Sikandar Lone
JKLF Chairman Yasin Malik with his umbrella carrying volunteers- on flood rescue mission task or a morning walk?
Stung by severe criticism from all quarters for not being seen or heard ever since floods wrecked havoc in Kashmir, the separatists have slowly started emerging from their voluntary confinement. However, those who had hoped that with the arrival of these self anointed ‘messiahs’ of the people on the scene, things will improve, would be the most disappointed ones as just the opposite has happened. Till the separatists remained ‘underground’, rescue operations and relief work was going on well with the Army and NDRF teams working continuously to evacuate stranded people. Observing their extraordinary zeal in conducting rescue operations, journalists at ‘ground zero’ showered praise on the army and this perhaps has not been liked by the separatist handlers. The belated entry of the separatists has been heralded by cases of stone pelting and intimidation of rescue teams and this is certainly not a coincidence.
A press statement of September 13 purportedly issued by one Muhammad Rafiq Dar, Chief Spokesman JKLF, Central Information Office, Rawalpindi, Pakistan and posted on Facebook, brings out the seamier side of separatist politics and its confrontationist ideology. This statement says, “The party spokesman has expressed its dismay over Indian media for politicising the flood issue by portraying Indian army men as angels rescuing Kashmiris.” How exactly does praising army men for rescuing Kashmiris “politicise” the flood issue? Is undertaking rescue and relief operations to bring stranded people to safety a humanitarian act or a political exercise? Is lauding the army for its efficient rescue operations politicising the issue? The JKLF press statement goes on to state, “because of this behavior (of praising the army for its rescue work), a leading ND TV anchor, Barkha Dutt, was thrashed by people while she was busy in reporting the same kind of negative and biased propaganda from a relief camp at Srinagar airport.
Well done JKLF! Only an outfit like yours would take pride in making the repugnant announcement that a female journalist was beaten up by locals for praising the rescue work being done army. Yasin Malik sahib, what was the need to shame Kashmiris before the world by stating that a woman journalist was thrashed by them simply for expressing her opinion? I sincerely hope this is not been done just to convey the message that when the JKLF sees nothing wrong in a female journalist being beaten up merely for speaking a few good words about the army, just imagine what could be done to male journalists who dares to do likewise! However, this strong arm tactic is not restricted to the JKLF alone and afflicts the entire Hurriyat. For them, the media is ‘good’ when it speaks ill of the army, but becomes ‘bad’ even when it lauds the army for any positive act. Luckily, the media is maintaining objectivity in reporting and is not willing to be intimidated by threats of violence and bodily harm.
In the JKLF press statement, the party spokesperson has claimed that “the fact of the matter is that rescue operation by army men continues in a biased and discriminatory manner as they rescue only their own personnel, VIP’s and Indian tourists but not the civil population.” Now this “fact of the matter,” is baffling news as the facial features, attire and frugal disposition of most of the rescued people one which sees in visuals certainly does not make them appear to be either army personnel, VIPs or tourists! With over one lac people rescued by the army, the JKLF still wants us to believe that the people rescued were “not the civil population.” Does the JKLF think that the public is a bunch of morons who would accept such blatant lies? Obviously not, because the spokesperson quickly supported this contention of his by adding, “the ample proof of it (biased and discriminatory rescue operations) is that Indian army choppers were stoned by stranded people and flood hit people at many places.
There has no doubt been an incident of people pelting stones at helicopters. However, the stone pelters obviously could not have been “stranded people and flood hit people” for the simple reason that even if they wanted; the stranded people couldn’t have found stones to hurl at helicopters when the entire landscape was completely submerged. So who were these stone pelters? Obviously they were those who were not affected by floods and thus had nothing to lose if rescue operations were sabotaged. It is surprising that instead of acting responsibly and advising people not to anything which could impede rescue operations to save their own people, the JKLF is proud of the fact that people were pelting stones at helicopters. However, it is apparent that for the JKLF, keeping its mentors in Pakistan happy is more important than the safety of its own people and could there be any baser example of sheer opportunism than lauding violent acts which hinder rescue work?
The JKLF spokesperson also stated that despite the “biased and discriminatory manner” in which rescue operations were being conducted, “the local people at many places have also provided humanitarian relief to the stranded Indian paramilitary personnel.” While this deed is indeed praiseworthy, but if one was to believe the JKLF spokesperson claim that the army was concentrating on rescuing “only their own personnel,” then where was the question of Indian paramilitary personnel being stranded and requiring , “humanitarian relief’ in the first place? It is all so very confusing, but then the JKLF has no other option but to clutch at straws of lies for covering up its own dismal response to the calamity. The list of lies and contradictions in the press statement goes on and is unending.
It would not be out of place to mention that the JKLF press release has sought to defend Yasin Malik’s inaction. In fact, it starts off by mentioning that “JKLF intensified its rescue and relief operation in the worst hit flood areas. Chairman JKLF, Yasin Malik, is present in his own area of Maisuma for the last five days and with the help of local youth and party workers has established a relief camp at Budshah Bridge flyover. He along with his rescue team visited the adjacent areas of Maisuma and provided what so ever available necessary relief items to the neediest people.” It is heartening to hear that all the time while we were thinking that the JKLF chairman was ‘absconding’, he was very much there and that too in the thick of rescue operations, even if it was only restricted to “his own area of Maisuma for the last five days.”
It is for your consideration that if a concerned Yasin Malik with his faithful band of countless selfless helpers could only manage to rescue people from one locality in five days, then the statement by the JKLF spokesperson that “People confirmed that army was least bothered about safety of common people,” is a bit too difficult to digest. After all, hasn’t the army rescued over one lac stranded people!
(The views of the author are personal)
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