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Home , Amanullah Khan (JKLF), Hashim Qureshi, Yasin Malik

- Researched and compiled by the Refugee Documentation Centre of Ireland on Monday 22 & Tuesday 23 October 2012

Information on the Liberation Front/JKLF, including whether it is a political party or an armed group

A publication released by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in September 2011 points out that:

“The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) was one of the largest and most organised indigenous militant forces, and is credited with beginning the insurgency. By 1994 however, the JKLF had renounced violent armed struggle, announcing its intention to peacefully advocate for a separate Kashmiri state” (Centre for Strategic and International Studies (September 2011) Pakistan - Violence versus stability, p.178).

A report issued in February 2010 by BBC News points out that:

“The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) was the largest pro-independence militant group, but it gave up the armed struggle in 1994 and has since been active on the political front. Its influence is thought to have waned” (BBC News (25 February 2010) Q&A: Kashmir dispute).

A report released in December 2003 by Amnesty International notes:

“The JKLF is now seen as the leading pro-independence political organization. In 1989 it began an armed pro-independence campaign but in 1994 the group renounced violence and began to campaign politically for Jammu and Kashmir’s independence” (Amnesty International (2 December 2003) : Open Letter to the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on the failed promises of the Common Minimum Program, p.2, footnote 3).

Research issued in September 2005 by the Australian Refugee Review Tribunal states:

“The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) is one of the oldest of the Kashmiri separatist organisation. Formed originally in 1977 in England but becoming and effective organisation in Jammu and Kashmir in 1988-89, the JKLF fought a militant insurgency against Indian security forces. The JKLF has since split into two separate factions one led by Amanullah Khan (Pakistan-based) and the other by (Indian-based)” (Australian Refugee Review Tribunal (21 September 2005) 1. Please provide information on the nature and activities of JKLF within Pakistan.2. Do the JKLF have a student wing and if so can you provide information on this?, p.1).

In August 2003 the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada released a compilation report stating:

“Established in 1977 in Birmingham, United Kingdom…the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) is one of Pakistan's oldest separatist organizations…calling for the reunification of Kashmir and its independence from Pakistan and India…The JKLF is considered an important member of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), a coalition of 23 political parties that form Kashmir's "main separatist alliance"…The JKLF has branches in the United States, Indian-administered Jammu Kashmir, , the Middle East, the Far East…Britain-over 20 units-and in most European Union countries…” (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (7 August 2003) Pakistan: Activities of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF); whether the JKLF practices forced recruitment, and if so, whether this is done in collaboration with the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP)).

A report published by Human Rights Watch in September 2006 states:

“The pro-independence JKLF became weaker and was gradually replaced by the religious extremist Hizb-ul-Mujahedin, which promoted accession to Pakistan. Several JKLF members and supporters were killed, allegedly by militants belonging to the Hizb-ul-Mujahedin” (Human Rights Watch (12 September 2006) "Everyone Lives in Fear": Patterns of Impunity in Jammu and Kashmir).

It is also pointed out in this report that:

“The JKLF was responsible for some acts of violence, including the 1989 abduction of the daughter of Home Minister (later Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister) and attacks on some Hindu Kashmiri pandits, but it also led a largely peaceful people's movement” (ibid).

This documents also notes:

“In 1994, the JKLF, the engine of the Kashmiri nationalist movement, declared a unilateral ceasefire which has remained in effect ever since. The JKLF no longer has any military capacity, but it has a large political presence and a great deal of public support, particularly in ” (ibid).

A publication by Freedom House in September 2012 states:

“An armed insurgency against Indian rule gathered momentum after 1989, waged by the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and other proindependence groups that consisted largely of , as well as Pakistani-backed Islamist groups seeking to bring Kashmir under Islamabad's control. placed Jammu and Kashmir under federal rule in 1990 and attempted to quell the uprising. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was extended to the territory, allowing the army to make arrests and conduct searches without a warrant, and to use deadly force with virtual impunity. The JKLF abandoned its armed struggle in 1994, and Pakistani- backed extremist groups, which included fighters from elsewhere in the Muslim world, thereafter dominated the insurgency” (Freedom House (7 September 2012) Freedom in the World 2012 - Indian Kashmir).

Citing another source, a report issued in March 2012 by the United Kingdom Home Office points out that:

“Militant activity first started in the and subsequently spread to the Jammu region during the 1990s. Begun by a nationalist armed group called the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), the armed revolt grew as groups seeking union with Pakistan joined the conflict” (United Kingdom Home Office (30 March 2012) India, Country Of Origin Information (Coi) Report, pp.57-58).

A report issued in March 2011 by Amnesty International states:

“From mid 1989, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and other armed opposition groups led a popular movement and armed uprising for independence. The state was racked with violence and remained under President's Rule (direct rule by the central Government of India) between 1990 and 1996. Over the years the JKLF lost its pre-eminent position to the Hizbul Mujahidin, an armed group that supported the merger of the region with Pakistan” (Amnesty International (21 March 2011) A ‘Lawless Law’, Detentions under the J&K Public Safety Act, p.10).

This report also states:

“…the JKLF, which renounced armed struggle and transformed itself into a political party in the mid 1990s, but which has faced internal divisions since then” (ibid, p.11).

An undated document issued by the South Asia Terrorism Portal notes:

“There are two distinct outfits, each of which identifies itself by the name Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). Amanullah Khan heads the first while Yasin Malik, who parted ways with Amanullah Khan and formed another JKLF, heads the other. In May 1994, Yasin Malik who was released from jail (after his arrest in August 1990) declared that his faction would renounce violence as a tool to achieve the goal of 'independence'. In March 1996, the last surviving members of the Amanullah faction who were based in J&K under the leadership of Shabbir Siddiqui were killed in two encounters. Both the Fronts trace their origin to the Jammu and Kashmir National Liberation Front (JKNLF). The JKNLF was an offshoot of the Plebiscite Front, a forum allegedly launched at the behest of the late , who was Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and President of the National Conference, at a time when he was at loggerheads with India's Union Government. After the Sheikh-Indira Accord was signed, militant, pro-independence elements within the Plebiscite Front walked out to continue with the movement to secede from India. The JKLF was set up in the United Kingdom, in May 1977, by one of the co-founders of the JKNLF, Amanullah Khan, after most of his JKNLF colleagues were either killed or captured by Indian security forces. The outfit is reportedly supported by expatriates of the Mirpur community that belongs to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Another JKLF, a splinter group headed by Yasin Malik, was founded in September 1995, after Malik split from Khan over differences on the strategy to be pursued to achieve perceived goals” (South Asia Terrorism Portal (Undated) Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front).

This report also states:

“While both the JKLFs share a common goal, self-determination for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the Yasin Malik faction has renounced the use of violence to attain this goal. It lays emphasis on adopting non-violent means and mobilising public opinion in India and Pakistan in favour of its objectives. It is a constituent of the All Party Huriyat Conference. Amanullah Khan's JKLF promotes itself as an outfit conducting the struggle on three fronts –– political, which implies mobilisation of public opinion; diplomatic, which implies lobbying with third countries; and armed struggle against Indian security forces in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). In the Seventies and early Eighties, the JKLF operated mostly from London and PoK, with Amanullah Khan and directing from London unit and Farooq Haider and Mohammed Muzzafar holding fort in PoK. Their activities were, in large measure, confined to propagating the cause of a plebiscite in J&K and mobilising international support for this objective. Even before the inception of JKLF, its leaders under various other banners had indulged in terrorist activities. One such instance was the hijacking of an Indian Airlines aircraft in 1971; Altaf and Hashim Qureshi, two prominent leaders, hijacked the plane. Maqbul Butt, one of the co-founders of the outfit and who had escaped from an Indian jail in December 1968, was reportedly involved in planning the hijacking” (ibid).

This documents also points out that:

“All through its history the JKLF has demanded conducting a plebiscite in J&K, but has made no effort to conceal its preference for an independent, sovereign State. This latter position is in direct conflict with Pakistan's contention, that Kashmir in its entirety belongs to it, made apparent by a consistent refusal for a third option in the plebiscite that has been demanded (the other options are: accession to either India or Pakistan). Another cause of friction between the JKLF and its mentors is the status of Gilghit-Baltistan. While JKLF maintains that this region is a part of J&K, Pakistan's hold that this region is separate from the State and its accession to Pakistan is final and irrevocable” (ibid).

In June 2005 BBC News states:

“Two factions of a leading Kashmiri separatist group have decided to re-unite after nearly 10 years. The Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) says the move is aimed at pressing for the independence of the disputed state. At the moment, the JKLF is divided into two groups based in Indian and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. Moderate Kashmiri separatist leaders have been visiting Pakistan, the first time India has allowed them to do so. The JKLF was once regarded as a formidable militant force in Indian-administered Kashmir - it was the first group to take up arms against Indian rule in 1988. But it split in 1995 when Yasin Malik, the head of the group in Indian-administered Kashmir, announced that the JKLF would give up violence” (BBC News (9 June 2005) Kashmiri separatist group unites).

This document also states:

“Over the years, the JKLF was pushed into the background by other more powerful groups with allegiance to Pakistan and Islamist groups” (ibid).

A report issued in May 2012 by the Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation/ACCORD utilizing external sources states that:

“A report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies…provides the following overview: “The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) was one of the largest and most organized indigenous militant groups, and is credited with beginning the insurgency. By 1994 however, the JLKF had renounced violent armed struggle, announcing its intention to peacefully advocate for a separate Kashmiri state. Declining ethnic Kashmiri support for violence, increasingly competent Indian security forces, and the internal marginalization of pro-independence groups to pro-Pakistani groups facilitated this shift…As noted by the BBC, the JKLF is a secular pro- independence group…whose influence is believed to have waned…The group was initially supported by Pakistan and its fighters were trained in Pakistan-administered Kashmir by the Pakistani military. In the early 1990s, Pakistani authorities abandoned the JKLF and introduced a pro-Pakistan Islamic group of Kashmiri fighters, (HM), with a mandate to fight both the Indian forces and the JKLF, according to analysts. This led many JKLF fighters to lay down their arms…The JKLF is described by the CSIS as being “one of the most vocal critics of pro-Pakistani groups, particularly the LeT [Lashkar-e-Taiba] and its JuD [Jamaat-ud-Dawa] political arm”, having accused them of “’subverting the indigenous movement’ from a legitimate nationalist struggle into an Islamic movement…(Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation/ACCORD (7 May 2012) Pakistan-administered Kashmir (Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan): COI Compilation, pp.13-14).

A report published by BBC News in February 2011 states:

“Pakistan's government denies any involvement with militant groups in Kashmir. But security sources and analysts maintain that certain elements of the ISI are involved in Kashmiri militancy. According to JKLF leaders, the group was initially supported by Pakistan and its fighters crossed into Pakistan-administered Kashmir where they were trained by the military. But when the uprising became popular, the Pakistani authorities decided to abandon JKLF and field a pro-Pakistan force instead. In the early 1990s an Islamic group of Kashmiri fighters, Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), was introduced into the conflict with a mandate to fight both the Indian forces and the JKLF, analysts say. Thus cornered, many JKLF fighters laid down their arms and quietly slipped into a life of social and economic exclusion” (BBC News (24 February 2011) The Kashmiri fighters who lost their cause).

In September 2008 Inter Press Service states:

“Mohammad Yasin Malik, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), an active militant until he renounced violence in 1994, terms the mass uprising a good omen for the Kashmir's freedom struggle. "It is great to see people protesting in a peaceful manner in favour of the freedom. It thrills me that the freedom sentiment is catching up rapidly within Kashmir,'' Malik told IPS. The JKLF has alternatively sought independence for Indian Kashmir as well as the accession of the territory to Pakistan. Malik's own renouncement of violence and his alleged pursuit of an internal settlement with the Indian government led to a split in the JKLF in 1994. A militant faction of the group is now active on the Pakistan side of Kashmir and led by Amanullah Khan” (Inter Press Service (3 September 2008) Rights-India: Kashmiris See Power in Peaceful Protests).

A BBC News profile published in August 2012 notes:

“The JKLF is a nationalist secular group that has sought the independence of Kashmir from both India and Pakistan. Drawing on the popular base of Kashmir's nationalist movement, a bomb attack it carried out in Srinagar on 31 July, 1988 in effect marked the start of the insurgency. The group was formed as early as 1977, with Amanullah Khan as its head. He and another leader, Yasin Malik, organised resistance to Indian rule with help from the Pakistani military regime of General Zia-ul Haq, who, according to Mr Khan, believed that since Islamabad had failed to wrest control of Kashmir from India, it might as well back a movement for its independence. However, when the insurgency was successfully launched, Pakistan decided to withdraw support from JKLF and instead back groups that wanted Kashmir's accession to Pakistan. The JKLF as a result found itself sandwiched between Indian security forces and pro-Pakistan militants. By 1990, much of its cadres had either been dispersed, destroyed or absorbed into other groups. Its leadership also split into factions, some of them renouncing militancy. These groups are now coming together in a non-violent political movement for the reunification of Pakistani and Indian Kashmir” (BBC News (1 August 2012) Who are the Kashmir militants?).

An International Crisis Group report published in September 2010 includes the following description of:

“Pro-independence parties, such as Amanullah Khan’s Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)…” (International Crisis Group (3 June 2010) Steps Towards Peace: Putting Kashmiris First, p.8).

This report also describes the JKLF as:

“…an organisation whose objective of a secular and independent Kashmir…” (ibid, p.8,footnote 57).

In April 2011 Agence France Presse notes:

“Security forces in Indian Kashmir on Thursday fired teargas to disperse stone- pelting demonstrators protesting against the arrest of a key separatist in the region's main city Srinagar. Authorities broke up the demonstration led by the pro- independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) after protesters hurled stones at security forces, according to witnesses and police” (Agence France Presse (29 April 2011) Clashes erupt as separatist leader held in Kashmir).

A publication issued in February 2012 by the South Asian Terrorism Portal notes:

“A local court in Jammu on February 24 charged Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) for allegedly raising funds to strengthen militancy in the State, reports Times of India. Additional sessions judge (Jammu) Sanjay Parihar charged Malik with raising funds to strengthen "armed activity" in the State and "to strike terror among people". Malik pleaded not guilty to the charges” (South Asian Terrorism Portal (25 February 2012) Jammu court charges JKLF chief Yasin Malik under POTA).

The Hindu in July 2012 notes:

“JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik and 15 activists were detained on Friday as the separatist group tried to take out a march here to protest the killing of a young man allegedly by troops in Bandipora district of Kashmir this past Tuesday” (The Hindu (28 July 2012) JKLF chief, 15 activists detained).

In September 2012 The Hindu states:

“Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik and over two dozen separatists, mostly JKLF leaders, were taken into preventive custody for violating prohibitory orders by taking out a procession here on Friday” (The Hindu (8 September 2012) Rally stopped, Yasin Malik held).

References

Agence France Presse (29 April 2011) Clashes erupt as separatist leader held in Kashmir http://reliefweb.int/report/india/clashes-erupt-separatist-leader-held-kashmir Accessed Monday 22 October 2012

Amnesty International (21 March 2011) A ‘Lawless Law’, Detentions under the J&K Public Safety Act http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA20/001/2011/en/cee7e82a-f6a1- 4410-acfc-769d794991b1/asa200012011en.pdf Attachment not included due to IT limitations Accessed Monday 22 October 2012

Amnesty International (2 December 2003) India: Open Letter to the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on the failed promises of the Common Minimum Program http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA20/033/2003/en/a88e5bdb-d65c- 11dd-ab95-a13b602c0642/asa200332003en.pdf Accessed Monday 22 October 2012

Australian Refugee Review Tribunal (21 September 2005) 1. Please provide information on the nature and activities of JKLF within Pakistan.2. Do the JKLF have a student wing and if so can you provide information on this? http://www.ecoi.net/file_upload/1997_1300349568_pak17504.pdf Accessed Tuesday 23 October 2012

Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation/ACCORD (7 May 2012) Pakistan-administered Kashmir (Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan): COI Compilation http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/4fba0d042.pdf Accessed Monday 22 October 2012

BBC News (1 August 2012) Who are the Kashmir militants http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18738906 Accessed Monday 22 October 2012

BBC News (24 February 2011) The Kashmiri fighters who lost their cause http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12492173 Accessed Monday 22 October 2012

BBC News (25 February 2010) Q&A: Kashmir dispute http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8537020.stm Accessed Monday 22 October 2012

BBC News (9 June 2005) Kashmiri separatist group unites http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4077122.stm Accessed Monday 22 October 2012

Centre for Strategic and International Studies (September 2011) Pakistan - Violence versus stability http://csis.org/files/publication/110907_Cordesman_Pakistan_Web.pdf Attachment not included due to IT limitations Accessed Tuesday 23 October 2012

Freedom House (7 September 2012) Freedom in the World 2012 - Indian Kashmir http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=printdoc& Accessed Monday 22 October 2012

The Hindu (8 September 2012) Rally stopped, Yasin Malik held http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/rally-stopped-yasin-malik- held/article3871308.ece Accessed Monday 22 October 2012

The Hindu (28 July 2012) JKLF chief, 15 activists detained http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/jklf-chief-15- activists-detained/article3694838.ece Accessed Monday 22 October 2012

Human Rights Watch (12 September 2006) "Everyone Lives in Fear": Patterns of Impunity in Jammu and Kashmir http://www.unhcr.org/cgi- bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=printdoc&docid=4517c9ca4 Attachment not included due to IT limitations Accessed Monday 22 October 2012

Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (7 August 2003) Pakistan: Activities of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF); whether the JKLF practices forced recruitment, and if so, whether this is done in collaboration with the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) http://www.unhcr.org/cgi- bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=printdoc&docid=485ba87419 Accessed Monday 22 October 2012

International Crisis Group (3 June 2010) Steps Towards Peace: Putting Kashmiris First http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/south- asia/kashmir/B106%20Steps%20Towards%20Peace%20- %20Putting%20Kashmiris%20First.pdf Accessed Monday 22 October 2012

Inter Press Service (3 September 2008) Rights-India: Kashmiris See Power in Peaceful Protests http://www.ein.org.uk/members/country-report/rights-india-kashmiris-see- power-peaceful-protests This is a subscription database Accessed Monday 22 October 2012

South Asia Terrorism Portal (25 February 2012) Jammu court charges JKLF chief Yasin Malik under POTA http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/search_news.asp?currentpage=6&date1=2000/0 3/11&date2=2012/10/23&keyword=jklf# Accessed Tuesday 23 October 2012

South Asia Terrorism Portal (Undated) Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/jam mu_&_kashmir_liberation_front.htm Accessed Monday 22 October 2012

United Kingdom Home Office (30 March 2012) India, Country Of Origin Information (Coi) Report http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/coi/in dia/ Attachment not included due to IT limitations Accessed Monday 22 October 2012

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Refugee Documentation Centre within time constraints. This response is not and does not purport to be conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please read in full all documents referred to.

Sources Consulted

Amnesty International BBC News Electronic Immigration Network European Country of Origin Information Network Freedom House Google Human Rights Watch Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre International Crisis Group IRIN News Lexis Nexis Minority Rights Group International Online Newspapers Refugee Documentation Centre E-Library Refugee Documentation Centre Query Database Refugees International Reliefweb Reuters United Kingdom Home Office United States Department of State UNHCR Refworld