Habib Tahir alias Chotoo, who hailed from the remote village of Kuiyaan in the Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir who was a LeT-trained militant. The 23-year-old militant was killed by the Indian security officials in the recently championed ‘Operation Mahadev.’ The militant’s family and others were mourning the death and were making arrangements for the funeral of Chotoo. When the LeT and affiliated JKUM militants entered the event in order to be a part of the funeral ceremony and mourn for the fellow militant, the entire scenario in the village changed.
Frustrated villagers switched from mourning to confrontation and quarrel, a testimony to the spiking anger of the villagers against the terror groups who are responsible for indoctrinating the young boys and infiltrating them into Kashmir to seek selfish political ends. Chotoo’s family and other villagers barred the militants from attending the funeral, and when a local LeT commander arrived with armed guards to threaten the locals and defy their decision, confrontation broke out. However, the village crowd succeeded in pushing back the militants from the funeral space.
‘Jigra’: A Public Meeting to Fight against Terror Recruitment
The public outburst didn’t end with the funeral ceremony. Along with Kuiyaan many other villages in the PoJK are now considering to hold a Jigra, a traditional council. This public meeting aims to collectively refute and denounce terror recruitment and other militant activities in the region. The events exhibit the breach of the patience and sustenance threshold of the villagers, who for decades have borne the brunt of militant activities. Years ago, the people of PoJK silently suffered from the militant atrocities and didn’t dare to voice against it. But, now their tolerance level is ruptured and they are acting in a bold and united voice.
Chotoo’s Teacher Voices the Despair and Anger
Hours after the funeral, Liyaqat Ali, a local teacher who thought even the deceased militant Chotoo made an eight minute video and circulated it online. “Who are these people sending our Children to Kashmir? They brainwash our children and throw them against the military superpower like India”, questions Liyaqat Ali. In the video he addressed the various terror groups directly and urged not let others’ children die because of the jihad they are running. He also accused that the children of rich jihadists study in countries like UK and USA and it is only the poor village kids who get suffered. The video went viral across PoJK.
The civilians and the local administrative bodies in PoJK have thus gradually started to rise against the deep state of Pakistan who were once silent, sleepy, extremely fearful & frightened and merely served as the silent agents of Pakistan. In a similar sparking event, the administrative body of Bagh district in PoJK denied permission for a local resident to hold a conference, as the core agenda of such meetings will be sympathising the youth towards radical issues in the name of religious education and community education.
This marked shift in the mindset of the residents of PoJK where local administrations, teachers and even the common people publicly voice against terrorism and refute jihad, shows how Pakistan is being gradually disintegrated domestically. Balochistan on the one hand, PoJK on the other reeling under economic crisis, social concerns and refuting the long-run deep rooted deep state and terror culture, shows Pakistan’s illegal occupations and illicit actions are difficult to sustain in the coming days. They only make the nation weak and fragile from within.
