Thank you very much for sending us a copy of The Kashmir Quarterly. I wish to extend my congratulations to you for bringing out this quarterly publication. It provide readers with the facts and figures about the struggle of our Kashmiri brothers for the liberation of their land.

We appreciate the efforts of the Kashmiri-Canadian Council and fully support the just cause of our Kashmiri brothers.

May Allah shower His blessings upon all of you in KCC.

Dr. Ibrahim al Quayid

Assistant Secretary General

World Assembly of Muslim Youth

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

[Your encouragement and support for the freedom struggle is much appreciated].

Re A New Twist in Hostages crisis ( issue: Winter 96). The article exposed Indian intentions behind the hostage crisis. By taking western tourists as hostages India wants to neutralise the western countries' support for the Kashmiri cause. The articles' contention is well explained. From the very beginning, the entire drama of the hostages was clearly a tactic of state-terrorism in Kashmir. The following factors substantiate this view:

i. Allegedly, Al-Faran kidnapped the Western hostages in three successive actions amidst a preponderance of Indian security forces in Pahalgam area where Indian Government had taken extra security measures due to Amaranth Yatra (Hindu Pilgrimage).

ii. After the first kidnapping on 4th July, no steps were taken to ensure security for other foreign tourists in Pahalgam area, neither were any restrictions placed on trekking beyond Pahalgam.

iii. The release of pictures of the hostages showed that the kidnappers had not secluded themselves in some faraway forest hideout, but had taken shelter in a town large enough to run colour­photography laboratories.

iv. No militant organisation knew this unknown Al­Faran group. Kashmiris on both sides of the Cease-fire Line firmly maintained that they had never heard of it. The APHC tried its utmost to contact the abductors but no response came from the kidnappers. On the contrary, the kidnappers remained in constant touch with the State Governor, Indian intelligence, foreign diplomats and families of the hostages through fax, wireless and telephone.

v. It is almost one and a half year since the hostages have been in custody. The authorities and the kidnappers have remained in touch with each other through telephone and wireless. Given modern technology, it would not have been difficult to trace the kidnappers' telephone calls or track down the radio transmission.

vi. Initially, Indian authorities said that contact could not be established with the abductors as they were poorly equipped, when in fact the kidnappers had highly sophisticated communication equipment at their disposal. Within a day of the kidnapping they were in contact with embassies, Indian intelligence and also contacted Maulana Fazal Ur Rehman in Pakistan.

The Kidnappers could not have risked using static telephone lines knowing fully well that the Indians monitored and tracked all calls to Pakistan from Indian held Kashmir.

Khalid Qureshi

Via E-mail, Azad Kashmir

[Eventually, the perpetrators would be unveiled, however, at this point, someone should come forward soon to secure an unconditional release of these innocent captives].

I really appreciate the service that the KCC is providing for the cause of Kashmir.

Your home page is really useful with respect to the information on Kashmir.

May Allah turn your endeavours into reality and emancipate the people of Kashmir from India.

Kashif Zubair Ahmad

Via E-mail, UK

[We value your appreciations].

I have seen the winter issue of The Kashmir Quarterly. It is indeed a commendable effort to project the cause of the oppressed people of Kashmir. Please keep it up. However, I suggest that the journal should be published monthly.

If possible, I would like to have a copy of The Kashmir Quarterly mailed to me regularly.

I wish The Kashmiri-Canadian Council all the success in your endeavours and pursuit. May the Merciful Allah be with you.

Muhammad Akhtar

Derby, USA

[The KCC appreciates your comments].

The government of India apparently believes that it is immune to world outrage over its genocidal policies in its occupied territories. The government of India has treated the concerns of the Kashmiri people in a similar manner over the last fifty years. As you are quite familiar, the Kashmiri people have always strived for their right of self-determination under international law through peaceful and democratic means from 1949 to 1989. Instead of honouring its international commitments as embodied in several United Nations Security Council Resolutions, the Government of India has always attempted to suppress Kashmir's freedom movement through imposition of puppet regimes through fraudulent elections and with vicious terror as in the last seven years. The latest 'elections' in May and September are a continuation of these colonial policies. As you are no doubt aware, the people of Kashmir were forced at gunpoint to vote in an atmosphere of terror and intimidation. It cannot be otherwise in the presence of some 600,000 heavily armed Indian occupation force. You are also aware that foreign observers and monitors were not allowed into the occupied country by the Indian authorities.

Furthermore, any 'election' under occupation is in violation of relevant Security Council resolutions which stipulate that election must he held under international supervision (with occupation forces confined to their bases) in which the Kashmiri people can determine the political future of their country. I sincerely hope that you will attempt to expose the facade of so-called 'elections' in Indian­occupied Kashmir.

Fazal H. Dar

Via E-mail, Canada

[Enough is enough, in this global village, India cannot continue to fool the world public opinion, the sooner they realise it, the better for India's own reputation].

Re State Terrorism in Kashmir (April-June-issue). I would like to have more information about the material on human rights violations in Indian held Kashmir.

I am a student of L.L.M. in International and European Law at the University of Liverpool, UK. In this course every student has to select one subject to be examined by dissertation. I am planning to write my dissertation on the subject of international human rights and on the topic of human rights violation in Kashmir and their right of self-determination. Unfortunately, there is not enough material available in the libraries of the university and the city.

In this respect, I need some guidance and help from you.

Zubair Ahmad

Liverpool, UK

[Thanks, for choosing to do your dissertation on the unprecedented human rights violation in Kashmir. We, in the KCC, appreciate it very much. We will do our best to provide you with some material from here, as well as give you a few local contacts in the UK].

I am from Indian occupied Kashmir and I would like to share with you the sufferings of my brothers and sisters who are being massacred by India for demanding their rights. The Indian government keeps everyone confused about the Kashmir issue. Kashmiris are not talking about which side (India or Pakistan) is greener. We are concerned about our rights and which side has oppressed us (the people of Kashmir) since 1947 and especially from October 1989. However, the Indian government prefers to make it an issue between India and Pakistan.

No country is free from discrimination against minorities. Nevertheless, what India is doing in heinous, it is unheard of in the modern world. India has no shame, no decency, no conscience and no value for other human beings.

The streets of India are filled with blood. People are killed by Indian forces like insects. What has India to be proud of? If it is its history, then where is a little pride? Every human being deserves decency and respect, India should learn to share this world respectfully with every other person in the globe and more importantly in their own land.

Mohammed A Khan

Via E-mail, UK

[Your first hand account of the situation is very painful and becomes very clear that the last half century has truly been characterised by hardship and cruelty for the people of Kashmir under the occupation of the so-called world's largest democracy].

I have been receiving a complimentary copy of The Kashmir Quarterly on a regular basis for the last several years. I am indebted to the Council for sending me a copy. Since last July, however, I have retired from Queen's University and have my home address as my mailing address. In order that I continue receiving the complimentary copy of The Kashmir Quarterly which is undoubtedly the most authentic voice of the Kashmiri people, I would appreciate if you would note my new address on your mailing list.

Muhammad Fayyaz, Ph.D

Kingston, Canada

[We will certainly update our mailing list, so you can continue to receive, "the most authentic voice of the Kashmiri people," and to stay in touch with the situation in Kashmir].

Opinions and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Kashmiri-Canadian Council.

The Editor of The Kashmir Quarterly welcomes comments and letters but reserves the right to constrict them.