Woman's death spotlights miseries of Leepa valley people

 A 60 years old woman died after she and a kin were trapped in a snow capped road towards the Leepa valley of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, marking the first snow-related death of the ongoing harsh season in the area, official sources and residents said on Tuesday.  

Noor Jehan and her son-in-law were trudging through a snowy track between Reshian to Moji village of Leepa valley on Monday afternoon, when a huge mass of snow fell over them near a place known as Mian Wala Matha.

According to official sources and residents, even though both managed to remove snow from them after hectic efforts, the lady however did not survive in subzero temperature, with her helpless son-in-law waiting in vain for help throughout the frosty night.   

Early morning, people from the deceased lady’s Chanoola village and adjoining hamlets trekked through the snow and removed the body from there. 

They reached back home - at a distance of hardly five kilometres - at about 2:30pm following which the funerals were held. 

Among the mourners was Shaukat Javed Mir, a key leader of the opposition People's Party who has long been campaigning under the banner of a local alliance of all parties for construction of 3.79 kms long Leepa Tunnel to save the lives of tens of hundreds of the residents of the picturesque valley, located some 100 kilometres southeast of Muzaffarabad.

Reshian village lies some 25-30 kilometres before it. 

From beyond Reshian, the valley is accessed by two dangerously narrow roads, known by the names of Birthwar Galli and Sher Galli, and one pedestrian track, known as Panjal Galli, which run through an altitude of around 10,000 feet.

“Every year we lose our near and dear ones to avalanches as they trudge through the snow capped routes linking our valley to the rest of the world at the peril of their lives, but ironically our desperate calls to build us the tunnel cut no ice with the authorities,” PPP leader Mir said. 

Also on Monday afternoon, another group of 23 persons, including women, was left stranded in the middle of their journey by jeeps via 10,000 feet high Barthwar Galli due to heavy snowfall.

They were able to reach their homes by 9pm only after the army personnel and locals came to their rescue, sources said. 

Mir recalled several names who, he said, had lost their lives during this arduous journey in the past.

“It is why we have long been stressing upon the governments in Muzaffarabad and Islamabad that the 
tunnel between Reshian and Leepa should be built at all costs,” he said, expressing the hope that Prime Minister Imran Khan would “sympathetically and generously allocate funds for this vitally important project without further ado.”     

Tariq Naqash 

 

 

 

Pakistan's mainstream media arraigned for "little" coverage of Kashmir

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider has regretted that Pakistan’s mainstream media is giving “negligible” coverage to Kashmir issue because "it does not bring them any monetary benefits." 

He made this comment amid criticism of the private electronic media of Pakistan for not airing stories on time on death and destruction caused by Indian shelling in Neelum valley and other AJK areas along the Line of Control (LoC).  

“The media does not have any financial interests in this territory. They look at our blood with the prism of business, which is unfortunate,” Haider remarked in his speech at the swearing in of the TV Journalists Association on Monday, making it clear that his criticism was directed at the owners and policy makers and not the correspondents. 

However, he also acknowledged that the media in Pakistan was facing censorship.

“The censorship that the media is facing today has no precedence in the past except during the last days of Pervez Musharraf and prior to him during the rule of Gen Ayub Khan.” 

Haider said he wanted to strengthen AJK TV for an extensive coverage of the struggle and sacrifices of the Kashmiris as well as the unprecedented brutalities by India’s occupation machinery. 

He said he had also been calling for up-gradation of the state run radio stations in AJK to boost the morale of struggling Kashmiris and effectively counter Indian propaganda. 

Referring to Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) elections, he said it was surprising that a “four months old newborn party” had emerged as the largest party there. 

“But I want to warn all concerned that the replication of what has been done in Gilgit [Baltistan] will not be allowed here [AJK]. This drama is not possible here, and its consequences will be very dangerous,” he said. 

Terming the campaigning by the leaders of different mainstream political parties in GB as “rumbustiousness” he said he was averse to their intervention.

“Is it [GB] a booty that you had to divide among yourselves? Or is it a conquered land or crown land or a pasture,” he said and added: “I tell you honestly that neither any service has been done to the GB people nor to Pakistan or Kashmir, and very soon the GB people will also realize it.” 

Haider regretted that the GB people had “disassociated themselves from Kashmir which in turn had dealt a blow to the Kashmir freedom struggle.” 

“Who says GB is not part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This step [conversion of GB into province] has also disrespected the judgments of superior courts of AJK and Pakistan.” 

“Since a part of my body has been detached, I am hurt and therefore I cannot help but express my feelings. But the time will itself decide whether this decision will go in favour of or against Pakistan.”

In the same breath, he reiterated his earlier statement that as long as AJK remained in existence, neither India nor Pakistan could swipe the Kashmir issue under the carpet. 

“This [AJK] will continue to prick them… We have sworn allegiance to the state of Pakistan and not any political party.” 

Haider said he believed that Pakistan would not get anything from the Security Council as far as the Kashmir issue was concerned. 

“In fact we have lowered our status so much that nobody gives us a damn. We can however get something from those who work on human rights and we should reach out to them with evidence of flagrant human rights violations by Indian government.” 

Towards the end of his speech, he also took a jibe at the AJK judiciary while asking journalists to ensure the version of both parties in their stories. 

“They give stay orders without ascertaining our viewpoint… But journalists should not file stories without obtaining the views of the other side.” 

Tariq Naqash