London Kashmir Conference Controversy deepens
Omar Abdullah might drop out due to safety reasons
Boycott, demonstrations and rival-conference in British Parliament
By Murtaza Shibli
Editor, Kashmir Affairs, London
The controversies surrounding Kashmir 'peace' Conference being conducted by the London based Kashmir Centre has deepened, as majority of the Kashmiri groups and diasporas have called for the boycott and protests against the conference being held on 28th and 29th of November in the British Parliament.
Boycotting the event, leading member of the Kashmiri community and Member of the House of Lords, Lord Nazir Ahmed said that the Kashmir Centre head Nazir Ahmad Shawl did not take any Kashmiri groups into confidence. Referring to the proposed participation of the National Conference leader, Omar Abdullah, Lord Nazir accused the National Conference of killing Kashmiris and said that the Kashmir Centre is appeasing the killers of the Kashmiri people.
Accusing Nazir Ahmad Shawl of misleading the British Kashmiri community, Tehreek-e-Kashmir, a leading Kashmiri group said that they were never taken into confidence by the Kashmir Centre or Nazir Ahmad Shawl, thus creating confusion and division within the community. Muhammad Ghalib, head of the organisation claimed that some time back when he enquired from Nazir Shawl about the participants, he was told that Ali Shah Geelani, Yasin Malik, Shabir Shah and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq were invited from the Indian side of Kashmir. "He did not tell us that Omar Abdullah was being invited", added Mohammad Ghalib.
Nazir Ahmad Qureshi, another Kashmiri activist and vice president of the World Kashmir Freedom Movement also claimed ignorance about the participation of Omar Abdullah adding that Nazir Shawl did not talk to him or any members of the kashmiri community in this regard or about the conference programme.
There is a general feeling that the proposed Kashmir Conference is part of a 'larger conspiracy' against Kashmiris and it is a step towards electioneering on the Indian side of Jammu and Kashmir, thus burying the Kashmir issue conveniently. There have been rumours since last year that the National Conference has reached some sort of understanding with Pakistani President General Musharraf and the conference is seen in that light.
One of the leaders of the All Party Kashmir Coordination Committee said that the Conference was a joint game plan of both India and Pakistan and aims to create harmony between pro-India and pro-Pakistan groups for the sake of coming elections in the Indian side of Kashmir being held next year.
Another Kashmiri leader who is part of the boycott claimed that the Conference is offering platform to Omar Abdullah and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq for their future electoral alliance in Kashmir.
It is pertinent to mention that all the three heads of the Kashmir Centres – Nazir Shawl, Ghulam Nabi Fai and Majid Tramboo and the President and Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as well as Omar Abdullah and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is attending the conference. This is for the first time in nearly two years that all the three heads of the Kashmir Centres are attending a conference. Rival faction of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) headed by Farooq Siddiqui is also attending the event. The JKLF faction had previously criticized Kashmiri leaders 'shaking hands with killers' referring to the Indian or pro-Indian Kashmiri leaders. Some top Pakistani officials dealing with Kashmir are also rumoured to attend the event, giving credence to the fears of opponents that something larger is going on behind the scenes during the conference.
Condemning the exercise, Qari Tahir Tayyub, President of the All Parties Kashmir Coordination Committee (APKCC) said that Omar Abdullah cannot be accepted to represent Kashmiri people at any forum adding, "Sheikh Abdullah family and National Conference is responsible for the death and destruction Kashmiris have been facing for last 20 years". He said that the Kashmir community in the UK would not allow any intrigue to succeed for installing Omar Abdullah as the leader of Kashmiri people.
The strong reaction from the Kashmiris has forced conference organiser Nazir Shawl on defensive as he is not responding to the media enquiries about the incident. However, the event has received wider public attention initiating debate and raising controversies. It has vitiated the atmosphere and diametrically divided the Kashmiri community. It is for the first time that calls for boycott and protests have been called against a Kashmir Conference.
The All Party Kashmir Coordination Committee (APKCC) while boycotting the Nazir Shawl Conference is holding a demonstration outside the British Parliament on Wednesday 28 November, the venue of the conference. They are later holding a rival meeting inside the Parliament to "expose the conspiracies against the Kashmir's freedom struggle".
APKCC has termed the Kashmir conference as conspiracy against the "liberation struggle" of the Kashmiri people and an attempt to pave the way for division of Kashmir. It has appealed Kashmiri expatriates in the United Kingdom to fully participate in the demonstration to register their protest.
Senior leader of Tehreek-e-Kashmir, Maulana Munawwar Hussain Mashadi also claimed that the conference was a conspiracy against the 'Kashmiri freedom movement' and called for its boycott. Mohammad Ghalib, the head of Tehreek-e-Kashmir accused that Nazir Shawl has "damaged the cause of Kashmiris".
As the controversy deepens, many people are staying away from the Conference. Pro-India leaders – Yusuf Tarigami and Hakim Yasin have declined to attend the conference. Kashmir Times editor Anuradha Bhasin is also not attending.
There is a growing indication that Omar Abdullah might drop out last minute as he has reportedly been advised by the Indian embassy officials here in London not to attend the conference for safety reasons.
Nazir Qureshi of the World Kashmir Freedom Movement while confirming his invitation to the conference said that he has not yet decided whether to attend or not. The participation of many others is not yet confirmed. Even before commencing, the conference has created fissures in the Kashmiri groups in the UK and elsewhere, therefore it might be hard for the event to achieve anything meaningful.
Additional:
Various Kashmiri groups are addressing a press conference in London to garner support against the Kashmir Centre Conference tomorrow and to "expose the conspiracies of anti-Kashmiri forces". The press conference will be held at 1.00 GMT in London.
Related News:
London Kashmir Conference in Jeopardy
Kashmir Centre condemned by wide-section of British Kashmiris
Massive Protests, boycotts in offing - APKCC
By Murtaza Shibli
Editor, Kashmir Affairs, [ www.kashmiraffairs.org]
The proposed 'International' Kashmir Conference on 28-29 November in London may be called off due to intense anger it has generated against the organisers - Kashmir Centre headed by Nazir Ahmad Shawl. The Conference is being widely condemned by the UK-based Kashmiri groups for inviting National Conference leader Omar Abdullah.
All Parties Kashmir Coordination Committee (APKCC), an alliance of the British Kashmiri groups and an equivalent to Srinagar based the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), while opposing the participation of pro-Indian Kashmiri leaders has asked Nazir Shawl to withdraw the invitation to Omar Abdullah. A conglomerate of 12 political parties and activist groups, APKCC has threatened boycott and a massive protest against Kashmir Centre if the invitation to Abdullah was not revoked.
Accusing Nazir Shawl of sprinkling salt on the wounds of Kashmiris by inviting Omar Abdullah to the Conference, prominent British Kashmiri leader and president of People's Muslim Conference Chaudhry Shaban questioned if the conference was really being held for the benefit of the Kashmiri people.
Another Kashmiri activist and the JKLF leader Raja Abdul Rauf Khan condemned the decision of Kashmir Centre to invite Abdullah in the conference. Maulana Bostan Qadri, one of the senior and very well known Kashmiri activists and Chairman of Tehreek-e-Ullma J&K UK, said London Conference would be boycotted if invitation to leaders like Abdullah were not withdrawn. Inferring that Kashmir Centre was involved in conspiracies against Kashmiris, he said that Kashmiri community was fully alive to "conspiracies against the freedom movement and it will not allow anyone to play with the sentiments of Kashmiri community".
One of the Kashmiris, on the condition of anonymity, accused Shawl of making money out of Kashmiri cause and now trying to reach out to India in order to get a safe passage back to Srinagar. Earlier this year, a newspaper report claimed that his wife Shameema Shawl held meetings with a pro-India Kashmiri politician and tourism minister here in London.
Nazir Ahmad Shawl would be hardest hit by the statement of Tehreek-e-Kashmir a pro-Jamat-e-Islami group who used to support Shawl because of his Jamat background. In his remarks, President Tehreek-e-Kashmir UK Mohammad Ghalib said that inviting Omar Abdullah was tantamount to making a joke with the blood of martyrs and their sacred sacrifices. A onetime Jamaat member and head of their 'diplomatic affairs' in Azad Kashmir, Shawl developed tense relations with Jama'at-e-Islami after he left Syed Ali Geelani and came to join Kashmir Centre London. His critics accuse that he was 'bought' by the Pakistan government to stay away from Syed Ali Geelani, often described as hardline Islamist. Shawl has previously worked as a college lecturer in Kashmir before settling in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in early 1990s where he worked for the Jama'at-e-Islami AJK and All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC).
Shawl, the executive director of Kashmir Conference has been under pressure to 'perform' for some time, as out of the three Kashmir Centres supported by the Pakistan Government; London Centre has supposedly failed to achieve any desirable results. There have been rumours for quite some time that London Centre might be closed down or its head changed. The current controversy has added weight to the opposition claims that Shawl is inept in handling delicate situations and lacks wisdom to reconcile differences within his own lot in the community.
The status of the London Conference was already a suspect given the fact that there is severe resentment among the Western politicians with regards to the emergency in Pakistan. The British politicians have out rightly condemned Pakistani emergency and demanded the restoration of democratic institutions. Though Shawl has managed to sign a couple of British MPs to attend the conference, he has failed to solicit support from the ethnic Pakistani MPs. According to the informed sources, the British Muslim MPs of Pakistani background who have previously showed their support for Kashmir are not attending the event. Many others have decided to stay away for the fear of being seen close to the General Musharraf's regime, as Kashmir Centre is closely seen as part or extension of the Pakistani military regime.
The Conference is proving a major problem to the Kashmir Centre due to the current Pakistani crisis. Majority of the Kashmiri participants from either side are pro-Musharraf politicians. This includes Mirwaiz Umar Farooq who openly supported 'emergency' imposed by General Musharraf as well as the President and Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir whose government endorsed the emergency calling it a step in the right direction. Calling the organisers approach silly, one London based Kashmiri said that organisers should have postponed the event given the current international sentiment. Now that the Kashmiri leaders are planning to launch a massive protest against Nazir Ahmad Shawl and threatening boycott, there are growing indications that the Conference might be abrogated last minute.
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