An overwhelming participation of masses in the J&K assembly polls-2008 was a big setback for the separatists who had worked overtime advocating election boycott. This slap on the separatist face was unnerving and many of them including Geelani, Yasin Malik and Mirwaiz Umar deserted the valley for some months. Their politics of bandh calls and duplicity lay unraveled by the disillusioned people. more...

Geneva: Gilgit-Baltistan is a part of Jammu and Kashmir. The area is of strategic importance as it has borders with Afghanistan and China. Since partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, and the coming into being of Pakistan, democratic and political freedom and human rights situation in Gilgit-Baltistan has been very bad and the population has been suffering. This was stated by Universal Periodic Review submitted to Belgian Association for Solidarity with Jammu and Kashmir at the second session of a conference in Brusseles recently. It said rights organizations in Pakistan itself have been raising voices against the inhuman treatment meted out to the people of this region by the Pakistan administration. more...