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| Afghanistan-Pak-India |
| Kashmiris question Pakistani response to the quake |
| 2005-10-18 |
| The Oct. 8 earthquake that devastated Kashmir, killing about 40,000 people, also rocked the political foundation of the disputed Himalayan province. Many Kashmiris have been livid at a sluggish response by the Pakistani government, which maintains that it cares passionately for an area over which it has fought two wars with India, in 1947 and 1965. The earthquake also has prompted some of the Muslim militant fighters in the region to take on a new role: providing emergency aid to stricken villages. After the earthquake, it took the military two days to fan out across the devastated land, much of it in the Pakistani-controlled section of Kashmir. Although helicopters were sent to ferry out the wounded, relief aid has failed to reach remote villages. According to one US diplomat, 20 percent of the quake zone has yet to receive assistance. Some Kashmiris admit Islamabad faced many obstacles, including giant landslides, broken roads, and chaotic and hungry crowds. But many say they feel abandoned. Among them is Abdul Rashid, who walked down a stony mountain trail leading into Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, with a bag of belongings over his shoulder and a painful limp in one leg. This was his second struggle for survival, he said. In 1990 as a citizen of Indian-administered Kashmir, he said, he was forced to flee to Pakistani territory to escape police brutality. ''They took my children from school and beat them. They said we were terrorists. But I was just a farmer," said the 45-year-old, lifting his shirt to show welts on his back he said were from the beatings. The Pakistani government housed Rashid and his eight children in a refugee camp outside Muzaffarabad. They gave him a monthly stipend of 1,000 rupees, about $16, per family member, a decent sum by local standards. But the earthquake toppled Rashid's home, injured his leg, and almost killed his family, leaving them hungry and homeless. Now, he said, his faith in the military-dominated Islamabad government, like his house, has collapsed. ''The government is doing nothing, only the private aid agencies are helping us," he said. Behind him a group of friends scampered after an aid truck halting by the side of the road. ''Both governments, India and Pakistan, are the problem. When they go from Kashmir, then we can live freely. Until then, we are in trouble." Others share his anger. ''There is only government in name," said Abdul Majid, an injured man living in a tent provided by an Islamic charity. ''They hold press conferences in Islamabad but do nothing on the ground." The quake has also cracked open a highly restricted areas. Until last week, diplomats and journalists were forbidden from visiting most of Kashmir. The Pakistani government was ostensibly afraid they would stumble across the state-supported militants groups who carry out attacks in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Now foreigners can roam almost anywhere in Pakistani-held Kashmir. The biggest revelation has been the area's chronic underdevelopment. ''Infrastructure, hospitals, roads, quality of life -- all have been neglected for decades," said Talat Massod, a retired army general and political analyst in Islamabad. ''If the government had spent more money on people and less on defense, the scale of the disaster would have been much less." Villagers in the region of Kashmir controlled by India have also expressed anger at their government's perceived slow response to the emergency. Most analysts say it is too early to predict the political ramifications of the brewing discontent. Some say it could blow over once the initial crisis passes; others speculate that it may lead to some sort of violent protest. The quake may also provide some impetus toward compromise. After an initial hesitation, Islamabad accepted New Delhi's offers of relief aid. Last week, an Indian Air Force jet loaded with relief supplies landed in Pakistan -- the first since 1971. What's more, circumstances have changed irrevocably for the Muslim fundamentalist groups that have long been at center stage in the 58-year-old conflict. Rumors have circulated that the quake hit some secret training camps in highland areas, killing hundreds of jihadi fighters. Among the extremists who survived, some have turned to charity. While international relief agencies are only starting to arrive in Muzaffarabad, Jamaat-ud Dawa, one of Pakistan's most prominent extremist groups, has been providing aid for more than a week. On a muddy patch of land near the Neelum river, Jamaat ud-Dawa has set up a bustling aid camp to treat, feed, and house the wounded. Surgeons work in an operating theater fashioned from blue plastic sheets, and diesel generators power X-ray and dental machines; ambulances roam the city looking for the wounded. ''Everything is funded by private donations," said spokesman Salman Shaheed He wore a scraggly beard of the sort usually worn by religious conservatives. ''We even have surplus supplies of food and medicine." Jamaat ud-Dawa is more than an aid agency. It is widely viewed as a fund-raising front for Lashkar-i-Taiba, one of the largest jihadi groups in Kashmir. Banned by the Pakistani government in January 2002, some of Lashkar's senior members have been linked to Al Qaeda. Jamaat still operates openly, running madrassas, providing free medical care, and dispatching preachers to mosques across Pakistan. Militancy specialists also contend it is a recruiting ground for jihad, an allegation denied by Shaheed. ''There is absolutely no relationship with Lashkar. We are purely a welfare and humanitarian organization," he said. Behind him a dozen young men wearing camouflage T-shirts and white bibs loitered near a truck. They were a ''security detail" to protect aid supplies from looting, he said. Although no weapons were visible, some were armed, he added. Still, the quake victims living in the Jamaat camp said they knew little about the group's militant past. Most were simply grateful for their help. Muhammad Mahboob, a 60-year-old man with an injured leg, was sitting outside his tent. He had been operated on a few days earlier. ''If Jamaat wasn't here, I would be dead by now," he said. ''But the government hasn't done a thing. It makes you think: What do we need them for?" |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #12 "1990 as a citizen of Indian-administered Kashmir,"15 years later and still showing welts,that must of been one hell of a beating. Pakistan has regular tours of "refugee camps" where "oppressed" Kashmiris recount their woes to foreign reporters. One visit had a few Indian reporters. One woman related her sad tale of woe, telling of rape by Indian soldiers. The press dutifully recorded this. Then the Indian asked, in Kashmiri language, for more details. She had been speaking in Urdu, with an english translator. There was confusion as the Pakistan army handlers realized the game was up. They made up an excuse saying the woman could not bear to speak Kashmiri because it reminded her of her oppression. The Indian reporter then asked if it was Indian Kashmiri soldiers? The J+K regiment? Most of their units are not even posted in Kashmir. The interview was abruptly ended as the woman was "tired". |
| Posted by: john 2005-10-18 17:22 |
| #11 Al Qaeda supporters were bought in the first place because Binny funded these poor tribes. USAID is the best diplomatic tool we have in Kashmir. What a hoot to think they even accepted Israeli aid, although it had to be disguised through a third party. |
| Posted by: Danielle 2005-10-18 16:38 |
| #10 Among the extremists who survived, some have turned to charity. That's what happens when your main talent is killing people and most of them happen to be dead already. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2005-10-18 14:42 |
| #9 Once you get over the gag reflex Silly, that's what makes us professionals. |
| Posted by: Nina Totenberg 2005-10-18 14:13 |
| #8 Will reporters swallow anything? Once you get over the gag reflex, it's easy! |
| Posted by: Raj 2005-10-18 09:31 |
| #7 "1990 as a citizen of Indian-administered Kashmir,"15 years later and still showing welts,that must of been one hell of a beating. Good catch. Will reporters swallow anything? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-10-18 07:30 |
| #6 the Boston Globe is only too happy to promote their cheap, propaganda fund raising effort Boston funded the IRA, too. It's in the liberal blood. |
| Posted by: Floluse Slomort3781 2005-10-18 07:24 |
| #5 Now foreigners can roam almost anywhere in Pakistani-held Kashmir. The biggest revelation has been the area's chronic underdevelopment. Revelation to whom? Visitors from Pakistani Kashmir have viewed with surprise the medical school and engineering colleges in Indian Kashmir (something their diet of pakistani TV does not show). There was nothing like this in Pakistani controlled areas. It is no surprise that the pakistani praetorian state does not spend on development. The army preceeded the existence of the state itself and takes precedence in the line for funds. |
| Posted by: john 2005-10-18 06:33 |
| #4 "1990 as a citizen of Indian-administered Kashmir,"15 years later and still showing welts,that must of been one hell of a beating. |
| Posted by: raptor 2005-10-18 06:31 |
| #3 Keep in mind that all of the ppl who become dependent on the JuD's good will are likely to remain such for the immediate future. Talk about a perfect recruiting pool from which to replenish their losses. |
| Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-10-18 03:06 |
| #2 It's MORE than just an aid agency. It slices, dices, enlarges breasts and cures baldness. |
| Posted by: anon 2005-10-18 02:47 |
| #1 ''Everything is funded by private donations," said spokesman Salman Shaheed He wore a scraggly beard of the sort usually worn by religious conservatives. ''We even have surplus supplies of food and medicine." Jamaat ud-Dawa is more than an aid agency. It is widely viewed as a fund-raising front for Lashkar-i-Taiba, one of the largest jihadi groups in Kashmir. and the Boston Globe is only too happy to promote their cheap, propaganda fund raising effort, so transparent that only an AP/Reuters reporter would be opaque enough to fall for it. Send money...for um...the children, yeah, that's it....the children...and poor Abdul with a limp barf |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-10-18 02:46 |