An Unresolved Case, Initiated on July 19, 1947 – II

As mentioned earlier that something had already started cooking up in the ‘Kashmir Kitchen’, certainly under the supervision of the ‘Indian Chefs’ and it was soon after the passing of the resolution regarding accession to Pakistan, by the Jammu & Kashmir Muslim Conference. The astonishing fact is that the events were trending rapidly. Merely in 100 days, the Indian forces had their boots in the Valley. Obviously it was not possible in such a short time unless preliminaries had already not been tied up.

Although through a telegram of 12 August 1947, the Prime Minister of Kashmir assured Pakistan about strictly adhering to a Standstill Agreement, nevertheless, the events on ground were negating any such assurance. The Pakistan’s government machinery smelled fishy maneuovers, hence decided to contact the Kashmir government. A text (given below) was immediately telegraphed to the Prime Minister Kashmir

Telegram dated October 12, 1947, from Foreign Secretary to the government of Pakistan to the Prime Minister of Kashmir;

“Men of Pakistan Army who have recently returned from leave at their homes in Poonch have report that armed bands, which includes troops are attacking Muslim villages in the State [….] one feature of the present situation in Poonch which, however, makes it peculiarly dangerous to the friendly relations which the Pakistan Government wishes to retain with Kashmir, is that the Pakistan Army obtains a large number of recruits from Poonch. Feeling in the battalions to which these men belong is rapidly rising and the situation is fraught with danger. The Pakistan Government wishes to avoid such a situation as they are sure do the Government of Kashmir, but if it is to be avoided, immediate and effective steps must be taken to end the present state of affairs, and in particular, if it is true that state troops are taking part in the attack on Muslims, to ensure the restoration of their discipline. The Government of Pak would like to be informed of the action taken”.

 The telegram clearly spelled Pakistan’s concern and worries which were certainly valid; however, instead of satisfying the Pakistani 2Government, the Prime Minister of Kashmir levelled counter charges and attempted to justify the killings done by the Dogra forces through his reply (given below). Unexpectedly, the Kashmir prime minister couldn’t hide his despicable aim in his reply.

Reply of the Prime Minister of the Kashmir dated 15 Oct 1947 to the Government of Pakistan.

“This Government has ample proof of infiltration. As is the result in every Govt, including Pakistan Dominion, Military has to take action when disturbances caused cannot adequately be dealt with by Civil Administration. [….] If unfortunately this request is not heeded Government, much against its wishes, will have no option but to ask for assistance to withstand aggressive and unfriendly actions of the Pakistan people along our border”.

5I wonder if anyone had ever gone into these minute details to extract the actual wicked intentions of the Maharaja and his collaborator, the Indian Government. After sending the telegram of 15 July, 1947 the Kashmir government appeared to be in a haste and couldn’t hide her excitement, hence, sent yet another telegram (tagged below) just after 3 days, to a person nothing less than the distinguished Governor General of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Telegram dated October 18, 1947 from the Prime Minister of the Kashmir to the Governor General of Pakistan.

“[….] Finally the Govt wish to make it plain that it is not possible to tolerate this attitude longer without grave consequences to the life, property of people which it is sacredly bound to defend at all costs. The Govt even now hopes that you would personally look into the matter and put a stop to all the iniquities which are being perpetrated. If, unfortunately this request is not heeded the Govt fully hope that you would agree that it would be justified in asking for friendly assistance and oppose trespass on its fundamental rights. (Copy telegraphed to Pakistani Prime Minister also)”.

The sender probably forgot that the person he addressed was an exemplary statesman and a politician of unmatched ethicalMuhammad Ali Jinnah at relaxing in KASHMIR standards. Even the British Lords and Viceroys would think hundred times before conversing with him. Consequently, the prime minister of Kashmir got the dose (appended below). It was a historical reply and no one could say that it was written by the head of the state of a country that got freedom hardly few weeks back.

Telegram dated October 20, 1947 from the Governor General of Pakistan, to the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir

I have received telegram of the 18th October from your Prime Minister regarding the situation in Kashmir which I regret was released to the press before it reached me and before I could deal with it. My Government have already been in communication with your Government and I deplore that your Prime Minister should have restored to the tone and language adopted in his telegram to me which embodies a threat to seek outside assistance and is almost in the nature of an ultimatum. This is hardly the way for any responsible and friendly Government to handle the situation that has arisen. [……] in the circumstances I am, reluctantly, forced to the conclusion that the unfounded allegations and accusations are only a smoke screen to cover the real aim of your Govt’s policy. A recent instance of this policy is the differential treatment accorded to the leaders of the Kashmir National Conference and the Muslim Conference. […..] the course which your Government is pursuing in suppressing the Mussalmans in every way, the atrocities which are being committed by your troops and which are driving Muslims out of the State, various indications given in the press, particularly the release to the Press of your Prime Minister’s telegram addressed to me containing unfounded allegations and the threat to enlist outside assistance, show clearly that the aim of your Government’s policy is to seek an opportunity to join the Indian Dominion. This policy is naturally creating deep resentment and grave apprehension among your subjects 85 percent of whom are Muslims. [….]

c.1900 PHOTO INDIA SRINAGAR CHENAR BAGHAny sensible person would consider it as a ‘Shut-up’ call, given in the diplomatic way by a decent person. However Maharaja was looking for this opportunity and as the Indian Government and the Raja had already premeditated, within a week the Maharaja scripted a letter (added below) to the most controversial Viceroy of the Subcontinent, Lord Mountbatten, who was now the Governor General of India.

Text of letter dated 26 October 1947 from Sir Hari Singh, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, to Lord Mountbatten, the Governor General of India

My dear Lord Mountbatten,

Israel-Gaza conflict: Israel may have committed war crimes, says UN's human rights chief

The two week offensive in Gaza, which has led to the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian men, women and children in the crowded coastal enclave, could have seen war crimes committed by Israel, the UN’s top human rights official has warned.

The remarks from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay in Geneva came a week after Israel escalated its Operation Protective Edge – launched with the stated purpose of halting Hamas rocket fire – from aerial bombardments into a ground campaign that has resulted in a sharp increase in Palestinian casualties.

They raised the possibility that the military campaign, if it continues much longer or is escalated further, could turn into a public relations and diplomatic debacle for Israel as happened with its Operation Cast Lead campaign launched in Gaza in 2008 and 2009.Citing cases of Israeli air strikes and shelling of houses and hospitals, Ms Pillay told a UN session considering a resolution to set up an international inquiry into Israeli actions that “there seems to be a strong possibility international humanitarian law has been violated in a manner that could amount to war crimes”.

Referring to Israeli naval shelling that killed four Palestinian boys on the Gaza beach on 16 July, Mr Pillay added: “The disregard for international humanitarian law and for the right to life was sharply evident. Every one of these incidents must be properly and independently investigated.” Tonight, the UN council agreed to launch the inquiry.

According to Reuters, Ms Pillay was also critical of militant groups’ indiscriminate firing of rockets and mortars, which has killed three people in Israel and forced much of the country to seek protection in shelters and safety rooms. She said it was failing to distinguish between civilian and military targets. Israeli leaders dismissed Ms Pillay’s criticisms as reflecting an anti-Israel animus on the part of the council. “These are intolerably biased statements based on newspaper clippings, without a discernment of the facts,’’ said the Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Paul Hirschson. “They may pander to the more obscurantist members of the human rights council but they do a huge disservice to human rights.’’

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For the Israeli government  the criticisms had echoes of the 2009 Goldstone report on Israel-Hamas hostilities that year. It flayed Israel’s conduct of the warfare and concluded that both Israel and Hamas had committed potential war crimes. Israel rejected that inquiry and report as biased, but it had the result of encouraging the boycotting and delegitimisation of the Jewish state. The Goldstone inquiry was set up by vote by the UN human rights council.
Mr Hirschson took pains to stress his view that during the Gaza campaign, the Israeli military had “taken steps to safeguard civilians not taken by any military in modern history”.
These steps, he said, included warnings of impending strikes by leafleting, telephone calls and text messages “and sometimes suggesting where to move to a safe zone”. He said warnings to evacuate are amplified by firing non-explosive missiles on the roofs of homes that are being targeted.  Israel’s Justice Minister, Tzipi Livni, said her country was acting according to international law. “It is regrettable civilians are killed, but when we call on them to vacate and Hamas calls on them to stay, then that is what happens,” she reportedly told Israel radio.

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Palestinians say that warnings are not issued in some cases and in others there is insufficient time to leave. Mr Hirschson accused Hamas of “engaging in criminal behaviour by using their population as human shields and telling the population not to pay attention to Israeli warnings. It’s almost as if they want to generate civilian casualties to wage public relations war against Israel”.
However, all leading Israeli human rights groups are not convinced by these government explanations and their assessment of the situation is not far removed from that of Ms Pillay. Referring to reports of strikes against civilian targets, 10 Israeli human rights groups wrote to the Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein on Monday that the “reports and data which have accumulated thus far regarding the nature of the strikes and level of injury to non-combatant civilians as a result of these strikes raise serious concern of severe violations of international humanitarian law and specifically the laws of war”. The groups said they were especially concerned about possible violations in Sunday’s fighting in the Shajaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City, during which more than 60 Palestinians and 13 soldiers were killed.
 
An Israeli 155mm self-propelled howitzer fires from southern Israeli into the Gaza Strip (EPA)
The army, for its part, issued a statement saying that Hamas had used a hospital, al-Wafa, to launch rockets against Israel, as a command and control centre and to keep weapons. “It is a modus operandi of Hamas to use institutions meant to be neutral in order to terrorise Israel and the Israeli forces sent to Gaza,” said Major Arye Shalicar of the army spokesman unit. Major Shalicar said that Israeli troops had killed all the gunmen that had fired on troops from the hospital after its staff heeded calls to vacate.

In other developments, a Thai agricultural worker on an Israeli farm was killed when a rocket from Gaza struck near the southern city of Ashkelon as Hamas and its allies kept up their bombardments. The army announced that two more soldiers had died in Gaza fighting on Tuesday, bringing the number of Israeli military men to die in the war to 29. At least 649 Palestinians and 31 Israelis have been killed in the past 15 days of fighting, officials say. The UN estimates that about 74 per cent of those killed in Gaza were civilians.