SRINAGAR, INDIA // While the Indian government blamed increasing violence in disputed Kashmir on Pakistan-based militants, the disputed state's most influential separatist leader warned yesterday that New Delhi must address the concerns of Kashmiris or risk a return to all out insurgency.
Yasin Malik's comments came amid a spate of militant attacks in Kashmir in the past week, which, combined with the diplomatic limbo between India and Pakistan, further complicates US efforts to battle Islamist militancy in the region.
Talks over Kashmir between India's Congress Party-led government and separatist groups broke down in 2006.
While about 100,000 people have been killed since the start of the insurgency in Kashmir in 1989, the region has gradually become almost free of violence in the past few years.
Huge and mostly peaceful protests by pro-separatist Kashmiris in 2008 and 2009 fuelled hopes that New Delhi might try to reignite a peace process, but both sides made little progress amid mutual suspicion and New Delhi's fraught ties with Islamabad after the Mumbai attacks.
"It has taken us so many years with a very hard effort to bring a transition from violent movement to non-violent movement. This transition needs to be respected ... If Kashmiris are not given respect they could fall back to a violent past," Mr Malik, the head of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, which pushes for a peaceful campaign for Kashmiri independence, told Reuters during a conference in New Delhi.
After a year of relative calm, at least seven militants have been killed in separate gunbattles in Indian Kashmir over the past week, including one incident when militants holed up in a hotel on Lal Chowk, in the heart of Srinagar, for nearly 24 hours.
"For 15 years I have been propagating non-violence but ... there are signs of frustration among both the youth and the older people, because there were huge protests and no one seemed to listen," said Mr Malik, a former militant.
But New Delhi is continuing to drag its feet over holding talks with Pakistan, which lays claim to Kashmir, saying that it must first crack down on militants behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
India's interior minister, P Chidambaram, blamed the latest Srinagar attack on Pakistan-based militants. "These [attacks] highlight the fact that the country, especially Jammu and Kashmir state, remains vulnerable to militant attacks sponsored by forces from across the border," he said in a statement in New Delhi last Wednesday, claiming that the rebels were in communication with handlers outside the country.
The country's defence minister, AK Antony, recently claimed that a large number of fighters were waiting along the border to infiltrate into Indian Kashmir. "This is a matter of serious concern because Pakistan is not doing anything in this regard," he told reporters in southern city of Kochi on Saturday.
There was no immediate reaction from Pakistan, but Islamabad has previously denied the Indian charge of turning a blind eye to the activities of militants on its soil.
Police officials in Srinagar said the latest upsurge in rebel attacks suggested that they were trying to stage a comeback. "Intercepts also reveal that they have managed to regroup here," the inspector general of police, Farooq Ahmed, said in a recent newspaper interview.
According to Kuldeep Khoda, Srinigar's director general of police, the Lal Chowk attack was carried out by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, even though a Kashmiri militant group claimed responsibility. He added that one of the slain militants was a Pakistani national while the other was from Indian Kashmir. Jamiat ul Mujahideen which took responsibility did not deny the Pakistani origin of the rebel but said the attack was carried out to "send a message that the armed freedom struggle is not over in Kashmir".
Many analysts see a peace process in Kashmir as key to improving India's relations with Pakistan, allowing Islamabad to divert its resources from its eastern border to focus on helping the United States battle al Qa'eda and Taliban militants.
"If the Kashmir issue is addressed and a lasting political solution arrived at, such groups will fade away, at least from the soil of Kashmir," said Noor Ahmed Baba, the head of the political science department at Kashmir University.
Last year, India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, offered to help resume talks over Pakistan and Kashmir. Little headway is visible, but some officials say a dialogue between the rivals is being carried on outside public scrutiny.
"I have no reason to doubt his integrity," Mr Malik said. "But he is surrounded by military bureaucracy, he is surrounded by civil bureaucracy. Some of these people are constraining him."
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Reuters
Company%20Profile
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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UAE - India ties
The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner after the US and China
Annual bilateral trade between India and the UAE has crossed US$ 60 billion
The UAE is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India
Indians comprise the largest community with 3.3 million residents in the UAE
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015
His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016
Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017
Modi will visit Bahrain on August 24-25
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The%20specs
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WWE Super ShowDown results
Seth Rollins beat Baron Corbin to retain his WWE Universal title
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The Undertaker beat Goldberg
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
What you as a drone operator need to know
A permit and licence is required to fly a drone legally in Dubai.
Sanad Academy is the United Arab Emirate’s first RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training and certification specialists endorsed by the Dubai Civil Aviation authority.
It is responsible to train, test and certify drone operators and drones in UAE with DCAA Endorsement.
“We are teaching people how to fly in accordance with the laws of the UAE,” said Ahmad Al Hamadi, a trainer at Sanad.
“We can show how the aircraft work and how they are operated. They are relatively easy to use, but they need responsible pilots.
“Pilots have to be mature. They are given a map of where they can and can’t fly in the UAE and we make these points clear in the lectures we give.
“You cannot fly a drone without registration under any circumstances.”
Larger drones are harder to fly, and have a different response to location control. There are no brakes in the air, so the larger drones have more power.
The Sanad Academy has a designated area to fly off the Al Ain Road near Skydive Dubai to show pilots how to fly responsibly.
“As UAS technology becomes mainstream, it is important to build wider awareness on how to integrate it into commerce and our personal lives,” said Major General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief, Dubai Police.
“Operators must undergo proper training and certification to ensure safety and compliance.
“Dubai’s airspace will undoubtedly experience increased traffic as UAS innovations become commonplace, the Forum allows commercial users to learn of best practice applications to implement UAS safely and legally, while benefitting a whole range of industries.”
Company Profile
Company name: NutriCal
Started: 2019
Founder: Soniya Ashar
Based: Dubai
Industry: Food Technology
Initial investment: Self-funded undisclosed amount
Future plan: Looking to raise fresh capital and expand in Saudi Arabia
Total Clients: Over 50
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
Teams
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shanwari, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
SPECS%3A%20Polestar%203
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
RACECARD
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
The biog
Family: Parents and four sisters
Education: Bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing at American University of Sharjah
A self-confessed foodie, she enjoys trying out new cuisines, her current favourite is the poke superfood bowls
Likes reading: autobiographies and fiction
Favourite holiday destination: Italy
Posts information about challenges, events, runs in other emirates on the group's Instagram account @Anagowrunning
Has created a database of Emirati and GCC sportspeople on Instagram @abeermk, highlight: Athletes
Apart from training, also talks to women about nutrition, healthy lifestyle, diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now