A view point of a Pakistani about Kashmir

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Imran Hamza

Should Pakistan give up POK?
I grew up in Karachi and have seen enough army officers always talking about taking Kashmir back from India. I had an uncle in the Pakistani Army who told me a lot about the army and how they want to deal with India. After moving to the United States and seeing the world a little bit, I wonder, After about 70 years of perpetual nonending war, if Should Pakistan still pursue the war to take back the POK.

Let's go back to the beginning of this conflict, As I understand it, The king of Kashmir Raja Hari Singh wanted to stay independent, Not wanting to join India or Pakistan, But there was a lot of pressure from both India and Pakistan to join either country and not be an Independent nation. But before Raja Hari Singh could make up his mind Pakistan sends its army to take Kashmir by force, In his panic he turns to India to protect Kashmir, The Indian government saw an opportunity in this chaos and gave Raja Hari Singh and his government a choice, either deal with the Pakistani army by yourself or join India, we will then send the Indian army, Raja Hari Singh made his choice and signed the instrument of accession, thereby officially joining all of Kashmir with India. Then India airlifts Indian soldiers to Kashmir, they start pushing back the Pak Army and the war ended in a ceasefire.
So as I understand legally all of Kashmir belongs to India. But having grown up there I know most Pakistanis are brainwashed into thinking that India is the aggressor, I used to defend Pakistan all the time. Now after living in the USA for so many years, I have friends from India, Kashmir both POK and Indian Administered Kashmir. I view things differently now.
The Pakistan Army controls the entire country and is the real power in Pakistan, The so-called democratically elected government is just an elaborate show to negotiate with the liberal world. Using this conflict the Pakistani Army generals have made themselves rich. And they make sure the Pakistani people are against India by feeding them a lot of false information, It took me many years to see the truth.
I love Pakistan, I love Karachi, But I think it’s time we realize this is a war we will never win. Pakistan's economy has been going down for about 70 years, and India’s economy is growing and going up this whole time, All they have to do is put us in this arms race with India and we will dig ourselves into a deeper hole. We will never be able to compete with them, and we have been losing for 70 years.
Now, let’s talk about the other player in their Conflict, China, We all know China cannot be trusted, you can ask any child in India, Pakistan, or anywhere in the world, and they will tell you the truth about China, they are using this enmity with India to colonize Pakistan, believe me, they are using us. they never helped Pakistan in any war, they just use us when they want. now, they see India as a bigger market for their goods and they seem to be siding with India. we have to be very careful with China. They treat Pakistanis very badly, with horrible racist attitudes, there are so many videos that have surfaced showing the mistreatment of Pakistanis by Chinese in Pakistan itself. When are we going to open our eyes? wake up and see the real enemy. The Pakistani Army and China are the real enemies. Most Indians don’t care about Kashmir, they care about their economy. This Modi government or any government in India can use the Kashmir conflict to its political benefit. So even if this is not resolved it will help politicians on both sides.

 

[swarn bains]

you are correct. pakistani army grabs all the help it recceives from saudis and usa. they feed the public with hate for india. china on the other hand is an imperialist power. they destroyed sri lanka now they are after pakistan. when Imran khan became the prime minister of pakistan he offered to india to make the settle ment with honest deed but india rejected with a pretence that pakistan should hand over the bombay attackers to india then they will talk peace. Indian leaders know that pakistan is out of control. india also is using kashmir to misguide the indian public they way pakistan does. In general there is no solution except to draw the boundry at the line of control. some day when both countries realize they will make peace this way, other wise the stalemate continues. china attacking india in ladakh may help the indian government to make peace with pakistan. this is my thinking, so good luck

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Since now the help from the USA and Saudi Arab to Pakistan is stopped Pakistan is in a financial mess. The internal strife due to political infight has further made the condition of Pakistan precarious. The fight is between Imran Khan +SC and Shahbaz Sharif +Army Chief. Despite Shahbaz and Army Chief to decimation, Imran Khan has not only failed but bounced back very adversely and Imran has turned out a gainer. The attempt to disqualify Iran and his party may further boomerang and possibly a civil war may start which may destroy or disintegrate Pakistan. For India, a peaceful Pakistan as a neighbor is the best bet as the fire from Pakistan may heat up the situation on both sides.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Ghazi Baba: the most dreaded terrorist; his activities and elimination: an overview
Ghazi Baba(originally Shahbaz Khan from Bhawalpur) also called Osama of Kashmir was one of the most dreaded militants of Kashmir in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was Jaish-e-muhammad's (JeM) Kashmir Chief and was Pakistani. He fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the late 80s. Between 1996–2003 he was responsible for the killings of 100s of Indian security forces Personnel as well as many Hindus. He was the mastermind of the Indian Parliament attacking 2001 and the Indian Airlines flight IC-184 Hijack from Kathmandu..

HOW HE WAS KILLED:—

While Shahbaz Khan mainly operated in southern Kashmir, notably in Shopian, Anantnag, and Pahalgam, he had an extensive network in Srinagar. The BSF claims that Khan had three wives in Kashmir. Shahbaz Khan(Ghazi Baba) identified himself on Jaish-e-Mohammad wireless conversations as "39". He had earlier used the call-signs `Kairwan', `Jihadi', `Sajjad', `Sajid Bhai', `M7', `V3', `Green Zero', `Usman Bhai', `Arman Bhai' and `Doctor'.

It was one of the greatest encounters in Kashmir of the 2000s and one of the most successful operations done by BSF led by NN Dubey, Kirti Chakra (Now DIG-NIA) in 2003 @ Srinagar.

(NN Dubey, then Deputy Commandant(Now DIG-NIA) receiving Kirti Chakra).

The story before the encounter goes like this-

IB & R&AW from the past 2 years had laid traps and cultivated sources to Capture Ghazi but in vain. As no one had ever seen Ghazi Baba and those security personnel who had seen him weren't alive to tell the story. Plus he was an expert in changing his identity. Sometimes he becomes a tailor, sometimes a local Gujjar, and sometimes a farmer.

During the Routine patrol of BSF, one of the Ghazi's Pakistani agents was caught. A BSF officer who for the past 1 year was tracking Ghazi's movement in Srinagar and nearby areas cultivated him at an appropriate place and he led to another source in Anantnag which led to one of the hideouts of Ghazi in Srinagar.

The team of BSF started to mingle with the local population & even started attending local functions in nearby areas. This led to regular visits of BSF men in local houses in disguise. Soon they found out that Ghazi had married a local Kashmiri woman and bought a house in her name too… But they were not sure whether Ghazi was there or not. The house was like any other house except it had a hidden secret door behind the dressing table. The house had CCTV all around to track the movement of Security forces by Ghazi. Over several days G-Branch of BSF intercepted many wireless messages, however, the breakthrough came when on 28th August 2003 troops at a Border Security Force (BSF) checkpoint in Srinagar randomly flagged down a passing cyclist. The man, unusually, attempted to run. Troops grappled him to the ground. When they found that his chest was covered with explosives, they bundled him into a passing car and drove him to the headquarters of the BSF's 61 Battalion. Interrogators from the BSF's intelligence wing, the G-Branch, soon realized they had a windfall. The terrorist was a Pakistan national and knew of half a dozen Jaish-e-Mohammad hideouts scattered across Srinagar. The wireless intercepts and information from Jaish militants confirmed that big fish(Ghazi) is in Srinagar and in the particular house.

A small crack team under Deputy Commandant NN Dubey was sent to Safa Kadal Area to enter and engage With Ghazi Baba without raising suspicion. However, Dubey's team was recognized by one of the Associates of Ghazi Baba through CCTV and hence began the fierce encounter. Deputy Commandant NN Dubey and another officer entered the house amidst the heavy fire. Dubey was hit 9 times from across the dressing table mirror (hidden room). However, b4 falling unconscious he removed the mirror and found many militants hiding and firing from behind. 7 BSF men and officers were grievously injured and two were killed. Dubey fired the burst from AK-47 b4 felling unconscious which hit Ghazi Baba, later BSF reinforcement entered the house retrieved the injured BSF men, and burst the Secret room, and hence laid the dead body of Ghazi Baba and his associates.

NN Dubey remained in coma for an year and later was awarded Kirti Chakra for operation. Later moved to NIA, where he is presently serving as DIG.