerely
Malik Waseem
n.b.
The above letter is a translated summary derived from an audio message in Urdu and sent
to Tanveer Ahmed, an action-oriented public policy researcher working uninterrupted on
the ground in AJK since April 2005.
The audio message as well as further background details on this issue can be accessed at
I'm obviously working now beyond midnight and I do know that a range of negotiations
are taking place near Malik Waseem's 'home'. Here's an example:
As I wrap up for the day - at 0350hrs - some people may wonder why I'm stretching myself to assist Malik Waseem. Well, he has always stretched himself to assist me in matters of public interest - whenever I contacted him - since 2010. He has assisted me in all aspects of our pursuit to revive religious harmony in AJK in general and revitalise the pre-eminent centre of learning at Sharda.
He suffered and faced victimisation as a youth in his student politics days when he was with the JKNSF, facing jail and the prospect of sectarian violence. He feels that he has been targeted more intensely when he acted as one of the hosts of the Hindu (Vijay Abrol) and Sikh (Devinder Singh Behal) in Muzaffarabad, when they visited from across the LOC in 2013.
Needless to say, there are a lot of people who don't like the idea of co-existence, especially between the Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims of Jammu Kashmir & Allied areas (JKA). Anybody working on that line is automatically targeted. Most of us know what happened to Arif Shahid soon after this visit.
According to Malik Waseem, matters intensified when he assisted me in hosting a Hindu couple from Hong Kong when they visited Muzaffarabad in October 2019. The couple achieved a milestone by conducting the first Hindu puja (worship/ritual) on the banks of the river Neelam (Kishenganga) in AJK since 1947.
All told, everything has to be taken into consideration, given that we are part of the most contested territory in the world. The word 'land' takes on new dimensions here. The role of the land mafia ironically connects internal land-grabbing of 2022 with external land grabbing in 1947!
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