Hearts of Kashmiris and Pakistanis beat for each other – Aasiya Andrabi
Submitted by Dan Qayyum on August 8, 2010 – 12:37 pm
Despite the oppression and subjugation around us Kashmiris, we can’t sleep at night until we watch the news updates about the devastating floods in Pakistan. Despite the torments we are facing right now, the news of floods in Pakistan is more painful for us, because we have an immense love and an ideological kinship for Pakistan,’ says Aasiya Andrabi, leader of the Kashmiri social reformist organisation Dukhtaran-e-Millat (Daughters of the Nation) – in an exclusive interview with Karachi based Fortress magazine.
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Read full interview below:**
Fortress: Since the last two months, people of Jammu & Kashmir have been forced to pick up the dead bodies of their loved ones, and yet there is no end in sight to the present anti India protests. What really is in the hearts and minds people of Kashmir at this point in time?
Aasiya: First of all it’s a people’s movement and it’s an indigenous one; it has not been started on directives of outsiders. You will observe that if they kill 4 people today, there will be 6 killings next day. With these perpetual martyrdoms, people are becoming more and more resilient; each passing day increases our determination.
People are valiantly coming out on streets. They are fearless, they ask for their rights. This is in line with the saying of our Prophet Muhammad (ṣall Allahu ʿalayhi wa sallam) that a momin always faces the death with valour and dignity. Mothers, fathers and sons, all stand in the same ranks. How many dead bodies were taken up today; at one end of the coffin it is the mother of the martyr, bearing the weight of the coffin of his very own son and on other end it is the old father. After watching these moving scenes, we believe that Insha’Allah Kashmir’s cannot be enslaved any longer, and may Allah help us.
Q: What has been the role of Kashmiri women up till now in this movement?
Aasiya: We are playing the role proscribed for us by Islam. Like we know that in Ghazwa Uhad while Muslim men were fighting in the path of Allah, women were augmenting their faith in Allah. So today, we also have the same role. We are encouraging our men and sons to go out in battle field; we assure them of our support.
Then you see that our mothers and sisters are being martyred in street processions. They come on streets to express their hatred and in the process they bravely face bullets fired on them. But in the fronts, men use to be there. Women are now focusing more on the relief activities; they collect the relief goods and deliver it to the needy families. Women are arranging langars (soup kitchens) on the streets. Our conscience motivates us to join hands with them.
There are many mothers who lost their sons in this movement and yet they are proud of being called mothers of martyrs. Though they had always desired and prayed to Almighty that their sons die in accomplishing even higher landmark of this struggle. Especially in the case of teenagers, there mothers had much higher expectations for their children; they wanted them to go a long way in this struggle.
Fortress: This seems to be a struggle spearheaded by the youth. Is it because of lack of opportunities for the youth?
Aasiya: Most of those leading the movement were born in the early 90s. They grew up in such an environment that they could watch with their own eyes the grotesque brutality and oppression of the Indian government.
Two years ago my son asked me that why is that he has never seen his father. And why is that he has never been to his home? And why is that he never even seen me talking to his father? Why am I at forefront of this movement? He was with me in jail when he was a kid. When we came out, he couldn’t understand why I had been doing all this. Then I told him “My beloved son! Indians have illegally occupied our lands and have oppressed our people and we are fighting against that. Your father has also been jailed only because of this crime, so see for yourself brutalality of the Indian state”.
Our kids have seen everything with their own eyes. They saw the oppression and hypocrisy of India and the reality of the state of India. Had people raised their voices in ‘47 against the illegitimate rule of India, these days would have never come. So our children wonder today, if their ancestors had raised their voice, situation would have been different. This is the age of information technology, and part and parcel of this era is a greater accessibility of information. So our children have come to know many harsh realities. Today, our children feel that how good the situation would have been if our grand fathers had raised their voice 60 years ago.
Fortress: Is there any truth in the age-old Indian mantra that this movement has economic underpinnings?
Asiya: My nine years old son, who got martyred on street today, do you think it was due to lack of economic well being or unemployment, what unemployment problem would a nine years old lad face? The other day Tufail Ahmad Matoo was martyred. Tufail Matoo was my other son’s class mate. He was raised in my laps along with my own son. He got martyred, he was only seventeen. He was from a well to do family, and the lone child of his mother, so I ask what was the problem with him? As I am talking to you right now, police has come outside, they are breaking all the windows of this place, I don’t know what will happen next.
Despite all this I am conversing with you and all of this is happening right outside my house, you can better judge the state of the affairs over here. There is no ‘unemployment problem’ over here please! Tell and educate others that people of Kashmir are not poor, they are economically far better than others, real poverty is in India, Indians are dying of hunger not us. It is Kashmir that lends economic support to India! Rather than being the other way around. India is surviving due to our tourism industry. I don’t want to say that use bombs against those satans over there, but the fact of the matter remains that India is breathing on our economic resources. We don’t have shortage of economic resources.
Fortress: Sister Aasiya, our final question, where do you see this movement in foreseeable future and what message would like to convey to the people of Pakistan in specific and the Muslim states in general?
Aasiya: Well with regards to the message to Muslims states, I can only say that for God sake wake up! This ummah is being oppressed by tyrants; whether it is Kashmir, Afghanistan, Iraq or Palestine, in every nook and corner of this world, we are being oppressed. Even the Muslims living in European countries are facing hardships. But the problem remains that being a ‘Muslim country’ is not synonymous to being an ‘Islamic country’. We pray that these countries rejuvenate themselves with Islamic spirit and courage and rescue their oppressed brothers and sisters from the yoke of the tyrants, as Allah says in the Quran:
“And what is wrong with you that you fight not in the Cause of Allâh, and for those weak, ill¬treated and oppressed among men, women, and children, whose cry is: “Our Lord! Rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from You one who will protect, and raise for us from You one who will help.” (Surah Nisa: 75)
We don’t ask them to come and fight the Indians militarily, but at least they should raise their voice in our support, at least impose few sanctions on India, mild sanctions if not severe! I am sure if that had been done India, America and other global powers would not have gone to such an extent.
So we only say that this Ummah is like one organic body, if one part of the body is in pain why the other parts are not feeling the pain? As for Pakistan, our beloved Pakistan, our pure motherland, I say that despite the oppression and subjugation around us, we can’t sleep at night until we watch the news updates about the devastating floods in Pakistan. Despite the torments we are facing right now, the news of floods in Pakistan is more painful for us. Because we have an immense love for Pakistan, we have an ideological kinship with Pakistan. I say to the people of Pakistan, please for God sake, and don’t forget the relationship between Kashmir and Pakistan. We are aware of the crisis you are going through, but the despite this, the amount of support you gave us is well below you are expected to extend.
Though there are segment who feel the pain for us, and countless martyred brothers from Pakistan are buried in the graveyards of Kashmir, and we can never possibly thank the mothers of those martyrs. But with regards to the Pakistani masses we only ask them to please at least, remain concerned for us. We know that the whole world has turned against you and there is a danger to the security of Pakistan and may Allah protect Pakistan.
We ask the government Pakistan, that don’t change your policies under US & Indian pressure; we do understand your situation. Alhamdolillah, we have seen slight improvement, and that is why India is concerned. We ask Government of Pakistan to further strength its policy and stand on Kashmir. The whole world knows that movement in Kashmir is not under command of Pakistan, but they still try to give impression that resistance movement in Kashmir was launched by ISI and everything that happens here is due to ISI, so much so that if any cat appears on the streets of Kashmir they would say it was launched by ISI. India will always say this no matter what, hence, we say that Pakistan should not hesitate and must stand up and strengthen its Kashmir policy.
As for Kashmiris living in Pakistan, I say that you went to Pakistan with a mission to liberate Kashmir from India. Hence I ask you to never forget your cause; daughters of Kashmir are waiting for your help. You can act as a vehicle for our independence.
Fortress: And where do you see this movement in foreseeable future?
Aasiya: With regards to the present movement in Kashmir, I say that as long as the help and nusrah of Allah remains with us, as it has been up till now, we can inshAllah expect positive result. InshAllah
Fortress: Sister Aasiya, we thank you very much for your interview. You are talking to Ateeq Ahmad from Fortress Magazine, and we pray for your health and safety and may Allah help you in this blessed movement, people of Pakistan understand the pain and sufferings of their brothers in Kashmir. We will continue to try helping our brothers by all means possible.
Aasiya: I would like to add that I think of Kashmir and Pakistan as a singular entity. We are one. The ‘Issue of Kashmir’ is very much ‘Issue of completion’ of Pakistan. Pakistan is incomplete without Kashmir. Kashmir is actually – Takmeel e Pakistan.
The interview was conducted by Fortress’ Attique Ahmed over the phone on Thursday, 5th August moments before Indian security forces raided the residence of Asiya Andrabi.
My Comments:
Is this is a clear proof of Kashmir being “INTEGRAL PART OF INDIA”?
When are these Indian Thags in uniforms going to leave innocent Kashmiris alone.
When is the world going to realize that India has slaughtered scores of innocent Kashmiris to this date?
My heart goes out for these noble people ----- GOD BLESS THEM FOR THEIR COURAGE ----- GOD BLESS THE ALL -----