Kashmir: Funeral prayers in absentia for Sheikh Osama

SRINAGAR, May 7: Large number of people offered funeral prayers in absentia (Gaibana Nimaz-e-Jinaza) for Osama bin laden at  a number of places in Kashmir valley after Friday prayers today, reports Kashmir Times (6/5)

The appeal for the prayers was made by Syed Ali Shah Geelani chairman Hurriyat Conference (G) yesterday. He himself participated in the Gaibana Nimaz-e-Jinaza at Batamaloo in which large number of people participated.

Senior Hurriyat (M) leader and president of Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) Shabir Ahmad Shah also joined the Gaibana Nimaz-e-Jinaza of Osama  at Saraibala Srinagar.

Reports of offering prayers in absentia were also received from other parts of Srinagar city including Samandar Bagh,, Nowhatta, Shalimar, High Court Complex, Iqbal Park areas. The prayers were also offered at Sopore, Anantnag, Kulgam, Bandipora Shopian and Baramulla.

Addressing people in Batamaloo, Geelani said that Osama achieved martyrdom while fighting against the tyranny of American and its allied countries.

“Osama bin Laden left his entire wealth and joined the Jihad against the policies of America and its allied countries as they started killing Muslims in the world. He (Osama) did not tolerate the American terrorism and started fighting against it. He (Osama) and his supporters are well wisher of the Muslim world and it is the responsibility of the Muslim world to respect his martyrdom,” he said.

The Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman also said that burying the body of Al-Qaeda leader in sea has exposed the real designs of the Americans and its allied countries against the Muslims.

“Throwing a body of a Muslim in sea under mysterious circumstances is against the Muslim values. These kinds of actions will only increase hatred towards America among Muslims and it will intensify resistance against that country,” he said.

Describing Muslims as the peace loving people in the entire world, the Hurriyat (G) chairman said, “Every Muslim loves peace, every Muslim wants prosperity but if they fight against the tyranny of government atrocities they should not be called as terrorists  From Palestine to Kashmir, from Iraq to Afghanistan, people are fighting against polices of the government and foreign aggression. The struggle of Muslim in these countries and other parties of the world will succeed one day as the entire Muslim world is supporting their cause,” he said.

Geelani maintained that Osama was representing right thinking which opposes the foreign occupational forces and gave up his life of comfort to fight for their cause of ending foreign occupation. Earlier, Geelani was placed under house arrest and later released.

The Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) leader Shabir Ahmad Shah after joining the Gaibana Nimaz-e-Jinaza of Osama at Saraibala addressed the people and  said he was one among richest man in the world.

“He (Osama) left his wealth and joined the jihad against those countries, who had started terrorism against the Muslim. His mission was to end foreign occupation of America in entire world. The policies of America and its allied countries are being criticized all around the world as is being treated as anti Muslim. One day the supreme sacrifice of Osama will achieve the result and foreign occupation will end,” he said.

Shah also said that Osama was the well wisher of the people of Kashmir and people of Kashmir will remember his sacrifices for ever.

Later, after the Gaibana Nimaz-e-Jinaza  anti- America demonstrations were held at various places. The protesters later dispersed peacefully, however, stone pelting started in Batamaloo area after the demonstration.  Cops resorted to lathi-charge.

The Assassination of Sheikh Osama bin Laden

Whose gain, whose loss?
THE MISSION OSAMA

BUT THE BIGGER QUESTION IS THIS. WAS OSAMA WORTH TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS US SPENT ON TRACKING HIM DOWN AND THOUSANDS OF INNOCENTS KILLED IN THE PROCESS, reports SHOAIB SHAH

Obama announces Osama dead. Congratulations America, Congratulations Obama. You have done it. Good Job. And here does the American and others celebrate the death for most of the people of the world this day marks as an end of the terrorist activities to a very significant level. All accepted, but do we realize what Americans have lost and what exactly they have gained. The US president applauded his team who were involved in the killing of Osama Bin Ladin but here should we not understand that Osama was just an ordinary man, an individual whom the US itself projected as the world’s most wanted and the number one threat to the American race inspite of the fact that no concrete proof was established for his involvement of the September 11 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Opinion Research Business published an update to the survey on 28 January 2008, indicating the death figures in Iraq Conflict crossing 1,033,000 and an estimated cost of three Trillion Dollars. The result of the three Trillion dollar war is just a mere assassination of an individual called Osama. Was Osama’s life worth killing millions of innocents and spending trillions of dollars? Similar persons who are involved in the killing of innocents through fake encounters wander freely here in the Kashmir and they are no other than the top officers of the Indian army and paramilitary persons, whom the government have given medals and mementos for the killings and when the government acquire the proof for their involvement in the innocent killings, the officials are either retired as top brass commanders and majors enjoying a luxurious life in some foreign country or are either dead. No doubt that these officials are not involved in such huge magnitude of slaughter as that of the Sep 11 2001 massacre but Islam says if a person kills even a single innocent; it amounts as to the murder of the entire mankind.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 resulted in 2,996 deaths, including the 19 hijackers and 2,977 victims. To seek revenge, the US adminstration started tracing Osama and ultimately started a massacre by entering into war with Afghanistan and Iraq. Every conscious human might be aware of the fact that when the US entered into the war, the super power had not known its trajectory before they launched the attack. The Iraq War, referred to as the Second Gulf War, a military campaign began on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a multinational force led by troops from the United States under the administration of President George W. Bush and the United Kingdom under Prime Minister Tony Blair and till this date there seems to be no end to it. The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) got access by Iraq under provisions of the UN resolution but found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that the US had claimed to be in procession of the Iraq. Notwithstanding the verification, ultimately US entered in war with Iraq and killing innocents under the cover of tracing the WMD, which till date the US has failed to locate any. Accusing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, with no evidence of a meaningful connection resulted in the most inhuman act of violence and terrorism, when lacs of innocent, including Saddam Hussain and family got killed ruthlessly. This is how the US refers to their efforts of protecting innocent lives. Finally Obama announced an 18-month withdrawal window for combat forces, but with approximately 50,000 troops remaining in the country on the pretext of advising and training Iraqi security forces and to provide intelligence and surveillance after claiming that the security and economic indicators had began to show signs of improvement, again a mere statement that till date has not been achieved. Instead of the stiff opposition to the initiation of the war with Iraq, the US and the NATO country officials ignored the call and start the bloody massacre. Not contended with the bloody massacre the US simultaneously started yet another fresh brutal carnage of the innocents by the infliction of the war in Afghanistan in an effort to dismantle Al-Qaida and the end to the Taliban Regime. The George W. Bush administration dared to state that, as policy, it would not distinguish between terrorist organizations and nations or governments that harbor them, thereby giving his uniformed men open access to start homicide of the innocent poor illiterate public of the Afghanistan. The war inflicted on poor helpless Afghans rendered thousands homeless, in addition to the hundreds and thousands of people being slaughtered at the hands of the force. Not contended, Barack Obama announced in dec 2009 a deployment of an additional 30,000 soldiers over a period of six months apparently, I guess in order to complete the massacre that the former US president had given birth to.  He also set a withdrawal date for the year 2014, envisaging that the Afghan race would have been erased out by then thereby safeguarding the people of America. An estimated cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as per the Center for Defense Information is tabled below.

Spending such a huge amount of dollars on arms and armies is purely inherently undesirable and unwarranted. Even if it seems necessary, it constitutes a misappropriation of already scarce resources. America has been diverting social capital from productive to destructive purposes, war and the preparation for war deplete, rather than enhancing its strength. Assertion of military necessity might camouflage the costs entailed, but the US can never negate them altogether. The amount that the US had spend on these wars could have been utilized in a constructive purpose rather than destructing the countries of Iraq and Afghanistan. Every artillery or firearm that is made, every warship launched, every missile fired signifies, in the concluding sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed and as such any nation that diverts its treasure into the purchase of weaponry is ultimately spending more than mere money. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, and the dreams of its children. As a matter of fact, the cost of one modern heavy bomber equals to that of constructing a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. For a single destroyer that the US fires, it spends more money than that could have constructed new homes catering more than 8,000 people. Americans face a sustained period of 10% unemployment nationwide, and still the US administration wasted $100 billion and probably more on an un-winnable war. Can Obama afford to spend on building more prisons and bases, or occupy another country by bombarding Libya or Syria. Rather should it focus on investing in America’s future? Inspite of all these facts, the US admin thinks that getting Osama was its priority and a hurdle in the achievement of a peaceful America.

In addition, there have been other incalculable costs: the death and trauma of U.S. soldiers and Afghan civilians and similar hidden costs. The costs are too high, and the mission had never been clear enough. Senior security personals of America, who have served for their country and spend sufficient time in these countries, believe that they (Al-Qaida) have only a few people in Afghanistan. A recent assessment on veteran suicide rates demonstrated that for the second year in a row, the U.S. military lost more troops to suicide in 2010 than it did to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. The services reported 468 suicides by personnel on duty in 2010 which exceeds the total number of personnel lost in combat (462). These statistics do not only draw attention to the alarming inflating rates of suicides in the military, they demonstrate something more and Obama should have the answer for them. He thinks he has given America something to celebrate, but in real sense he has brought a huge loss to his own people.
Author can be reached at : shoaibshah19@gmail.com

The Lowdown on Ginkgo Biloba

Ginkgo plant available at: http://jkmpic.blogspot.com

By Paul E. Gold, Larry Cahill and Gary L. Wenk

This popular herbal supplement may slightly improve your memory, but you can get the same effect by eating a candy bar.

The ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba) is remarkable in many ways. Although indigenous to Korea, China and Japan, Kashmir, Pakistan the tree can be found in parks and along city sidewalks around the world. It may grow as high as 40 meters and live for more than 1,000 years. Ginkgo fossils have been dated as far back as 250 million years ago, and Charles Darwin referred to the tree as "a living fossil."Nowadays, however, the ginkgo's primary claim to fame is the extract obtained from its fan-shaped leaves.

The use of ginkgo leaf extracts can be traced back for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine. Today ginkgo biloba is perhaps the most widely used herbal treatment aimed at augmenting cognitive functions--that is, improving memory, learning, alertness, mood and so on. Ginkgo is especially popular in Europe; officials in Germany recently approved the extract for treating dementia. In the U.S. the National Institute on Aging is currently supporting a clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of ginkgo in treating the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

Osama bin Laden DEAD: The one time that he mentioned Kashmir

Srinagar, May 6: Though no attack on India has been directly tracked back to Osama bin Laden, the motley group of Al-Jehad everywhere who united under the Al-Qaeda umbrella might have supported terror attacks on Indian soil.

Even though the dreaded self-proclaimed holy warrior only once mentioned India in his televised addresses, he was regarded a credible threat to the country, as a terrorist with the means to galvanise and support various groups working against the state.

In a statement aired by Al Jazeera on April 23, 2006, bin Laden spoke of India and Kashmir for the first time directly and claimed there was a Zionist-Hindu conspiracy against Muslims.

UAE issues stapled visa to Kashmir residents

Srinagar, 05 May:The United Arab Emirates has begun issuing "stapled visas" to Kashmir  residents, including its "Prime Minister" Sardar Attique Ahmed, a media report said on Thursday.

The practice of issuing "stapled visas" is new and previously visas were stamped as usual on the passports, the Pakistan Observer newspaper reported on Thursday.

PaK "Prime Minister" Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, who holds a Pakistani diplomatic passport, was issued a stapled visit visa by the UAE Embassy in Islamabad on Tuesday, the report said.

China had sparked a diplomatic row with India last year by issuing stapled visas to residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

Geelani asks people to offer funeral prayers in absentia for Osama bin Laden

Srinagar, 5 May: Chairman of Kashmir based Hurriyat Conference-APHC  has urged Imams and people to hold funeral prayers in absentia for Sheikh Osama bin Laden after Friday prayers tomorrow afternoon, a APHC spokesman said in a statement.
 

Meanwhile, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant outfit has paid rich tributes to its slain commanders including Gazi Naseeb-ud-Din on their anniversaries. In and emailed statement a spokesman of Hizb said, “An obituary meeting of Hizb Command Council was held in Muzafferabad under the chairmanship of Syed Salah-ud Din where glowing tributes were paid to Gazi Naseeb-ud-Din, Engineer Firdous Kirmani, Commander Manzoor Khan alias MK and Abdul Majeed Wani alias Gazi Illyas on their 14 martyrdom anniversary.”
 

The Hizb commanders were killed allegedly in custody after their arrest on March 6, 1997. “The commanders were martyred in custody after they refused to divulge secrets of the organization. They were given third degree torture,” he alleged.

A Canadian newspaper, which reported the Hizb link to the house, said Pakistan was hushing up the issue of ownership of the place.

Quoting an unnamed police source in Pakistan, Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail reported that the mansion where bin Laden lived belonged to Hizbul Mujahideen. "But the authorities have asked us not to share any information about the exact ownership," the paper said.

Land-registry officials in Abbottabad were summoned to a meeting on Tuesday and urged to keep quiet. "They are being instructed not to say anything about the land-ownership issue."

American officials have described the owners as 'brothers', and neighbours recalled seeing a pair of men, possibly ethnic Pashtuns from the rugged western frontier, who largely kept to themselves. Their names were reported in the local media as Bada Khan and Chota Khan.

A Pakistani official said the mystery surrounding the two men has deepened with the discovery that their national identity cards were fake. Demands grew louder on Tuesday for an investigation that would determine what support bin Laden received inside Pakistan.

Hizb, the biggest Cashmerian group in J&K, has a large local component of young Cashmiris. It was formed in 1990, at the initiative of the  Jamaat-e-Islami by merging nearly a dozen small  organisations of J&K and Pakistan-administered Kashmir-PAK. The outfit headed by Syed Salahuddin has several camps across the LOC in PK.

If the ownership is traced to Hizbul Mujahideen, it would mark an unusual example of co-operation between the militant group and its more extreme cousin, Al-Qaeda, the report said. HM has maintained a narrow focus on removing Indian forces from Kashmir, while al-Qaeda pursues global ambitions.

"This is the first time I've heard of links between Hizbul Mujahedeen and Osama, but its members would probably admire him," Stratfor's South Asia regional director Kamran Bokhari said.

Like other groups fighting Indian troops in the borderlands, HM's membership has never been rounded up by Pakistani forces, said the report, noting that some analysts say that Islamabad covertly supports the group.

Pakistan has denied any collusion with Cashmerian groups, saying that its leading intelligence service had been sharing information with US counterparts since 2009 about the compound where bin Laden was found.

Still, in the wake of the raid, Islamabad scrambled to ensure that precise ownership of the compound would not become public knowledge, and any link to HM would deepen Pakistan's embarrassment over bin Laden's death.

According to media reports, Hizbul Mujahideen, a cashmirian active in disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir, owns the mansion that sheltered Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad.

Osama Bin Laden in Kashmir

Kashmiri Hindu militant Manoj Kumar who now are in jail, Kashmir, India

Srinagar, May 5: Asharq Al-Awsat - A Hindu militant commander from Hizbul Mujahideen and another militant were killed in the early hours of  Thursday morning during clashes with Indian security forces in the Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Kuldeep Sharma, otherwise known as KK or Kamran was killed in the Kulhand area when security forces raided his hideout in Khilandi village after a receiving a tip-off.

Mr. Sharma, an active militant since 1988, has been involved in the killings of several Indian security personnel.

Last August, 26-year-old Uttam Singh, a Hizbul Mujahideen commander was killed in Tharolan, a remote village in Doda. Singh alias Sayfullah became a militant six years prior to his death and was originally a member of the anti-insurgency village defense committee but was eventually pulled into Hizbul Mujahideen.

According to former Jammu and Kashmir police chief, Gopal Sharma, the police have identified several Hindu militants as part of Hizbul Mujahideen.

In 2000, Indian security forces for the first time had killed a Hindu militant called Kuldeep Singh as well as other seven others. His elder brother Randeep Singh is still a commander of Hizbul Mujahideen.

In 2001, Bharat Kumar was arrested in Jammu City in possession of arms and ammunition. He had received military training for four years in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In November 2004, a Hindu militant from AL-Jehad, Manoj Kumar Manhas was amongst the 47 militants who as reported  arrested by the Indian army. Manoj Kumar, 20, had revealed that he had been introduced to Kashmir freedom movement by his cousin, Baldev Singh, also a Hindu, who is still on the run.

Sr. Police officer stated that Hindus are involved in militancy for money and power, just like Muslim militants. "There is no more jihad and now local youth irrespective of their religious affiliations are turning to guns as it is an easy way to get money and women. Unemployment and poverty especially in remote areas are catalysts for involvement of the Hindu youth in militancy," he said.

Sheikh Osama bin Laden’s burial at sea as a “barbarous and evil act” Lashkar-e-Taiba

Srinagar, May 4: While Islamic scholars worldwide condemned the burial at sea given to Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh seemed to be criticising the US over the action.

Muslim clerics on Tuesday said that Osama bin Laden's burial at sea was a violation of Islamic traditions that may further provoke militant calls for revenge attacks against American targets.

A wide range of Islamic scholars interpreted it as a humiliating disregard for the standard Muslim practice of placing the body in a grave with the head pointed toward the holy city of Makkah. Sea burials can be allowed, they said, but only in special cases where the death occurred aboard a ship.

 "The Americans want to humiliate Muslims through this burial, and I don't think this is in the interest of the US administration," said Omar Bakri Muhammad, a radical cleric in Lebanon.

The Lebanese cleric called it a "strategic mistake" that was bound to stoke rage. In Washington, CIA Director Leon Panetta warned that "terrorists almost certainly will attempt to avenge" the killing of the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks.

"Bin Laden is dead," Panetta wrote in a memo to CIA staff. "Al-Qaeda is not." According to Islamic teachings, the highest honor to be bestowed on the dead is giving the deceased a swift burial, preferably before sunset. Those who die while travelling at sea can have their bodies committed to the bottom of the ocean if they are far off the coast, according to Islamic tradition.

"They can say they buried him at sea, but they cannot say they did it according to Islam," Muhammad al-Qubaisi, Dubai's grand mufti, said about bin Laden's burial. "If the family does not want him, it's really simple in Islam: You dig up a grave anywhere, even on a remote island, you say the prayers and that's it."

"Sea burials are permissible for Muslims in extraordinary circumstances," he added. "This is not one of them."

Geelani Tuesday paid tributes to the slain Al-Qaeda founder for standing up against “oppression and injustice”.

“This cowardly act has no moral or legal justification. Burying the enemy according to his or her religion and with due respect is an accepted custom in every civilized society, but it (Osama’s burial at sea) has revealed the extent of moral degradation to which a person or State can stoop to under the intoxication of power,” said Geelani.

In an apparent reference to United States, he said the self-proclaimed champions of human rights and democracy have brought shame to the entire humanity through this “barbarous and evil act”.

“This contemptuous treatment of dead bodies is a reminder of Stone Age and a so-called superpower has put question mark over its civilization and moral traditions,” the veteran leader said.

Geelani described Mr. Sheikh Osama as a “brave man who didn’t act as mute spectator to oppression and injustice even though one could disagree with his methods”.

“When he was young, Osama saw how Muslims across the globe were being subjected to oppression and how Muslims from Palestine to Kashmir had been enslaved. The path Osama chose for himself needs to be understood in this context. He didn’t give up a life of wealth and comfort for the sake of some hobby. He saw Muslim women, children and men drenched in blood from Kashmir to Iraq and reacted to state-sponsored terrorism.”

Geelani said the resistance against foreign occupation was a natural reaction and if any powerful nation like America, Israel, Britain or India occupied other nations and killed innocent civilians, the reaction would be no different.

“As long as the foreign occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and Kashmir continues, resistance would surface in different forms and manifestations, and until the foreign powers recall their forces back from these regions and adopt the policy of live and let live, we cannot realize the dream of making the world a peaceful place,” he said.

During prayers on Monday, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, paid tribute to bin Laden, stating that, "Osama bin Laden was a great person who awakened the Muslim world. Martyrdoms are not losses, but are a matter of pride for Muslims. Sheikh Osama bin Laden has rendered great sacrifices for Islam and Muslims, and these will always be remembered." Meanwhile, hundreds of citizens in Quetta protested in the streets on Monday against the killing of the al Qaeda leader. The demonstrations were led by members of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and federal lawmaker Maulvi Asmatullah. Organizers estimated that between 1,000 and 1,200 people participated in the rally, however, witnesses projected that thousands  were in attendance. Dawn reports that a U.S. flag was set on fire and the participants chanted “death to America.

Pakistan criticizes US raid on Osama bin Laden

By NAHAL TOOSI and ZARAR KHAN, Associated Press

ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan criticized the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden as an "unauthorized unilateral action," laying bare the strains the operation has put on an already rocky alliance.

U.S. legislators along with the leaders of Britain and France questioned how the Pakistani government could not have known the al-Qaida leader was living in a garrison town less than a two-hour drive from the capital and had apparently lived there for years.

"I find it hard to believe that the presence of a person or individual such as bin Laden in a large compound in a relatively small town ... could go completely unnoticed," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told reporters in Paris.

British Prime Minister David Cameron also demanded that Pakistani leaders explain how bin Laden had lived undetected in Abbottabad. But in a nod to the complexities of dealing with a nuclear-armed, unstable country that is crucial to success in the war in Afghanistan, Cameron said having "a massive row" with Islamabad over the issue would not be in Britain's interest.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Tuesday that the U.S. is committed to cooperating with Pakistan.

"We don't know who if anybody in the government was aware that bin Laden or a high-value target was living in the compound. It's logical to assume he had a supporting network. What constituted that network remains to be seen," Carney said.

"It's a big country and a big government and we have to be very focused and careful about how we do this because it is an important relationship."

A day after U.S. commandos killed the al-Qaida leader following a 10-year manhunt, new details emerged Tuesday from Pakistan's powerful intelligence agency and bin Laden's neighbors in Abbottabad.

Residents said they sensed something was odd about the walled three-story house, even though bin Laden and his family rarely ventured outside and most neighbors were not aware that foreigners were living there.

"That house was obviously a suspicious one," said Jahangir Khan, who was buying a newspaper in Abbottabad. "Either it was a complete failure of our intelligence agencies or they were involved in this affair."

Neighbors said two men would routinely emerge from the compound to run errands or occasionally attend a neighborhood gathering, such as a funeral. Both"men were tall, fair skinned and bearded.

"People were skeptical in this neighborhood about this place and these guys," said Mashood Khan, a 45-year-old farmer. "They used to gossip, say they were smugglers or drug dealers. People would complain that even with such a big house they didn't invite the poor or distribute charity."

U.S. officials have suggested Pakistani officials may have known where bin Laden was living and members of Congress have seized on those suspicions to call for the U.S. to consider cutting billions of aid to Pakistan if it turns out to be true.

Western officials have long regarded Pakistani security forces with suspicion, especially when it comes to links with militants fighting in Afghanistan. Last year, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton publicly said she suspected that some members of Pakistan's government knew where bin Laden was hiding.

However, within Pakistan criticism has been focused on the U.S. breaching the country's sovereignty. The Obama administration has said it did not inform the Pakistanis in advance of the operation against bin Laden, for fear they would tip off the targets.

A strongly worded Pakistani government statement warned the U.S. not to launch similar operations in the future. It rejected suggestions that officials knew where bin Laden was.

Still, there were other revelations that pointed to prior knowledge that the compound was linked to al-Qaida.

Pakistani intelligence agencies hunting for a top al-Qaida operative raided the house in 2003, according to a senior officer, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with the spy agency's policy.

The house was just being built at the time of the raid by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, and Abu Faraj al-Libi, al-Qaida's No. 3, was not there, said the officer.

U.S. officials have said al-Libi once lived in the house and that information from him played a role in tracking the al-Qaida chief down. Al-Libi was arrested by Pakistani police after a shootouô in 2005 and he was later handed over to U.S. authorities.

The Pakistani officer said he didn't know why bin Laden would choose a house that already had been compromised.

He also insisted the ISI would have captured bin Laden if it had known he was there, and pushed back at international criticism of the agency.

"Look at our track record given the issues we have faced, the lack of funds. We have killed or captured hundreds" of extremists), said the officer. "All of a sudden one failure makes us incompetent and 10 years of effort is overlooked."

Al-Qaida has been responsible for score of bloody attacks inside Pakistan, so on the face of it would seem strange for Islamabad to be sheltering bin Laden. Critics of Pakistan say that by keeping him on the run, Islamabad was ensuring that U.S. aid and weapons to the country kept flowing.

The Pakistani government said that since 2009 the ISI has shared information about the compound with the CIA and other Western intelligence agencies, and that intelligence indicating foreigners were in the Abbottabad area continued until mid-April.

In an essay published Tuesday by The Washington Post, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari denied suggestions his country's security forces may have sheltered bin Laden, and said their cooperation with the United States helped pinpoint him.

The raid followed months of deteriorating relations between the CIA and Pakistan's intelligence service. Those strains came to a head in late January after a CIA contractor shot and killed two Pakistanis in what Washington said was self-defense.

In a statement, the Pakistani government said "this event of unauthorized unilateral action cannot be taken as a rule."

"The government of Pakistan further affirms that such an event shall not serve as a future precedent for any state, including the U.S.," it said, calling such actions a "threat to international peace and security."

The statement may be partly motivated by domestic concerns. The government and army has come under criticism following the raid by those who have accused the government of allowing Washington to violate the country's sovereignty. Islamabad has also been angered at the suspicions it had been sheltering bin Laden.

-----

Associated Press writers Chris Brummitt, Munir Ahmed and Asif Shahzad contributed to this report from Islamabad.

"Osama bin laden still alive"

NEW YORK | Wed May 4: Almost immediately after the United States said it had killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, the conspiracy theories started.

Even some relatives of the Sept. 11 victims of the 2001 attacks on America say his death, announced by President Barack Obama in a speech at the White House, begs questions.

The U.S. government said Bin Laden was shot in the head when elite Navy SEALS stormed his compound on Monday after he had evaded a decade-long manhunt as the world's most wanted man.

But his swift burial at sea, in which he was slipped into the Arabian Sea in a weighted body bag, and authorities' reluctance to release pictures of his corpse have been fuel for the conspiracy theorists.

One hotly argued assertion is that bin Laden was in fact a CIA stooge who had been dead for years, a fanciful figure who was used to justify America's war in Afghanistan.

That is a position shared by U.S. anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and other doubters from Indiana to Kabul.

"If you believe the newest death of OBL, you're stupid," Sheehan wrote on her Facebook page.

Sheehan, who set up an anti-war camp at President George W. Bush's Texas ranch in 2005, disputes the facts given by the government, asking how the United States could get such fast DNA results, why the burial was hasty and why no video had been released.

And, she noted, the late Pakistani President Benazir Bhutto claimed in 2007 that bin Laden was already dead.

Sheehan is not alone in posing such questions.

Internet site Yahoo said searches for "osama bin laden not dead," "osama bin laden still alive" and "bin laden not dead" spiked off the charts on Monday.

Men were most likely to think he may be alive, Yahoo said, adding that searchers of "bin laden conspiracy" were mostly from Oregon, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Indiana and New Jersey.

In Iran, the semi-official Mehr news agency declared: "The death of Osama is a lie."

Iranian state television news said by disposing of the body at sea, "the mystery (of his death) has increased." Iranian media say the myth of bin Laden has been used to justify the U.S. occupation of its neighbor, Afghanistan.

Nearly 3,000 people died when planes hijacked by bin Laden's al Qaeda followers flew into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001, setting off a hunt for the plot's architect.

Afghanistan's Taliban said in a statement posted on their website that talk of bin Laden's death was "premature" and that the United States had not provided "convincing evidence."

ELVIS AND ALIENS

Some Americans thrive on conspiracy theories. Who really shot President John F. Kennedy? Elvis Presley lives! Did aliens land in a UFO in Roswell, New Mexico? Was Sept. 11 orchestrated by U.S. interests to justify the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq?

At New York's "Ground Zero" where the twin towers once stood, some visitors pondered whether bin Laden's death might be too good to be true.

"I just hope we really did get him. They buried him at sea. Who knows what happened?" said project manager Sal Leto, 59.

Retired teacher Joani Ellingson, 62, who was visiting from Minnesota, said: "It is part of the death culture that we want to see proof positive. We have a curiosity."

Rosaleen Tallon, whose brother died in the attacks on the World Trade Center, said she was "dismayed" that bin Laden was buried so quickly.

"It has unfortunately opened this up to the possibility of conspiracy theories," she said.

At Pace University, political science professor David Caputo asked students if they doubted bin Laden was dead. Two thirds had at least a slim doubt, and 5 percent had a major doubt, he said.

(Additional reporting by Ramin Mostafavi in Tehran and Edith Honan in New York; editing by Christopher Wilson)

The Assassination of Mr. Sheikh Osama bin Laden

By Sheikh GULZAAR

Srinagar, May3 : The Assassination of Mr. Sheikh Osama bin Laden actually comes to late and has been a total waste of effort on the United States Navy's elite SEAL Team 6, this is because Osama bin Laden had already proved his ability as the Al Qaeda chief on the successful planning of 9/11. After this success Al Qaeda and the Taliban new that his Duty was over and after 9/11 he did not plan any other attacks.

Members of The Al Qaeda and Taliban never questions the actions of there Chief and other members do not create politics on step on toes to become a Chief when there is a already a Chief, even thought Osama bin Laden did not plan more attacks, his health was failing and he was also becoming old other member did not try to become chief but respected Osama bin Laden as the chief and let him be to live the way he wanted without questioning or asking him to plan or lead.

Members of The Al Qaeda and Taliban were just waiting for Osama bin Laden to die in action or of natural causes to start the process of appointing a new Chief. The US need to really be worried now as the new chief may be a young person whom will not hesitate to use the worst methods to fight for there cause. unlike Osama bin Laden whom new the limits to fight for there cause. (Writer-South Asia)

Until My Freedom Has Come: The New Intifada In Kashmir

In the troubled history of contemporary Kashmir, the summer of 2010 will be remembered as a watershed. Protests against the ‘encounter’ killings of civilians turned into an unprecedented display of courage, as a new generation took to the streets, their only weapons the stones in their hands. It has been called Kashmir’s Intifada, marking a paradigm shift from armed militancy to mass rebellion. Significantly, this was also accompanied by a remarkable explosion in the writing on Kashmir, in a new language of ideas that bypasses the old and parochial ways in which Kashmir has been seen and understood.

The pieces in this volume voice the rage and helplessness sweeping through the Valley, while also offering rare insights into the lives of those caught in the crossfire. With contributions from journalists, academics and artists, Until My Freedom Has Come: The New Intifada in Kashmir is a timely collection of some of the most exciting writing that has recently emerged from within Kashmir, and about it.

About the Author
Sanjay Kak is a documentary film-maker whose work includes Jashn-e- Azadi (How We Celebrate Freedom, 2007), a feature-length film about Kashmir. He is based in New Delhi. Sanjay Kak can be reached at: www.facebook.com/sanjay.kak

India Must Respect Freedom struggle in Kashmir : Dr Abdul Ruff

By : Dr. Abdul Ruff

Frankly, Kashmir is not a dispute at all, it is like some bank robbers entering a bank and looting and then occupying the bank premises, killing employees and the people around, claiming that the bank belongs to them as an integral part of global robbery network. International organizations should have intervened immediately to evacuate the occupiers kicking them out with force and undertake punitive measures. However, the UK, India’s former colonizer and a veto guy of the notorious UNSC and the source directly responsible for Indian invasion of its neighbor JK soon after they offered freedom to India prevented that from happening. In stead, India and its western supporters, especially the British colonizers, have made Jammu Kashmir appears to be a dispute. Indian military also merged Jammu Kashmir military, predominantly of Hindus, within Indian military forces and denied any chance for Kashmiris to fight a fitting war against Indian occupation and its fascist attacks on Kashmiris.

After occupation of JK and subsequent genocides in Kashmir region, India quickly added JK in its account book called constitution invalidating all sorts of such gimmicks. With a blind UNSC refusing to protect the Kashmiri nation from continued Indian genocides, a growing fascist India just occupies it by brute force after crippling the military power of the then independent JK. But occupation involves the future of Kashmiris. Years of Indian occupation has made a boundary dispute between India and Pakistan but. Whenever the talks between the two countries fail, Kashmiris become direct victims.

The Kashmir issue, now appearing to be a dispute between India and Pakistan while the defenseless Kashmiris fighting for sovereignty back from arrogant occupier India just kill themselves as well as let India kill them at will, is a 62-yr old problem needing urgent resolution but it cannot be resolved in shortest possible time. Any solution which is acceptable to all shall be the better option. Union Home Minister had himself stood in the Parliament and said that accession of JK with India is unique and needs unique solution. Of course, it is rude on the part of world community to expect a terror India to respect the freedom sentiments of Kashmiris and let them live as a free nation with full sovereignty.

Pro-India elements, thriving at cost of the rest of Kashmiris, know the Kashmir dispute is only an Indian illusion. Indian puppet government in JK is surprised that the freedom leaders don’t feel shy in talking to visiting parliament members but are not ready to talk to interlocutors who have made it clear that they are ready to listen to anybody on any issue. Omar refuses to understand that interlocutors could do nothing except playing fiddle for India, and even if they submit a pro-freedom report to Indian state, no action could be forthcoming. But the parliamentarians would raise the Kashmir issue on the parliament, even if they might be pressed by their parties not to support Kashmir cause.

It is an established thought, if not a fact, that better relations between India and Pakistan- both occupy Jammu Kashmir- quicker the establishment of an independent Jammu Kashmir. Kashmiris welcome the latest thaw in Pakistan and India relations but many have maintained that without the presence of Kashmiris’ true representatives, the talks between the two countries would remain inconclusive. Another freedom leader Shabbir Ahmad Shah reiterated that the people of Kashmir would continue their struggle till its logical conclusion. APHC leader, Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi in a media interview in Srinagar said that the amicable resolution of the Kashmir dispute was imperative for durable peace in the region.

India keeps drafting strategies to divide Kashmiris and kill them. However, Indian strategy to divide Jammu Kashmir would not be tolerated by Kashmiris. Geelani demanded its immediate revocation of Dogra Certificates by the JK authorities to the people of Jammu as a deep rooted conspiracy to divide the territory on ethnic lines. This is a part of long-term policy of India to pave way for according supremacy to particular section of people over the Muslim majority of Kashmir.

Any clash between the India and Pakistan in the world cup semi-final in India-Mohali has not only silenced the market places but emptied the government offices, private offices and educational institutions in the second half of the day in the valley today. Hours before the encounter began, government employees and students left their offices and educational institutions to watch the cricket match in their homes. Markets also presented a deserted look as the shopkeepers, preferring to watch the event rather than doing their business, closed their shops with streets also de-peopled. No sooner did the clock strike 2 PM, the streets became deserted. Despite being a normal day, strike-like-situation prevailed. The movement of people became meager while an eerie silence filled the air. Though the shops were open but without customers. Everyone could be seen glued to the television sets. Shop and markets were closed down before time. As for security reasons, Section 144 was imposed in the Valley restricting gathering of more than four people at one place. Police had also banned watching cricket on TVs, or big screens on roads, street or shops. There were reports from various places of the city where in police had refrained people from watching cricket on street. Snapped electricity at some places also played a spoil spot for sometime at few places.

Indian military occupation personnel have introduced stone attack that was imbibed b the defenseless Kashmiris to defend themselves from Indian terror attacks. While making a reference to the stone throwing by protesters on the streets of Kashmir that has shaken the foundations of his government in last two months, JK CM Omar said it is better to throw shoes (at him) than stones. As the national flag was being unfurled in Srinagar the Indian puppet Omar Abdullah stood up at the raised podium with Director General of Police K. Khoda next to him, a Kashmiri patriot sitting in the third row had taken off his brown shinny shoe and hurled it straight towards the podium. The shoe missed the target but attracted the intended attention immediately. The only tool available to Kashmiris to oppose the Indian brutal occupation is his worn out shoe. That is the true spirit of Kashmiriyat seeking to free itself from foreign invaders, criminals, looters and criminal-genociders.

By using the Army and police to satiate its party interests, the NC is displaying its sheer shortsightedness. As a political party, the NC should fight Hurriyat’s peaceful programs at the political level only. Syed Geelani, the Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G), stated that that the campaign launched by the NC and New Delhi is wrong in all respects. Elaborating, Senior Hurriyet leader Geelani alleged that frivolous cases were being registered against most of the arrested youth in Kashmir. And those arrested youth who get recommendation from the NC activists, are forced to pay ransom for their release. This is a dangerous campaign by virtue of which the career of our younger generation is being ruined. The FIRs become a life-long problem for youth. Geelani said that the JK Government’s silence over the Indian terror excesses on the people tantamounts to crime against the Kashmir nation. For highlighting the excesses, Geelani said the conglomerate is left with no option but to stage protests. Taking all the aspects into consideration, we can only use hartal to register our protest against the atrocities. We have kept this option reserved and whenever situation demands we will use this birth and democratic right.

True, Kashmiris have lost over100, 000 innocent kith and kin during the freedom struggle in recent years. Notwithstanding all pressure cum terror tactics of occupying India, the people of Kashmir would never give up the cause as history stood testimony to the fact that sentiment for freedom was getting stronger with each passing day. Talking to the 10-member civil society group of India that called on him at his Hyderpora residence Srinagar, Syed Ali Shah Geelani the Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G) and the senior most freedom fighter spearheading sovereignty struggle for years now says Kashmir is an internationally accepted dispute which has historical background. Geelani told the delegation that it was responsibility of the civil society of India to create awareness in their public and government about the aspirations and sentiments of the Kashmiri people.

Geelani, spearheading the ongoing ‘Quit Jammu and Kashmir Movement’, came down heavily recently on the ruling National Conference accusing it of using Army and Police for its interests and to suppress the ongoing movement. The veteran leader maintained that being a political party, the NC should fight the conglomerate’s peaceful programs "politically and not through military might." In a statement, Geelani castigated New Delhi for what he said illegally using state power to suppress the peaceful agitation of Kashmiris. “For this purpose, the NC has been directed to help the police and Army. The NC leaders in collusion with the concerned station house officers prepare the list of youth, who have taken more or less part in the agitation since June this year. These youth are asked to report to the Police Stations and then arrested or their houses are raided,” Geelani said, urging the people to stage peaceful protests from Maghrib to Isha prayers December 16 and for one hour after the congregational prayers on Friday December 17 respectively.

Talking to a 40-member delegation of Greater Municipal Corporation Hyderabad that visited him at Srinagar, Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on 30th March stressed the need for formation of a Kashmir Group in Parliament to monitor situation in the state and put forth recommendations for resolving Kashmir issue. Mirwaiz appraised the delegation of the Corporation, headed by Assad-ud-Din Owaisi, MP, about the historical background of Kashmir issue, and peoples’ sentiments, wishes and their aspiration. He also gave a detailed account of the incidents of human rights violations and ‘brute force’ and repressive method employed by the government through its forces to quell upsurge of peaceful mass protests, processions and rallies since 2008. He narrated cases of Torture of Kashmiris in jails.

Mirwaiz said if Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani could successfully watch cricket in Delhi as part of sport/cricket diplomacy, why they cannot succeed in pushing forward the composite dialogue on resolving the Kashmir issue. He says it would be a matter joy for Hurriyat and people of Kashmir and would certainly also help hammer out a solution acceptable to the both countries and people of Kashmir. But if India persists on its rigidity and continued to show non-seriousness, it will worsen the future.

It appears, India perhaps is willing to cede to Pakistan some more lands from occupied Kashmir even by a movie type brief war and settle the “dispute” with Pakistan in India’s favor. There have been atrocities on Kashmiris in Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) under Pakistani control. Some Kashmiris living in Pakistan administered AJK want AJK to merge with Pakistan just as bulk of Hindus in Jammu want to be part of Hindu India whether JK becomes free or not. And this sentiment makes India to take away Jammu from JK in the event of a free JK emerging. Elements in the AJK too need to be made accountable and punished for their crimes.

Dr. Abdul Ruff, Specialist on State Terrorism; Chancellor-Founder of Centor for International Affairs(CIA); Chronicler of Freedom movements (Palestine, Kashmir, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Xinjiang, Chechnya, etc); Former university Teacher, Analyst in International Affairs; Terrorism is caused by anti-Islamic forces. Fake democracies like USA and India have zero tolerance to any criticism of their anti-Muslim and other aggressive practices. Anti-Muslimism and anti-Islamism are more dangerous than "terrorism". Anti-Islamic forces & terrorists are using criminal elements for terrorizing the world and they are harming genuine interests of ordinary Muslims. Unfortunately, we have many hypocrites among Muslims. (abdulruff_jnu@yahoo.com/91-9961868309) 

More details: http://www.allvoices.com

Jammu and Kashmir Police and National Conference

Why are Kashmiris labeled as terrorists?

By: SAS Gilani
The Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani Wednesday said the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has become “non-existent and Police is running the affairs of the state.”

He also castigated the J&K Police for what he said its anti-people role in the past two decades and maintained they have turned “more brutal than soldiers”.

The veteran leader reiterated that his five minimum demands can make conducive atmosphere for dialogue and urged the Organization of Islamic Conference and Pakistan to pass resolutions to impress upon UN to implement its resolutions on Kashmir. He also demanded an international war criminal tribunal to investigate the “war crimes” in the Valley.

‘POLICE AT HELM OF AFFAIRS’
Geelani said according to Army Chief and Director General of Police only 500 militants were active in Kashmir. “Then the presence of over eight lakh soldiers in Kashmir has no justification. As if it was not enough, the CM has become non-existent. The DGP and SHOs have been giving policy statements. The police have taken the responsibility of restoring peace and muzzling voices by arresting youth. It is regrettable that the police have waged a war and are at the forefront of inflicting atrocities on Kashmiris. The police have stooped so low that it now brands the criminals as stone pelters to defame our sacred movement,” Geelani said, addressing a seminar titled ‘UN resolutions and suppressed nations sacrifices’ at his Hyderpora residence.

‘STATE TERRORISM AT ITS WORST’
“I stand witness to the atrocities inflicted by the successive regimes on the Kashmiris since 1947 to suppress their movement. In ’50s, Kashmirs who wore green turbans were branded as Pakistanis and pushed behind bars. Kashmiris even had to face imprisonment for listening to Radio Pakistan and Azad Kashmir. People say Dogra regime was brutal, but I want to say without any doubt that the NC’s Halqa presidents are more heinous than (Maharaja) Hari Singh,” Geelani alleged.

Elaborating, Geelani said those who challenged accession were jailed. “Ironically, those whom Kashmiris thought were their leaders let them down and they joined hands with New Delhi. When emergency was imposed in India, these so-called leaders invited its extension to Jammu and Kashmir. I have seen how people were tortured in custody. Even I was confined to a cell. In the garb of ruthless power, such leaders got those killed who challenged the 1975 accord,” he said.

Geelani said Kashmiris participated in the elections after 1975 to push for amicable resolution of Kashmir through UN resolutions. “I didn’t want our future generations to blame us for letting the mainstream leaders win unopposed. When I along with my supporters went to Devsar and Ganderbal for campaigning, we were attacked with iron rods by NC activists saying ‘how dare you stand against Bab (Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah). In 1987, Kashmiris tried to participate in elections and the candidates who were on the verge of success, were jailed. Our youth were left with no option but to start armed struggle for achieving their right to self-determination,” he said.

Justifying the armed struggle of Kashmiris, Geelani accused India of purusuing double standards. “When Indian sees Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh who used violent methods to get independence from British as heroes, why are Kashmiris labeled as terrorists? Kashmiris have rendered more sacrifices than Indians against the British. India has been using state terrorism to suppress the Kashmiris’ movement. State terrorism has targeted all the weak, institutions and intellectuals,” he said.

Recounting major massacres since 1990 in the Valley, Geelani accused India of using the Ikhwanis (renegades) to kill Kashmiris. “These Ikhwanis were reared in Army camps and given all the perks and powers to eliminate Kashmiris. They were instrumental in killing of innocent civilians and religious scholars. I urge the UN to depute its War Crimes Tribunal to investigate the war crimes in Kashmir and punish the accused cops and soldiers,” he said.

Geelani said the conglomerate had launched demilitarization campaign in every district last year. “In 2010, it transformed into Go India Go Back movement. For the first time in 63 years, India sent its Rapid Action Force to Kashmir as if it had to fight China. What was the fault of 112 youth and teenagers who were killed since June last year?” he asked.

‘NO GRUDGE AGAINST INDIAN PEOPLE’
Geelani maintained that it was the standing policy of the Conglomerate to peacefully carry forward the ongoing movement. “We have asked people to even refrain from raising provocative slogans during protests. Kashmiris don’t have any grudge with people of India. We are only protesting against the forced and de facto control of the State by India,” he said.

He said gradually the Indian civil society members including Arundhati Roy, Gautam Navlakha and Mani Shankar Ayar were coming forward to help the cause of Kashmiris.

“When Chidambaram (Home Minister) said in the Indian Parliament that Kashmir is a case of broken promises, why does Indian leadership shy away from accepting and fulfilling the promises? India is trying to instigate us to resort to violence but we should not fall in its trap and maintain calm,” he said.

ON DIALOGUE
Geelani said the Conglomerate was not averse to dialogue. “But all the talks which were held 150 times since 1947 have failed to resolve the issue. We have no problem to enter into dialogue process but there should be conducive atmosphere for it. I reiterate my five minimum preconditions for dialogue including start of demilitarization, revocation of special powers to armed forces, release of political prisoners for participating in talks,” he said.

“After the acceptance of these conditions, India, Pakistan and the leadership of Kashmir can talk and resolve the dispute in the light of UN resolutions and sacrifices rendered by Kashmiris,” he added.

Geelani maintained that UN resolutions on Kashmir are still relevant. “UN has failed to discharge its responsibilities due to pressure from the VETO powers. UN is bound to implement the resolutions. I urge Organization of Islamic Countries and Pakistan to pass resolutions to impress upon UN to implement the UN resolution on Kashmir.

‘UNIFICATION NOT NEEDED’
Geelani said there was no need of unification among the pro-freedom organizations as they have common goal to achieve right of self-determination. “If two platforms are pursuing one goal, the need for unification becomes redundant. Even when the Hurriyat was united for 10 years, India did not listen to us. So we should continue to carry forward the movement to its logical conclusion,” he said.

He said any attempts to divide Kashmir will be thwarted. “We have religious and human relationship with people of all religious in the state. We will never allow division of Kashmir,” he said.

He also impressed upon every section of the society including intellectuals to work for strengthening the movement.

RESOLVE KASHMIR’
Senior journalist Zahir-ud-Din dwelt at length on the UN resolutions on Kashmir in respect of its legality. He maintained that the UN resolutions of Aug 13, 1948, and Jan 5 1949 can’t be separated. “If the first resolution is body the second is soul,” he said.

Columnist ZG Muhammad hit back at those who have been accusing intellectuals of failing to support the ongoing movement. “Intellectuals don’t lead, it is the job of leaders. In our case, journalists have an important role as ambassadors to objectively reflect the sentiments of the people.  Indian intellectuals can play imperative role in building consensus about Kashmir among the people like their American counterparts did in Vietnam,” he said.

However, he maintained that poets cannot be considered as intellectuals.  “An intellectual should play supplementary in the movement,” he added.

Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussain who teaches Law at Kashmir University minced no words in saying that Kashmiris have failed to document their history. “We have a tragedy and when we are asked about the dispute, we refer to the books of Walter Lawrence and Alistair Lamb. We have been trying to accomplish the assignments of others who are driven by vested interests. As a result the Kashmir dispute is not properly reflected,” Dr Showkat said.

He maintained that UN resolutions were like a title deed and stressed for intensifying efforts to implement them.

“The ongoing movement is in a state of confusion. Kashmiris have been giving sacrifices and leaders and intellectuals have failed to channelize them. Time and tide wait for none. In the past, many leaders have been thrown out of the movement. If the leaders don’t act, new actors are bound to emerge,” he said.

Noted columnist Dr Javid Iqbal accused India of exploiting Kashmir’s water resources. “We are purchasing our own power from New Delhi. We have to bear in mind that nobody cares for the weak. We have to ourselves safeguard our nation. Our leaders have always fallen in the trap of New Delhi. What Akbar did to Yusuf Shah Chak Pandit Nehru repeated it with Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah,” he said.

He castigated Kashmiris for resorting to extravagance. “We spend our life saving on marriages and food and forget our responsibilities towards the nation. We have become gastronomes. We go into hibernation during winter and remember about the right of self-determination in summer. We need to do self-introspection,” he said.

Senior journalist Riyaz Masroor said the challenge for the pro-freedom leaders in 2011 will be to reinterpret the UN resolutions and safeguard the sacrifices rendered by Kashmiris.

“UN resolution has endorsed the role of local authorities in implementing even the plebiscite. It is the challenge for the Hurriyat to review its stance regarding democratic practices,” Masroor said. He also said the seminars should be conducted in a proper way. “There should be difference between public meetings and seminars. Besides space should be given for opposite views,” he added.

Senior leader of Hurriyat (G) Saleem Zargar traced the history of inception of armed struggle in Kashmir and need to take the movement to its logical conclusion. “There is confusion at the leadership level. Some leaders have been linking the ongoing movement with violence. Stone pelting is a weapon of resistance,” he said.

Advocate Syed Manzoor of High Court Bar Association underscored the need to forge unity among the pro-freedom camp.