Mirwaiz-led Hurriyat Failed to Represent Aspirations of Kashmiris: Sheikh Yaqoob

Islamabad: Announcing its unconditional support to Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Jammu Kashmir Peoples League Chairman, Sheikh Mohd Yaqoob Thursday said that Mirwaiz-led Hurriyat Conference has failed to represent the aspirations of oppressed Kashmiri people.

“Jammu Kashmir Peoples League which held deliberations over the prevailing political scenario of Kashmir in past several weeks has now decided to support veteran Pro-Freedom leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s forum for its pro-people and pro-freedom policies,” Sheikh Yaqoob said in an issued statement.

He said that during the course of deliberations it was found that only Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s forum is respecting and following the 1993 Hurriyat constitution for the peaceful resolution of Kashmir dispute.

“Distressed with the way Mirwaiz-led Hurriyat forum worked in past few years and sidelined the constitution, we earlier quitted the forum and now the party has decided to support Hurriyat (G),” he said, adding it is the reason that dozens of constituents from last three years have quit the group.
Sheikh Yaqoob said that all those persons who still sneak into the cozy corridors of Mirwaiz-Group are “cheaters” and will be given no space in the party fold.

“One man claiming to be representatives of JKPL is actually among those who have sold the sacrifices and mission of martyrs and are on the parole of Indian intelligence agencies,” he said.

Taking a dig on Mirwaiz-led Hurriyat Conference, Yaqoob said that the forum miserably failed in representing the aspirations of oppressed Kashmiris.

“Kashmiris have sacrificed their precious lives for the freedom struggle and they will not allow any body to enter into secret deals to sell the sacrifices of martyrs for comforts and power,” he said.

He said that Mirwaiz-led Hurriyat conference should come clear on the martyrdom of Sheikh Abdul Aziz and should tell the nation why they failed to reveal the identity of those involved in his martyrdom.

“Leaders in Mirwaiz Hurriyat conference know the people who were actively involved in the conspiracy which was hatched in New Delhi against the Shaheed-e-Azeemat Sheikh Abdul Aziz and under which he was martyred. We want to know what happened to internal probe which was assured and why it failed to reveal identity of involved persons who claim to be representatives of Kashmiris,” Sheikh Yaqoob said.

Sheikh Yaqoob asked Mirwaiz Umar Farooq to reveal the truth before the oppressed Kashmiri nation.

He said that after the martyrdom of Sheikh Abdul Aziz, a worker of Peoples league was tasked to crush the party and party’s mission. He said that worker later under the patronage of Indian intelligence and few Hurriyat leaders hijacked the party and divided the party into number of groups.

“This man who is on intelligence parole asked our party men to refrain from carrying out political activities which forced them to join other pro-freedom groups,” he said, however added now all the party leaders, activists, colleagues and friends of Sheikh Abdul Aziz have joined hands to defeat Indian intelligence and their collaborators.

Sheikh Yaqoob said that the fresh structure of the party will be announced very soon and urged activists to strength the party at gross root level.

Father of Jahad-e-Kashmir Sheikh Abdul Aziz

FIRST PERSON

A March For History : August 11, 2008 will remain ingrained in Kashmir’s psyche, the day Kashmiris responded to the blatant economic blockade by right-wing Hindu nationalists in Jammu to break the resolve of a people. Showkat Nanda offers a first person account of how lakhs marched towards Muzzafarabad braving bullets.

The ‘other’ side never seemed so close before. For some, who had left home early that day, coming back didn’t really matter. To reach Muzzafarabad was a ‘matter of minutes’ only if they were given a safe passage. If not, they could face death and they knew it.

In Baramulla the journey began in trucks, buses, cars  and motor bikes. Hundreds marched on foot too. Vehicles were honking. Everyone was celebrating. It was a truly popular rebellion, mobilizing the entire society to protest and build a parallel leadership - the leadership of the people. For the first time in my life, I could see people in control of their own destiny.

Women and children lined the sides of the road; some throwing food packets, water bottles, fruits and biscuits at the marchers, some praying for their safety and a few others trying to synchronize with the roaring slogans of Pindi Pindi, Rawalpindi.

A long serpentine line of about 1000 buses and trucks spread over almost five kilometers, driving through the mountainous terrain near Khadinyar, looked as if people were on a pilgrimage. Faces were jubilant, people were screaming with excitement overtaking each other impatiently.

The moment we took a the blind turn near Chahal,  a small township nearly 20 kms from Baramulla, I could see a crowd of paramilitary soldiers sitting in a similar manner we would sit for a group photograph in our school- the first row resting on their bellies in a typical firing position, their guns pointing directly towards the anticipated marchers. The second row stood on one of their knees using the other one as a resting stand for their guns. The third line of soldiers confidently stood in a standing position as a backup, I suppose.

The road behind them had been dug deep with bulldozers making a big rectangular crater across it. A couple of huge tree trunks had also been placed across the road to prevent vehicles from going further.

The vehicles drove slowly towards the soldiers. People had absolutely no idea what was going to happen. Their sheer number had given them an unshakable confidence.

After all, from Sopore fruit Mandi to this village of Chahl, people had already dared half a dozen paramilitary camps, even braved bullets and cleared hundreds of meters of concertina wire spread at a distance of every five minutes as road blockades. As vehicles and marchers moved forward, a blast on a hill on left side of the highway created a huge ball of cloud ripping off the leaves from the trees. It looked like an IED blast that had already been planted by the forces apparently to intimidate the crowds.

Suddenly, teargas shells  and gunfire rained into the crowd. A bus that was leading the huge procession got hit several times. People fell out of it and scrambled, crawling towards its tyres. They ran for cover amid a dense mixture of tear smoke and dust which almost blocked the sunlight making the whole atmosphere somber and ghostly.

 Some climbed up the hill on the left side of the highway hoping to hide themselves behind huge pine and deodar trees while some others jumped off the road on the right side down the river banks. The atmosphere had turned foggy and there was anger everywhere. The drivers drove backwards but there was hardly anything they could do. It was too difficult to negotiate through an unimaginably long line of vehicles spread over almost five kilometers. They had already crossed the last turn and were straight into the firing line of the soldiers.

A few young men were trying to pull the wounded towards the bus that had already been targeted. People were screaming. Gunfire rattled on.

Inside the buses that stood behind the first one, frightened faces were pressed against the windows. They remained cuddled in their seats. Anyone stepping off the bus risked being shot.

A group of people I was a part of were in the middle of the road trying to look for a cover. We had really no place to hide. The two sides on our left or right were too steep to either climb the hill or jump down the paddy fields near the river banks. But a huge rock on one side of the road stood between us and the soldiers; it actually stood between our survival and death.

There were two of us left of the group - me and a boy who hunkered down behind me sharing the cover of the rock. I don’t know how long we stood there. But we could continuously listen to the rattle of gunfire. Many a time he would try to leave the place lured by his anger to throw stones at the government forces, but every time I held him back . There was no point in trying to be bold. We were, at the most, 30 meters away from the spot where several people had already been hit; bullets tearing though their bellies and chests.

When the firing stopped, I, along with dozens of other people, tried to get close to the spot where the firing had actually taken place. Nobody knew how many marchers had been hit. There was no count really. I could only see a trail of blood and a few pairs of shoes lying on the ground. On the other side, the soldiers remorselessly looked at the protestors collecting the dead and the wounded.

People, while carrying the injured, from the crowd were screaming, “this is my cousin,”…”that’s my friend’s brother”. It looked like a massacre. One of the young men who was hit several times was lying on the floor of a truck. He  shouted, “I want to go home,”. His brother who sat next to him repeated, with tears rolling down his cheeks. “I want to go home too. We will. You just bet we will,”. Half an hour later, on way to Baramulla hospital,  he lost both - the bet and his brother.

Between 2 and 3 p.m, nearly 15 people had been hit with bullets. By the time the dead and the injured had been evacuated, people again decided to march ahead. It was surprising that despite three men already shot dead and dozens wounded, people just didn’t stop. In my life I had never seen people marching directly into a hail of gunfire.

The slogans began roaring again, this time even louder. I could see fearless faces all around me. As hundreds started marching ahead, I heard a series of teargas blasts in quick succession. While I was running for cover, I found people behind me glued to the ground. They didn’t budge an inch. Suddenly, a rumble of gunshots followed. I scanned my body to see if I had been hit. My body was trembling. “This time it’s definitely a massacre”, I thought, because the intensity of the gunfire was enormous.

Minutes later, someone shouted from the crowd, “Sheikh Aziz has been hit with a bullet,”. All of a sudden, hundreds of people stepped out of the vehicles and began shouting “ shaheed ki jo mout hai, woh qaum ki hayat hai’, not knowing that Sheikh was still alive, and talking. Amid a dense cloud of dust and tear smoke, I could faintly see an injured Shiekh Aziz being lifted up into a truck that began racing towards me, dozens clinging to its sides and hundreds chasing it shouting “Sheikh Aziz ka kya farmaan, Kashmir banega Pakistan”.

I couldn’t believe myself. Moments earlier, I had seen him grabbing the hands of two young protestors each on either of his side and heard him saying, “We will march on. Let’s  see how many more will they kill”. Honestly, I hadn’t seen him from so close ever before that. I could see no fear on his face. There was a strange seriousness on it.

What I could hear that moment was the cries of people carrying the dead and the injured. Yells, screams and slogans resonated in the air. Ambulances and trucks carrying the dead and injured raced away from the scene.

Till 5 p.m ,four sessions of targeted firing had passed. Four people had already died. And many more were injured. But still people didn’t give up. As the death toll reached five, rest of the valley was already on fire. In Baramulla town where the injured were initially referred for treatment, the rumors of more than a hundred marchers being killed had already broken backs. The situation had turned riot-like. Bunkers were flattened, vehicles burnt, and every single symbol that even remotely represented the idea of India was razed to the ground.

VEDIO OF 11th August: Muzaffarabad Challo (Come to Muzaffarabad

http://www.kbcchannel.tv/index.php?option=com_hwdvideoshare&task=viewvideo&Itemid=125&video_id=95
I came home that day. Emotionally exhausted but grateful - I had survived.

As I sit in my office writing this, I am haunted by a question. How could they shoot people like that. Just watch a crowd march on; sit in a firing position, wait, watch and fire.

About the author: Showkat Nanda is an Assistant Editor with Kashmir Life
More details: Kashmir Life : 
http://www.kashmirlife.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1862:a-march-for-history&catid=69:history&Itemid=211:Vol. No: 3, Issue No: 23, August 20,2011

11th August Foundation pay tributes to Sheikh Aziz, Abdul Qayoom, Jalal-ul-din,Nasir Bakhtiyar, Sheikh Muzamil, Sheikh Zahoor, Shahnawaz Saleem

Pampore, May 21: 11th August Foundation Pampore on Sunday  paid rich tributes to late Mirwaiz Muhammad Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone, Sheikh Aziz, Abdul Qayoom, Jalal-ul-din, Nasir Bakhtiyar, Sheikh Muzamil, Sheikh Zahoor, Shahnawaz Saleem, Dr. Qazi Nisaar, Nasir-ul-Islam, Shamsul Haq, Mohd. Ashraf Dar, Sheikh Abdul hanid, Ashfaq Majeed Wani, Sheikh Ghulam Rasool Azad, Mushtaq Ahmad Lone, Abu Talha, Jamal Afghani, and all of our martyrs  at a seminar organized by 11th August Foundation here.   

Speakers highlighted the supreme sacrifices of Kashmiri martyrs and renewed their pledge to take their mission to a logical end. “They sacrificed their today for our better tomorrow,” speakers said. 

They also denounced the “unabated human rights violations” in Kashmir and appealed the international community to impress upon India to put an end to it.

Terming unity as key to success they said that it was high time that Kashmiri leaders should burry their hatchet and forge a broad based unity so as to take the people out from the dark prospects of despondency and chaos.  

Describing dialogue as a civilized way to resolve dispute they said that Kashmiris were not averse to dialogue, however, they maintained that bilateralism had miserably failed to resolve Kashmir dispute and emphasized the need for associating genuin. (Writer-South Asia)

Glowing tributes paid to Sheikh Aziz

Mirwaiz Umar, Sheikh Yaqoob remembers Shaheed-i-Azemat (Martyr of Determination)

Srinagar, August11: Senior Hurriyat Leader and Chairman Jammu Kashmir Peoples League, Sheikh Yaqoob has said that the second death anniversary of Sheikh Abdul Aziz Shaheed-e-Azemat  (Martyr of Determination), would be observed across Jammu Kashmir on August 11. Sheikh Yaqoob reiterated that Aziz was imprisoned scores of times for the sole crime of speaking the truth, never compromising his principles and calling for justice. Yaqoob said that the people of Kashmir would never forget the selfless contribution and the tireless efforts of Sheikh Sahib, who has scarified his life for the cause of nation.

Srinagar-Muzaffarabd March 

VEDIO: http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=07P7fiM-rYQ
 

Yaqoob said that the blood of martyrs would not go waste as Kashmir is being discussed in international forums and the world community had taken keen interest in its solution.

"The Kashmir movement is passing through a critical phase and all of us have to resolve our determination towards it. We have to accept the challenges and take the movement to its logical end," Sheikh added

The PL Chairman said that this Day will be observed also in international level like in Pakistan, Brussels, Canada, Australia, etc to reaffirm Kashmiris resolve to continue their struggle against all odds.
Sheikh  Yaqoob called upon the world community and international human rights organizations to put pressure on India to halt massive human rights violations in Kashmir and resolve the long-standing Kashmir dispute in accordance with aspirations of Kashmiris. 

 Sheikh Aziz (Martyr of Determination), was killed on 11th August 2008 at Chayal Boniyar Uri, Baramulla while heading a peaceful protest march to LOC in view of the economic blockade enforced on Kashmiris by right wing Hindu organizations of Jammu.

Meanwhile paying rich tributes to senior pro-freedom leader,  Saheed-i-Azemat (Martyr of Determination), Sheikh Abdul Aziz on his second death anniversary, Chairman Hurriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Tuesday said Aziz and others were martyred during the 2008 Muzaffrabad march under a deep rooted conspiracy of suppressing the Hurriyat leadership and weakening the resolve of people towards freedom.

“Shaheed-e-Azmat Sheikh Aziz was a man of courage, sacrifice, commitment and determination,” Mirwaiz said in a statement here. He also pledged not to allow the sacrifices of the likes of Sheikh Aziz (Martyr of Determination),and thousands others to go waste while pledging to take the freedom movement to its logical end.

Meanwhile, the Hurriyat faction has organized a seminar titled “ Martyrdom is the goal of a believer” at the Hurriyat’s Rajbagh Headquarters tomorrow at 2 p.m. “ Fateh Khawani will be offered at the martyrs’ graveyard before that,” a spokesman of the amalgam said. (Writer-South Asia)

Glowing tributes paid to Sheikh Aziz

Washington, August 09 : Kashmir American Council-KAC, Ex Director Dr Ghualm Nabi Fai rich tributes were paid to the Shaheed-e-Azeemat, Sheikh Abdul Aziz who has scarified his life for the cause of nation. Sheikh Aziz was ascribed to be amongst the frontline Pro-freedom leaders and was one of the Executive Member of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) - which represents the aspiration of Kashmiris politically, diplomatically and socially.

On August 11, 2008, about 300,000 people from across  Kashmir, along with trucks loaded with fruit, began marching toward several points on the 778-kilometer Line of Control to cross over into the Pakistani side of Kashmir, in their bid to reach Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir. Indian security forces opened fire at the marchers at several places to break up their protests, killing 10, including senior Pro-pakistani Kashmiri leader (commonly known as Baba-e-Jehad-i-Kashmir) Sheikh Abdul Aziz who was also a prominent member of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference and was also a member of the co-ordination committee of ethnic and religious nationalities struggling for right to self-determination under the chairmanship of Justice Ajit Singh Bains formed in Delhi on March 23, 2008.  “Sheikh Aziz was a friend of Sikhs and supporter of Sikh cause for independence,” Over 1,000 people were arrested, and hundreds of wounded were hospitalized at different hospitals across the Kashmir valley. As the protests continued, over 3000 truckloads of fruit were destroyed, allegedly by Indian security forces.

Protests calling for freedom from India continued through August and September in different parts of  Kashmir, with dozens killed and hundreds injured. However, a government-brokered agreement with the Hindu protesters of the Jammu region was reached, under which the land allotment to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), which had been cancelled due to protests by Kashmiri Muslims, was revived in a different form.

The Jammu and Kashmir government, with the understanding of some Muslim and Hindu leaders, leased the land to the SASB for the limited pilgrimage season, giving them no proprietary or title rights. The Hindu leaders called off their stir after signing the lease agreement. The agreement said: "The Shrine Board  may use the land for erecting temporary prefabricated accommodation and toilet facilities and for shopkeepers to set up shops."  This second reversal by the government in its decision to allocate the land to the Hindu shrine has been rejected by the Kashmiri leaders, fuelling a continuation of anti-India protests. The demonstrations are the biggest since 11th august, 2008 when violent anti-India protests killed about 72 Kashmiri  muslims.

Kashmiri Americans held a peace rally in front of the Indian Embassy to record their protest against human rights violations in occupied Kashmir and to remind Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India, that his promise of zero tolerance has not seen the light of the day.

The demonstration was highly impressive and reverberating with the slogans of “Indian army go back.” Protesters were carrying placards demanding ‘Self-determination’, ‘India honour UN pledges’, ‘Stop killing of peaceful protesters’, ‘Stop state terrorism in Kashmir’, ‘President Obama appoint special envoy on Kashmir’ and ‘Kashmiris demand right to life’.

The participants also raised slogans having one singular theme that India quit Kashmir and allow the people of Kashmir to choose their political destiny. All the Diaspora political parties showed unflinching faith in their goal for freedom.

The Executive Director of Kashmir Centre Washington, Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai addressing the protesters said, “We demand that Indian Government stop the killings and agree to an impartial investigation into the recent killings, and into the human rights violations going on in Kashmir for the longest time.” He said that to resolve the outstanding Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, the international community in general, the United States in particular, and the full leadership of the people of Jammu and Kashmir must be involved for lasting peace in South Asia.

Ms Sanaa Naqash said, “My heart aches and I feel grieved for the innocent kids brutally being beaten, shot and killed. I can't bear to see such acts done to my people anymore. This needs to end and we need to stand together as one, during this difficult time. Let us pray for our kids, the mothers that lost their sons, the fathers that lost their shields, the sons that lost their fathers, and all the people that have sacrificed their lives for us.”

Attorney Mumtaz Wani implored that the sacrifices of the Kashmiri people will not be allowed to go waste and the world would have to honour their determination for salvation and freedom. He said that the killings of teenagers must shake the conscience of all peace loving people.

Ehtisham Kayani pledged to support the cause of Kashmir till the people achieved their right to self-determination. He said that self-determination is non-negotiable.
Mujtaba Wani made a passionate appeal to the world community to come forward to rescue the innocent people of Kashmir.

Umaid Qureishi made fervent plea to President Obama to use his personal influence to persuade India and Pakistan to settle the dispute over Kashmir and impress upon India to bring an end to the atrocities by Indian troops in occupied Kashmir.

Zubair Khan said that the people of Azad Kashmir were united in their support to the oppressed people of Kashmir. Ms Aneela Khan appealed the audience to continue the struggle at the international level to make the world community aware that Kashmiris would not accept anything short of right to self-determination.

Noorul Amin said that the sacrifices of the people of Kashmir would not go in vain.  He asked the world community to come to rescue the people of Kashmir in their hour of need. Zulfikar Khan congratulated the Kashmiri Americans for making the demonstration a grand success. This demonstration he said is a moral booster for those who have said no to Indian occupation. (Writer-South Asia)

Come to Pampore: Syed Ali Shah Gilani

SASG: In Pampore on 11th August, 2008

Srinagar, August 8:  Acording to Kashmir Media service, a two-day shutdown will be observed from tomorrow to protest against the killing of innocent protesters by Indian police and troops.

Call for the shutdown has been given by veteran Kashmiri Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani as part of the Quit Kashmir Movement. He urged people to conduct a march towards Pampore town on Wednesday to mark the 2nd martyrdom anniversary of APHC leader, Shaheed-e-Azemat Sheikh Abdul Aziz.

The Acting President of High Court Bar Association of  Kashmir, Aijaz Bedar and senior lawyer, Zafar Shah addressing a press conference in Srinagar, today, said that the occupation authorities had restricted all political activities in the occupied territory, which had forced the lawyers to come on streets. They demanded immediate release of the Bar President, Mian Abdul Qayoom and General Secretary, Ghulam Nabi Shaheen and all Hurriyet leaders and activists.

The APHC Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who continued to remain under house arrest urged the Organization of Islamic Conference to immediately call a session of its Kashmir Contact Group to deliberate on prevailing situation in occupied Kashmir. The Executive Council of APHC in a meeting in Srinagar said that the liberation movement would continue till the Kashmiris secured their inalienable right to self-determination.

Citizens Forum for Democratic Rights took out a peace march in Jammu to express solidarity with the victims of Indian police and troops in the Kashmir Valley during the last two months. The march was led by Professor Zahoorudin, Anu Radha B Jamwal and Advocate Chowdhry Anwar.

The Washington-based, Muslim Public Affairs Council in a statement posted on its website while calling for an immediate end to the use of force against the civilians in occupied Kashmir demanded an impartial international probe into the recent civilian killings by Indian police and troops in the territory.

JKPL paid homage to Shaheed-e-Azeemat, Sheikh Abdul Aziz

Srinagar, August 9: An extra ordinary meeting of Jammu Kashmir Peoples League-JKPL  was held today at its central office Rajbagh Srinagar chaired by Mukhtar Ahmad Waza and attended by Senior Peoples League Leaders, which include, Ghulam Qadir Rah Imtiyaz Ahmad Reshi, Shakeel-ul Rehman, Afaaq Ahmnad and Shabir Ahmad. In the meeting rich tributes were paid to the Shaheed-e-Azeemat, Sheikh Abdul Aziz who has scarified his life for the cause of nation. Sheikh Aziz was ascribed to be amongst the frontline Pro-freedom leaders and was one of the Executive Member of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) - which represents the aspiration of Kashmiris politically, diplomatically and socially.

Jammu Kashmir Peoples League said that the sacrifices of Kashmiri martyrs would not be allowed to go waste and their mission would be taken to its logical conclusion. While speaking in the meeting senior Hurriyat Leader and Acting Chairman Jammu Kashmir Peoples League, Mukhtar Ahmad Waza said that Kashmiri martyrs centre-staged Kashmir dispute at the international level. He reiterated the pledge to continue the liberation struggle, despite all odds.

Mukhtar Waza reiterated that mission of martyrs Shaheed.e.Azeemat, Sheikh Abdul Aziz will be taken to its logical conclusion despite all odds. He said that the martyred leader remained dedicated to his mission till the day of his martyrdom.

Waza said that “Right from 1947, India has been trying to suppress the voice of Kashmiris by force. But neither they succeeded in the past, nor they would in future,” Mukhtar Waza pointed out that the international human rights organization had been calling upon India from time to time to stop rights abuses in Kashmir but these pleas had been falling on deaf ears.

Waza has appealed to the international community particularly the United Nations and the Organizations of Islamic Conference to take cognizance of the atrocities being committed by Indian troops against innocent people of Kashmir.

The Killing of Shiekh Abdul Aziz and First Kashmir-Wide Curfew in 19 Years

Saheed-e-Azemat Sheikh Abdul Aziz and relatives of missing and imprisoned people participate in a protest against Human Rights violations in Srinagar, summer capital of  Kashmir . The people fear that their missing relatives might have been killed and buried in hundreds of recently discovered unmarked graves in Northern Kashmir. Amnesty International too has urged India to launch an urgent inquiry into nearly 1,000 unmarked graves found during the past two years by Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies. / Javed Dar

Srinagar, Jully 29: The Killing of Shiekh Abdul Aziz and First Kashmir-Wide Curfew in 19 Years

On August 11, 2008, about 300,000 people from across  Kashmir, along with trucks loaded with fruit, began marching toward several points on the 778-kilometer Line of Control to cross over into the Pakistani side of Kashmir, in their bid to reach Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir. Indian security forces opened fire at the marchers at several places to break up their protests, killing 10, including senior Pro-pakistani Kashmiri leader (commonly known as Baba-e-Jehad-i-Kashmir) Sheikh Abdul Aziz who was also a prominent member of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference and was also a member of the co-ordination committee of ethnic and religious nationalities struggling for right to self-determination under the chairmanship of Justice Ajit Singh Bains formed in Delhi on March 23, 2008.  “Sheikh Aziz was a friend of Sikhs and supporter of Sikh cause for independence,” Over 1,000 people were arrested, and hundreds of wounded were hospitalized at different hospitals across the Kashmir valley. As the protests continued, over 3000 truckloads of fruit were destroyed, allegedly by Indian security forces.

Protests calling for freedom from India continued through August and September in different parts of  Kashmir, with dozens killed and hundreds injured. However, a government-brokered agreement with the Hindu protesters of the Jammu region was reached, under which the land allotment to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), which had been cancelled due to protests by Kashmiri Muslims, was revived in a different form.

The Jammu and Kashmir government, with the understanding of some Muslim and Hindu leaders, leased the land to the SASB for the limited pilgrimage season, giving them no proprietary or title rights. The Hindu leaders called off their stir after signing the lease agreement. The agreement said: "The Shrine Board  may use the land for erecting temporary prefabricated accommodation and toilet facilities and for shopkeepers to set up shops."  This second reversal by the government in its decision to allocate the land to the Hindu shrine has been rejected by the Kashmiri leaders, fuelling a continuation of anti-India protests. The demonstrations are the biggest since 11th august, 2008 when violent anti-India protests killed about 72 Kashmiri  muslims. (Writer-South Asia)