2 PoK leaders held for cheering India-ToI—18.4.11

M Saleem Pandit |TNN

Srinagar: Two top National Awami Party leaders, Imran Shahzad and Naheem Iqbal Khwaja, were arrested in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) for rooting for Team India during the World Cup — particularly during Mohali semifinals — writes Dr Shabir Choudhry, a Pakistani national and director of Institute of Kashmir Affairs in London in his latest blog.
    “It’s an offence to support the Indian cricket team in PoK; and those who supported the Indian team in the recent World Cup, especially when they played Pakistani team in the semifinals, were arrested for this crime,” says Choudhry.
    He adds, “Surprisingly, two stalwarts of National Awami Party from Dadyal, district Mirpur, in PoK, Imran Shahzad and Naheem Iqbal Khwaja, were arrested for supporting the Indian team.” The two Kashmiri nationalist leaders were arrested a day after the Mohali match.
    Reacting to the arrests of the two leaders, Kashmir National Party secretary general in PoK, Yasin Anjumm, said, “The Kashmiri nationalists are very angry over this, and people are expressing their anger against Pakistan and their oppressive policies.” ‘Pak manipulating J&K residents to wage proxy war’
    The arrest of two National Awami Party leaders, Imran Shahzad and Naheem Iqbal Khwaja, in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) for rooting for India during the World Cup has evoked sharp criticism from Kashmiri nationalists.
    Dr Shabir Choudhry, a Pakistani national and director of Institute of Kashmir Affairs in London in his blog says, "Liberate Muzaffarabad first and not Srinagar..." He said this should be the new slogan for Kashmris, pointing out that in the past, some Kashmiri parties supported by Pakistan secret agencies were groomed on the slogan 'Liberate Srinagar first, and not Muzaffarabad'. "By implication, it meant that only the Indian side is occupied and Pakistani side of Kashmir is free."
    Choudhury writes this policy is illogical, and that Pakistan's "aim is to divert attention away from their own crimes and use sentiments of people of Jammu & Kashmir to promote a proxy war. Net result of this erroneous and out of place policy is enormous damage to the Kashmiri struggle, and despite death of more than 50,000 men, women and children, rapes, imprisonments, custodial deaths, misery and suffering of people, we have not moved one inch forward."
    He further says Pakistani secret agencies and their agents in Pakistan and Kashmir still want to pursue the same redundant policy. They want to promote Kashmir as a religious dispute, and to them it can only be resolved by use of gun, even though its use has brought havoc to the people of Jammu & Kashmir; and nearly brought India and Pakistan to a full-scale war. TNN