kashmir

October 22, 2012

A report in this paper that the total water storage capacity of the country has gone down by 29 percent in part due to dwindling storage of large dams is quite chilling. The big dams including Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma have greatly lost their storage capacity due to silting. There are limitations in removing the silt. Thus, it is obvious that new reservoirs like Kalabagh must be built.

"We will continue to extend diplomatic, political and moral support to the people of Kashmir till the resolution of the core issue in accordance with UN resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people," Ashraf said while addressing a public meeting at Athmuqam in Neelum Valley of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

September 3, 2011

The youth here dislike the armed forces. They are confused and susceptible to being radicalised. Unemployment level is high. It is a challenge dealing with them and that is why we are focusing on the soft power aspect. We have held interactions with students from Kashmir University and are now tapping into the National Cadet Corps, sensitising them.

But there is more to the story than the simple lack of violence. Earlier this month, a call for a public strike by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the hard-line patriarchal separatist leader at the forefront of last year's anti-India protests, evoked a feeble response in Kashmir.

Led Zeppelin’s 1970s classic rock song “Kashmir,” with soaring violins and the ethereal voice of Robert Plant, evokes an exotic land. But for Kashmiris, the song never resonated: The lyrics are more about the deserts of Morocco, and rock music was never big here, anyway.

The Kashmir Himalayan region has been a hotly disputed area for decades, with both India and Pakistan laying claim to it. But some Kashmiris see their homeland not only as an area of conflict, but also as a land of agricultural opportunity.

September 4, 2010

For years, this unfolding tragedy was explained away through Indian charges of Pakistani involvement in the freedom movement. Much of this was true, as official and unofficial players supported an armed insurgency. But what is happening now in the Valley has nothing to do with cross-border incursions by jihadi militants.

India summoned China's ambassador Friday to protest against the refusal of a visa to an Indian general from the disputed Kashmir region, the latest spat between two Asian giants jostling for global influence and resources.

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