HVK Archives: Only blood counts (Hostage in Kashmir - Part IV of IV)
Only blood counts (Hostage in Kashmir - Part IV of IV) - The Sunday Observer
Kim Housego
()
7-13 September 1997
Title: Only blood counts (Hostage in Kashmir - Part IV of IV)
Author: Kim Housego
Publication: The Sunday Observer
Date: September 7-13, 1997
All parties to a hostage drama have their own objectives, says Kim Housego.
And not always do they tie in with the hostage's release.
What baffles the security forces in Srinagar is why Al-Faran would continue
to hold the current hostages without pressing further demands. There have
been no direct negotiations with Al-Faran since December 1995 and no proof
that the hostages are still alive. On rigorous interrogation, a captured
senior Harkat-ul-Ansar leader, Nassir Mehmood, said they were killed on 13
December 1995, following a shootout in which Abdul Hamid Turki was
"accidentally" killed by the security forces. Intelligence reports indicate
that the shooting occurred close to where the hostages were being held.
Turki's death at a time when Al-Faran was still holding the hostages might
have led the group to review its position and decide to get rid of the
remaining hostages. It was at this time that AI-Faran issued an unexpected
statement claiming that the Indian Army was now holding the hostages - a
possible smokescreen to cover their deaths.
The forest where Nassir says they were killed has since been searched with
backup from the SAS [Britain's Special Air Service] and Germany's GSG-9.
Nothing was found. Until their bodies are recovered there must always be a
chance that they could be alive. In support of this, the Indian
Intelligence Bureau told me that if they had been killed, the IB would have
had some confirmation - possibly through its sources in Pakistan. But the
truth is that nobody knows for certain.
Local Kashmiris on the streets all seem to condemn the kidnappings, but
many charge India with masterminding the abduction. I do not believe the
charges. But the belief that Indian security forces are behind the
kidnapping may explain why Kashmiris themselves have come forward with
little information on the Hostages. One CID official said, "The villagers
where the kidnappers have been have rarely come forward with information."
Other political leaders in Kashmir told me they believe that India has
deliberately prolonged the hostage crisis as it has succeeded in tarnishing
the militancy and the case for Kashmiri autonomy.
The governments of the United States, Britain, and Germany have all put
enormous effort and money - spending several million pounds each - on
trying to secure the release of the hostages still held in Kashmir. As
time has gone on, however, differences in strategy have emerged among the
governments. They have been attacked by both relatives and the press for
the lack of any breakthrough.
The US, in particular, has been criticized by other governments for its
failure to put sufficient pressure on Pakistan which provides a base for
all militant groups operating in Kashmir. The US was worried that pushing
Pakistan could jeopardize its arms sales to the country and block the flow
of information of Islamic terrorism and the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.
The experience has taught me that all parties to the hostage drama -
militant groups, governments, embassies - have their own objectives and
priorities. Sometimes these tie in with the release of the hostages,
sometimes they do not. The wider political issues that are at stake, such
as curbing international terrorism or strengthening US-Pakistan relations,
overshadow the governments' preoccupation with the life of any one hostage.
As my father says, "In the end it's only the relatives who really care
about the lives of those held."
I found it difficult - and still do - to cope with the way organizations
seemingly holding the hostages' welfare at heart used me for their
political lobbying. Kashmir is plagued with faction fighting - among
militant groups, the civil and military authorities, or Western governments
juggling with their individual imperatives. I was used as a pawn in their
game. I was searching for information about what had happened to me and
what was happening to the other hostages. My questions were rapidly seized
on as providing ammunition for one cause or another.
On the day of my departure, it began to snow heavily. Within an hour a
thick white blanket had covered the ground and ice was forming on the lake.
Inevitably our flight was postponed indefinitely and for a second time I
was held back in Kashmir.
After three days it stopped snowing and the mist lifted slightly. There had
been a powerful bomb explosion outside the police headquarters in Srinagar.
As we were about to board the aircraft, a group of policemen rushed in
carrying a stretcher with one of the wounded, suffering from deep splinters
and bleeding heavily. There was a scuffle as the passengers began to crowd
around. the injured person was laid down in the aisle of the civilian
plane, close to where I was sitting. Like Hans Ostro's death, the scene
was a brutal reminder of the tragedy and violence that grips.
(Concluded)
(courtesy: Kashmir Times)
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