Kashmir Halcyon:

By Daanish Bin Nabi Since last year, journalists – locals as well as from mainland India – have tried their luck to get an interview of Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani as the state has made it impossible for the journalists to meet him. Not everyone is lucky to get into the heavily monitored residence-cum-office of ailing senior Hurriyat leader.    On the pleasant morning of August 10, 2017 (Thursday), I was one of the few lucky journalists who was able to sneak through the heavy contingent of state police and paramilitary personnel, after frisking and making excuses, to get into residence-cum-office of the old-guard of “resistance” leader in Kashmir. The purpose of meeting Geelani was an interview which I had been assigned by the office. Once inside the military fortress, I was told to wait as doctors were examining him (Geelani). His health condition has considerably deteriorated since last many months due to the continuous house detention and old-age fac...

By Daanish Bin Nabi As the encounter between militants and government forces has become order-of-day in Kashmir valley; it is the common people who have to bear the brunt of the economic lose. This is the story of people who have lost almost every¬thing in this bloody conflict including their homes. There is also a perception among many of the cases where they think the government forces punish them deliberately as the civilian allegedly give shelter to the militants.  On March 9, 2017 two militants barged into the house of Ghulam Mohammad Sheikh in the open paddy fields of Padgampora area of Pulwama.   By 2:00 AM, government forces including troops of 130 Battalion CRPF, 55 Rashtirya Rifles and SOG Pulwama laid a siege to the area. Around 2:15 AM Sheikh’s family was asked to leave the house so that government forces could engage the militants.  “We were asked to leave the house. How¬ever, forces took my son, Waseem Ahmad Sheikh with them. He was beaten to pul...

By Daanish Bin Nabi The situation in south Kashmir has remained beyond government’s reach since last year. The south which once was the ruling Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) bastion and vote base has turned against the same party. This piece is part of my visit to various areas of south Kashmir, which I undertook last week to know and understand the peoples’ perception about the party which once they identified with.  “We want independent Kashmir,”  this was stated to me by one of the youth in Qaimoh area of Kulgam while I was on a visit to south Kashmir for the first time after the death of Hizb-ul-Mujahhidin commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani. The statement from a 21-year-old-chap amply shows the alienation among the youth in Kashmir is complete. The area right from Panthachowk, on outskirts of Srinagar, upto Anantnag town is cramped with soldiers, many of whom wore black uniform. Maximum concentration of forces can be seen from Pampore to Lethpora stretch, were mil...

By Daanish Bin Nabi The surfacing of videos on social media in Kashmir showing the atrocities against the people is no good sign for the future of Kashmir. Such videos can only add further flames to the already deteriorated situation of Kashmir.  Many political analysts believe that these videos are only surfacing to instill fear among the local populace in Kashmir. However, whosoever agency is releasing these videos on social media networking sites is forgetting the future repercussions it will have in Kashmir. On other hand, there are also videos showing how common people in two different videos try to rescue the CRPF troopers and in one another video some of the youth heckle a CRPF trooper. Adding fuel to fire Indian media kept broadcasting these videos during their prime time shows. It is not that they should not report or turn a blind eye, But two points need to be taken into consideration. First, the twist that the anchors give to these videos does not help the si...

By Daanish Bin Nabi Many western countries, especially India, look at Pakistan as a failed country. However, what their myopic mind refuses to acknowledge is the flourishing democracy that has come back to Pakistan after 2008, when Gen Parvaiz Musharraf was overthrown by lawyers’ agitation. Since then the country has been on a progressive curve in every field including the democracy.  Since the emergence of, cricketer-turned-politician, Imran Khan on the political landscape of Pakistan by the end of 2010, the democracy in Pakistan has grown many folds including her economy and GDP that has grown quite considerably well, but still only the images of suicide attacks beam world over, especially by its neighbours. In the above stated scheme of things comes the one of the most talked scandals that has hit Pakistan in recent times the – Panama Paper Leaks. The Panama Papers, which refer to a massive trove of secret documents leaked from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca had s...

Daanish Bin Nabi daanishnabi@gmail.com Talking to mothers about sons no more is the most difficult task. Here Daanish Bin Nabi talks to some mothers of Kashmiri local militants, almost none among them had imagined that their loved ones will be brandishing AK47s for the  “resistance movement”  in Kashmir.  Shareefa, mother of Aadil Reshi, is yet to come to terms with the loss of her son. Aadil, a B.Com graduate with one year diploma in computers, left home after having lunch and told his family that he was going to Pahalgam for picnic with friends. Same day a policeman was killed and according to Aadil’s family members, Police held him responsible for killing. Shareefa in a very low tone says , “I talked to him last time when he got trapped in Awoora area of Pahalgam on January 15, 2017. He called his father, Mushtaq Ahmed Reshi, at 4:00 PM and we talked to him for one and hour half before I heard barrage of firing on the other side of the phone.” “He ...