It is time to take stock of the situation and hold those accountable who have turned a genuine rights movement into a ‘free house’ for a free drink
Dr Syed Nazir Gilani
It would a statement of facts to say that after militancy and politics, the third ‘component’ of diplomacy used in advancing the Kashmir case has suddenly entered into a cul de sac. The manner and character of the diplomatic work agreed in an expressed or at times unexpressed manner by Hurriyat and Pakistan has become subject of a criminal complaint before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, United States of America.
It would a statement of facts to say that after militancy and politics, the third ‘component’ of diplomacy used in advancing the Kashmir case has suddenly entered into a cul de sac. The manner and character of the diplomatic work agreed in an expressed or at times unexpressed manner by Hurriyat and Pakistan has become subject of a criminal complaint before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, United States of America.
A criminal complaint has been lodged by a Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation, against Dr Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai and Zaheer Ahmad for “conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign principal without registering with the Attorney General and to falsify, conceal and cover up material by tricks, schemes and devices, in matters within the jurisdiction of agencies of the executive branch of the Government of the United States”. The broad spread of the work being done by the three Kashmir Centres in Washington, London and Brussels and their three incharges are identified in a manner which of course has remained the concern of many of us who understand the jurisprudence of Kashmir case, remain close to the day to day life of the people (not leaders) and who have a pre-1990 commitment with the Rights Movement.
Dr Fai has been accused as an American citizen to have violated the Laws of his country. We can’t do much about it other than seek to secure a proper legal defence and of course there would be plenty of it, even if not for him but for many other reasons. At the very outset one should not seek or think to compromise on the principle that in addition to being an American citizen, he continues to remain a State Subject of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. If it were a world of rule of law and the supremacy of Constitution, the three governments of Kashmir at Srinagar, Muzaffarabad and Gilgit should have an interest in the arrest of Dr Fai and ensure that a Kashmiri does not suffer any disadvantage in his difficult days. Kashmiri diaspora also have a duty to make sure that he is not left to himself and made a scapegoat, while the regime does not halt to see the harm done in Kashmir to the people, habitat and the right of self-determination.
We have no reason to celebrate the situation. However, it is high time to sit undisturbed and revisit our work on Kashmir and admit that the regime which has been controlling the politics, militancy and diplomacy on Kashmir has failed. People of Kashmir have been recruited to follow a certain script and unless the text of the play in all Acts written and organised by using the manner of Kashmiri punctuation, Pakistan would arrest Raymond Davis and Americans would reply in no different manner. We have Kashmiri Raymond Davis’s as well. For every American or Kashmiri Raymond Davis there has to be a date. I have love and respect for Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, not for the manner and character of his work but for the simple fact that he is a Kashmiri and I have known him as a decent human person since early 1970s.
It is no surprise that Pakistan, Hurriyat and some others who remain in close proximity to the Principal’s who look after Kashmir affairs took a little while to formulate their response. There was more to lose in going silent or stepping back on the arrest. Therefore, Government of Pakistan, which in this case means establishment, had no choice but to make some noise. It was picked up by our political leaders on both sides of LoC.
Dr Fai should not be left to his fate in these criminal proceedings in USA. We should see to it that in addition to his rights as an American national he has the warmth of our moral support, not because he is a good ambassador of Kashmir, but because he is a Kashmiri and we may make many mistakes in the course of our struggle for self-determination. We should not leave it to the process in the United States District Court in Virginia but take it to the Court of the people of Kashmir.
The 131 paragraphs of the affidavit spread over 44 pages do not make a good reading. They disturb and make one feel very low. One is left with a feeling of bitterness to know that we have continued to wear disguises in the name of Kashmir and have done harm to the right of self-determination far more than anyone else. It is unfortunate that after 1990 our political, militant and diplomatic components of the Rights Movement have been exposed and weakened one after the other. These three variables do need finances and support but they have a choice to engage India and Pakistan (as the case may be) as allies and not as their agents as described in the criminal complaint filed against Dr Fai.
If he has remained in charge of any financial and other trust on behalf of the people of Kashmir, it is unacceptable if he had not the choice in the manner of seeking to enhance the constituency which could have been sympathetic to the cause of Kashmir. A portion of finances in rights movement may suffer a natural loss or may not be well spent. But one should not lose the sight of the fact that this money should advance the cause and earn some relief for the suffering individuals in all parts of Kashmir or many others in the diaspora who have suffered on account of a political, militant and diplomatic script written by a section in the establishment in Islamabad. Establishment has found power, prestige and money in Kashmir and would practice any trick in the book to recruit their ‘ambassadors’ in and outside Kashmir.
It is here that every common Kashmiri has a duty to intervene and interfere. It may seem difficult at one point that individuals or institutions who stand at variance to the establishment in Islamabad and continue to remain on the side of the jurisprudence of Kashmir case and the people may not be able to match up resources of the establishment, does not always mean that we should all turn into ‘conformists’. We have a duty to our conscience, principles and above all our people. Dr Fai’s arrest has a lesson for us that circumstances alter cases. We need to make every effort that Dr Fai is released as early as possible and we should examine all the 131 paras of the affidavit filed in the criminal case in a manner that fits the character of a responsible nation.
We should not let the establishment in Pakistan (or India) appoint people for us to conduct politics, militancy and diplomatic work in the manner described in the affidavit of Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation. We need to seek alliances with allies and resist to become agents in any manner. Hurriyat leadership and others who remain involved in various disciplines of life in Kashmir need to update their understanding of the Kashmir case. Hurriyat by virtue of its Constitution should appear to be representing all the people of Jammu and Kashmir, regardless of their political belief. Deep down in their hearts they are free to harbour a desire to join India, Pakistan or remain independent but prima facie their role has to appear all inclusive.
We have to move beyond the scripted roles delegated to our leadership in all the three components of the movement. It is time to take stock of the situation and hold those accountable who have turned a genuine rights movement into a ‘free house’ for a free drink. The blood of a generation is on our hands. We remain liable and accountable. Establishment shall have to appear in the court of common interest and we may have to take them to other international forums for the harm that their policies have caused to the people, habitat and self-determination. My thoughts are with Dr Fai and he should remain assured that establishment would be doing a favour to itself by putting all support in order for his robust defence. It does not mean we shall not summon Dr Fai in a court of public interest to explain various matters arising out of the US criminal complaint.
Author is London based Secretary General of JKCHR – NGO in Special Consultative Status with the United Nations and can be mailed at dr-nazirgilani@jkchr.com
Dr Fai has been accused as an American citizen to have violated the Laws of his country. We can’t do much about it other than seek to secure a proper legal defence and of course there would be plenty of it, even if not for him but for many other reasons. At the very outset one should not seek or think to compromise on the principle that in addition to being an American citizen, he continues to remain a State Subject of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. If it were a world of rule of law and the supremacy of Constitution, the three governments of Kashmir at Srinagar, Muzaffarabad and Gilgit should have an interest in the arrest of Dr Fai and ensure that a Kashmiri does not suffer any disadvantage in his difficult days. Kashmiri diaspora also have a duty to make sure that he is not left to himself and made a scapegoat, while the regime does not halt to see the harm done in Kashmir to the people, habitat and the right of self-determination.
We have no reason to celebrate the situation. However, it is high time to sit undisturbed and revisit our work on Kashmir and admit that the regime which has been controlling the politics, militancy and diplomacy on Kashmir has failed. People of Kashmir have been recruited to follow a certain script and unless the text of the play in all Acts written and organised by using the manner of Kashmiri punctuation, Pakistan would arrest Raymond Davis and Americans would reply in no different manner. We have Kashmiri Raymond Davis’s as well. For every American or Kashmiri Raymond Davis there has to be a date. I have love and respect for Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, not for the manner and character of his work but for the simple fact that he is a Kashmiri and I have known him as a decent human person since early 1970s.
It is no surprise that Pakistan, Hurriyat and some others who remain in close proximity to the Principal’s who look after Kashmir affairs took a little while to formulate their response. There was more to lose in going silent or stepping back on the arrest. Therefore, Government of Pakistan, which in this case means establishment, had no choice but to make some noise. It was picked up by our political leaders on both sides of LoC.
Dr Fai should not be left to his fate in these criminal proceedings in USA. We should see to it that in addition to his rights as an American national he has the warmth of our moral support, not because he is a good ambassador of Kashmir, but because he is a Kashmiri and we may make many mistakes in the course of our struggle for self-determination. We should not leave it to the process in the United States District Court in Virginia but take it to the Court of the people of Kashmir.
The 131 paragraphs of the affidavit spread over 44 pages do not make a good reading. They disturb and make one feel very low. One is left with a feeling of bitterness to know that we have continued to wear disguises in the name of Kashmir and have done harm to the right of self-determination far more than anyone else. It is unfortunate that after 1990 our political, militant and diplomatic components of the Rights Movement have been exposed and weakened one after the other. These three variables do need finances and support but they have a choice to engage India and Pakistan (as the case may be) as allies and not as their agents as described in the criminal complaint filed against Dr Fai.
If he has remained in charge of any financial and other trust on behalf of the people of Kashmir, it is unacceptable if he had not the choice in the manner of seeking to enhance the constituency which could have been sympathetic to the cause of Kashmir. A portion of finances in rights movement may suffer a natural loss or may not be well spent. But one should not lose the sight of the fact that this money should advance the cause and earn some relief for the suffering individuals in all parts of Kashmir or many others in the diaspora who have suffered on account of a political, militant and diplomatic script written by a section in the establishment in Islamabad. Establishment has found power, prestige and money in Kashmir and would practice any trick in the book to recruit their ‘ambassadors’ in and outside Kashmir.
It is here that every common Kashmiri has a duty to intervene and interfere. It may seem difficult at one point that individuals or institutions who stand at variance to the establishment in Islamabad and continue to remain on the side of the jurisprudence of Kashmir case and the people may not be able to match up resources of the establishment, does not always mean that we should all turn into ‘conformists’. We have a duty to our conscience, principles and above all our people. Dr Fai’s arrest has a lesson for us that circumstances alter cases. We need to make every effort that Dr Fai is released as early as possible and we should examine all the 131 paras of the affidavit filed in the criminal case in a manner that fits the character of a responsible nation.
We should not let the establishment in Pakistan (or India) appoint people for us to conduct politics, militancy and diplomatic work in the manner described in the affidavit of Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation. We need to seek alliances with allies and resist to become agents in any manner. Hurriyat leadership and others who remain involved in various disciplines of life in Kashmir need to update their understanding of the Kashmir case. Hurriyat by virtue of its Constitution should appear to be representing all the people of Jammu and Kashmir, regardless of their political belief. Deep down in their hearts they are free to harbour a desire to join India, Pakistan or remain independent but prima facie their role has to appear all inclusive.
We have to move beyond the scripted roles delegated to our leadership in all the three components of the movement. It is time to take stock of the situation and hold those accountable who have turned a genuine rights movement into a ‘free house’ for a free drink. The blood of a generation is on our hands. We remain liable and accountable. Establishment shall have to appear in the court of common interest and we may have to take them to other international forums for the harm that their policies have caused to the people, habitat and self-determination. My thoughts are with Dr Fai and he should remain assured that establishment would be doing a favour to itself by putting all support in order for his robust defence. It does not mean we shall not summon Dr Fai in a court of public interest to explain various matters arising out of the US criminal complaint.
Author is London based Secretary General of JKCHR – NGO in Special Consultative Status with the United Nations and can be mailed at dr-nazirgilani@jkchr.com
No comments