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Mirwaiz Omar Farooq Mirwaiz Omar Farooq All Parties Hurriyat Conference Afghanistan/South Asia Kashmiri At Large 20050611  

India-Pakistan
3 JeM militants killed in Tral
2019-03-12
[Daily Excelsior] Three murderous Moslems of Jaish-e-Mohammad
...literally Army of Mohammad, a Pak-based Deobandi terror group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in 2000, after he split with the Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin. In 2002 the government of Pervez Musharraf banned the group, which changed its name to Khaddam ul-Islam and continued doing what it had been doing before without missing a beat...
 (JeM) were killed in a shootout with security forces at Pinglish village of Tral in South Kashmire’ s Pulwama district today.

A joint team of Army’s 42 RR, 180 batallion of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Police launched cordon and search operation in Pinglish village after reports about presence of three murderous Moslems in the village including one local Mudasir Ahmad and two foreigners.

As the search party reached near the house in which murderous Moslems were hiding, they were fired upon by murderous Moslems from inside the house, triggering a shootout. The troops encircled the house trapping them inside.

The intermittent firing continued throughout the day and the house in which the murderous Moslems were hiding was razed to rubble. Three murderous Moslems were killed and two bodies of the murderous Moslems were recovered from the debris of the house along with two AK-47 rifles and one pistol.

The identities of the slain murderous Moslems are yet to be ascertained. The search operation is still going on in the area.

The bodies were charred and beyond the recognition as the house where the murderous Moslems were hiding was set on fire.

The internet services in the Awantipora area was suspended to prevent any violence during the operation.

And parts of Srinagar city observed shutdown today against summoning of Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Omar Farooq to New Delhi by the National Investigating Agency (NIA).

The shutdown in the area was called by the traders of the area in protest against his summoning. Authorities had imposed restrictions in parts of the city to prevent any violence in the area.

The separatists termed the NIA summons to Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Geelani’s son Syed Naseem Geelani and asking them to present themselves before NIA court in New Delhi on Monday, as sheer political vendetta.

They said that NIA raids on the residences of leaders and their relatives followed by summoning them to New Delhi is a fresh attempt to build pressure on the leadership to push them into submission.

They strongly denounced the arrest spree, ban on Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
, slapping of PSA on JKLF chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik
...chairman of one of the two factions of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front. JKLF is a Kashmiri nationalist organization founded in Birmingham, UK in 1977. Branches weren't actually established in Kashmir for another ten years. It has the usual demands for separation of J&K from secular India so it can become an independent Islamic rathole. It seems to have no interest in Pak Kashmir breaking away to join it. In 1994 Malik renounced violence after he was released from jail and from that point he and his organization pursued peaceful means to impose their will on the region...
 and many others, harassing and intimidating the youth and elderly, vandalizing Properties, injuring the youth in peaceful protests, imposing curbs and restrictions in down town.

The leadership hailed the support extended by the traders, transporters and other segments of the society to the leadership and thanked them and asked that normal life should be resumed on March 11.
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India-Pakistan
Mumbai attack culprits should be punished: FM
2010-11-27
[Pak Daily Times] Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi on Friday said that Pakistain strongly condemns the Mumbai attacks and wishes to see the culprits involved in the incident punished.

He said Pakistain wants friendly relations with India and to resolve all outstanding issues including Kashmire, Siachin, Sir Creek and river water share through dialogue.

Qureshi was talking to newsmen after laying the foundation of a water supply scheme at UC-80, Makhdoom Rasheed, in the rural suburbs of Multan.

He said that Pakistain had exchanged information with India and also given some suggestions in this connection. He termed the news regarding permission for drone strikes in Balochistan as baseless. The Foreign Office has already rejected the news, he said.

To a question about USAID complaint to NAB regarding corruption by NGOs in funds meant for flood-hit people, Qureshi said that the issue was not related to the government. It was government's thinking that funds should be spent through the government to help the flood-hit people, he added.

He said that government would have taken the responsibility and opted for the audit if the funds been spent through it. But funds were spent by NGOs, he added.

Qureshi condemned the attack on Mirwaiz Omar Farooq and said that action should be taken against those involved in it. He said that Kashmireis' struggle was peaceful and termed the attack as an attempt to harm this peaceful struggle.

To a question, he said that matter of reduction in UK visas for Paks was not related to Aasia Bibi's case. Our point of view is clear that no one should be punished without justice.

He said that people who believe in the holy books fully respect last Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PTUI!). He urged the people not to try to settle their personal scores by taking undue advantage of the blasphemy law.
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India-Pakistan
Pak will continue to support Kashmiris: Qureshi
2010-11-20
[Pak Daily Times] Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi on Wednesday said the government would continue to extend moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmireis and highlight the issue.

Talking to news hounds after offering Eid prayers at Shah Rukn-e-Alam Mosque, he dispelled the impression that the issue had been dropped from the UN agenda.

Kashmire issue was still on the United Nation's agenda, he said, adding that it was baseless news.

Qureshi hailed policies of the government, adding the issue was highlighted with a new spirit and the voices of the victims of Kashmire resonated across the world. He said Kashmirei leaders, particularly Mirwaiz Omar Farooq and Syed Ali Geelani, were satisfied with the role of Pakistain concerning this burning issue.

The foreign minister condemned the atrocities being committed by the Indian army in the held valley, saying it was blatant human rights
... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you...
 violation, which must be stopped at the earliest.

Regarding recent visit of US President Barrack Obama to India, he said it was a scheduled visit. "Both Pakistain and Indian are enjoying relations with the US through their own perspectives," he added.

He said Pakistain retained equal importance in the region and President B.O. had decided to visit Pakistain in 2011.

He welcomed the role of international community for helping flood-affected people in the country.
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India-Pakistan
India reimposes curfew in parts of Kashmir
2010-07-11
SRINAGAR - Indian authorities on Saturday re-imposed a curfew several hours ahead of schedule in some areas of Kashmir, including parts of the main city Srinagar, in response to protesters attacking security forces with stones, police said.

Authorities late on Friday had lifted a four-day long curfew that was introduced after some of the largest protests in two years against India rule.

The curfew was to have come back into force later on Saturday evening, but was brought forward after police and protesters clashed in several places in the volatile region. In Srinagar, thousands of protesters led by separatist leader Mirwaiz Omar Farooq marched the streets demanding freedom.
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India-Pakistan
Hurriyat man, four others killed; curfew in Srinagar
2008-08-12
Indian troops have been authorized to use lethal force against anyone crossing the LOC. Ten are confirmed dead in Police firing
Five persons, including senior Hurriyat Conference leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz, were killed as police and security forces resorted to firing to disperse thousands of people marching towards Line of Control in north Kashmir's Baramulla district. Hundreds of people, including Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi and Hurriyat leader Shabir Shah have been injured in the firing incidents across the Valley.
Guess Asiya Andrabi won't be throwing acid on anyone for a while
The hospitals, facing acute shortage of life-saving drugs and first-aid supplies, are filled with injured persons. The authorities clamped curfew in Srinagar city to counter backlash but resentment is brewing in every nook and corner of the Valley.

The Governor Administration has not issued any details on the happenings of the day. All the provincial and district heads of police and bureaucracy remained tightlipped on the worsening situation, which emerged in reaction to the "economic blockade" of Kashmir valley by protesters of Jammu.

The fruit growers and dealers of Kashmir had announced that they will take the fruit-laden trucks to Muzaffarabad. The call was endorsed by both factions of Hurriyat Conference and mainstream People's Democratic Party, which was part of coalition Government till June last. The fruit growers alleged that apples and pears worth crores of rupees rotted in the trucks as Jammu protesters demanding return of forest land to Amarnarth Shrine Board refused to allow them pass through Jammu for the past one month.

Sources said that Sheikh Aziz and Shabir Ahmad Shah were leading tens of thousands of marchers towards Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan occupied Kashmir. They started from fruit market Sopore early in the morning. The procession was fired upon at Sangrama, in which two persons died, but continued to march until it reached Chehal village, 10 km short of border town of Uri. Sources said the Army and the police put barricades before the tempestuous protesters but they refused to turn back. Eyewitnesses said that on failing to turn the marchers back, troops opened fire, which resulted in heavy casualty. More than two dozen injured persons, most of them carrying bullet injuries were carried to Baramulla and Srinagar hospitals where Sheikh Aziz and three other succumbed to injuries. Sources said that Shiekh Aziz was hit in his abdomen.

The agitators set ablaze police station at Baramulla and destroyed dozens of police and security bunkers. They also torched the residential house of a SHO who allegedly ordered to fire upon the marchers at Chehal village.

Early morning, thousands of people marched from many city areas towards the Parimpora Fruit Mandi, the venue for the Muzaffarabad march. When the protesters reached near Karan Nagar, police and troops, which were deployed in advance, cane-charged the protesters besides firing in air. Chairperson of Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Syed Asiya Andrabi also fered injury in the incident. Undeterred by massive use of force, the protesters, however, carried on with the march and they were joined by thousands on their way.

When the procession reached Qamarwari, police again used force to quell the protesters .The police also resorted to firing resulting in the death of Ishfaq Ahmad Mir besides injuries to dozens.

The police had put barricades on Srinagar-Jammu national highway to prevent thousands of marchers from south Kashmir. More than a dozen marchers were injured at Shopian and Samboora villages.

Reports said that Sheikh Aziz's body was taken to Jamia Masjid in old Srinagar where appeals are being made to the people to come out for protests and defy prohibitory orders. The Hurriyat Conference has announced that burial of the slain Hurriyat leader would not take place until house-arrested Mirwaiz Omar Farooq and Syed Ali Geelani are freed.
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India-Pakistan
Kashmir ceasefire: remembering failure
2007-10-14
Early this morning, Zafar Bhat prayed at the unmarked graves of two Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists who had been killed by the Central Reserve Police Force in Srinagar before dawn.

On Eid-ul-Fitr tomorrow (depending of course on the sighting of the moon) , Mr. Bhat says, he intends to visit Shamima Badroo, the wife of the top Hizb ul-Mujahideen commander who led the terror group into a short-lived ceasefire in 2000-2001. Dr. Badroo, a well-respected medical practitioner was shot eight times by a Lashkar-e-Taiba hit squad last year, leaving her paralysed from the neck down.

Strange? “There’s no point harbouring resentments against the dead,” Bhat says.

Six years ago, Bhat was among a core group of Pakistan-based Hizb ul-Mujahideen commanders who led the organisation’s efforts to initiate a dialogue with India. In December 2000, on the eve of the month of Ramzan, Hizb ul-Mujahideen commander Mohammad Yusuf Shah declared a ceasefire. Although Shah withdrew the ceasefire eight days later, the Government of India terminated offensive operations for five months.

But fatalities mounted as anti-ceasefire terror groups like the Lashkar escalated hostilities to undermine the peace process. Although Dr. Badroo’s husband, Hizb deputy chief Abdul Majid Dar, struggled to revive the peace process of which the ceasefire was a part, he was eventually assassinated by hardliners within his own organisation. The bitter experience of the Ramzan ceasefire haunts the peace process in Jammu and Kashmir.

Lessons learned
“I think we all made mistakes,” he says. “India’s government,” he argues, “allowed politics to override the peace process. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee first said the negotiations would be held within the framework of insaniyat, human values, not the Constitution. But soon afterwards, both Deputy Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Defence Minister George Fernandes said Kashmir was an inalienable part of India, which weakened the pro-dialogue forces.”

Pakistan and Kashmiri secessionists, Bhat believes, also made mistakes. “When hardliners criticised the government for going along with the ceasefire,” he says, “President Pervez Musharraf backed off. And some All-Parties Hurriyat Conference leaders in Kashmir became worried we, rather than them them, would be the eventual beneficiaries of a dialogue. So they set about sabotaging the dialogue process.”

“The end result was that thousands of people have died since, for nothing,” Bhat says. “What saddens me the most about the failure of the Ramzan ceasefire,” he says, “is that a lot of hard work and lives went to waste. There were secret meetings at the highest levels for months before the decision. I met all the APHC leaders, and consulted with Syed Ali Shah Geelani no less than three times. We’d all agreed it was the best way forward.”

“I’m very happy,” Bhat says, “that the United Jihad Council has declared a ceasefire now. It would have been wiser to proceed down this road in 2001, because the Hizb ul-Mujahideen was militarily much stronger, and the political position of the freedom movement in Kashmir was also better. But it’s never too late to talk peace. We all have no choice.”

From war to peace
After the ceasefire collapsed, Bhat stayed on in Jammu and Kashmir and turned to politics. He founded the Kashmir Salvation Movement, a group of one-time terrorists determined to use democratic means to press for the independence of the state. Closely allied to All Parties Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, the KSM has been a favoured target of hardline terrorists: fifteen of its cadre have been killed since 2005.

The person costs, too, have been enormous. Bhat’s brother, social activist Haji Abdul Gani Bhat, was assassinated by terrorists in 2005. Seven people were injured when a ceremony to mourn his death was also bombed. The ironies aren’t lost on the KSM leader. “I have lost seven members of my family in the violence in Jammu and Kashmir,” he says, “five at the hands of Indian forces.”

Bhat joined the Hizb ul-Mujahideen in 1989, abandoning his job at the Soura Institute of Medical Sciences. A long standing supporter of the Jamaat-e-Islami, he participated in Hizb chief Shah’s unsuccessful attempt to be elected to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly in 1987. Like thousands of other activists of the Muslim United Front, Bhat was jailed for protesting against electoral fraud, and eventually turned to violence.

After a brief stint in the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, which despite its stated secular leanings trained and equipped hundreds of Jamaat-e-Islami cadre, Bhat joined Shah at a Hizb ul-Mujahideen camp in Pakistan. Strangely enough, his mentors there included Abdullah Bangroo — the terrorist who eventually assassinated Mirwaiz Farooq’s father, Maulvi Mohammad Farooq on suspicion of preparing for talks with New Delhi. “Time takes you down some strange roads,” he says, “but like I said, there’s no point harbouring resentments. I think we should look to the future instead.”
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Afghanistan/South Asia
Mirwaiz wants Kashmiri militants to join political mainstream
2005-06-11
KARACHI: A senior moderate separatist leader from the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) on Friday called on militants fighting India's rule in the Indian-held Kashmir to join the political mainstream. "Now the time has come when political and militant wings sit together and formulate a strategy for the settlement of the Kashmir dispute," Mirwaiz Omar Farooq told foreign journalists in Karachi. He pointed to the example of Northern Ireland, where militants had backed a political solution to end decades of Protestant-Catholic violence in the British-ruled province.
"... and look how well that's been working!"
"At this juncture, political leadership should play a leading role with the support and consensus of militant leadership in finding a just solution to the Kashmir problem," Farooq said.
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