Tourism
and terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir
Dr Shabir Choudhry 29 June 2013
Recently I visited Istanbul, Turkey, and saw tens of
thousands of tourists from various countries. These people were not only
impressed what Istanbul had to offer to the tourists, but they also spent
millions of dollars that provided jobs to the local people. All tourists eat,
drink, use transport, stay in hotels and pay visa fees and entrance fees etc.;
and that provides employment to the local people and boost economy.
However, that is not what happens in the divided
State of Jammu and Kashmir. It is sad that some forces with vested interest not
only discourage tourism in the State of Jammu and Kashmir; but they also make
special efforts to commit acts of violence and terrorism to frighten tourists
and prospective tourists.
The government of India makes serious efforts to
encourage tourism in the part of Jammu and Kashmir under their control. They do
this not only to support the local economy; but also to give this message to
the world that the worst is over in Kashmir and normalcy is returning. To
counter that, the Pakistani government, their agencies and proxies make sincere
and concerted endeavours to discourage, frustrate and frighten tourists in all
parts of Jammu and Kashmir State.
People may remember that Pakistani backed religious
fanatics systematically targeted tourists, killed them, harassed them; and in
some cases kidnapped them. Idea was that non Kashmiris must stay away from Jammu
and Kashmir; and that people of Jammu and Kashmir must not benefit from fruits
of tourism. These fanatics did all these non - Islamic acts in name of
religion. Islam does not allow acts of violence and terrorism, promotion of
religious hatred, or killing of innocent people. Islam commands to respect
guests and visitors and these fanatics killed them and harassed them in name of
Islam.
Islam says no compulsion in religion and strictly
demands that religious minorities must be protected; and that there must be no
interference in their religious matters. These fanatics, in name of religion,
declared to stop Amar Nath Yatra and persecuted religious minorities. They
closed beauty parlours and in some cases threw acid on faces of women who went
to these beauty parlours. It is strange that these fanatics did not ask their
mentors to close beauty parlours in Pakistan, from where they were getting
training, arms and directions, but felt appropriate to implement their orders
in Jammu and Kashmir.
A few years ago I met a man in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
During conversation with me he explained his experience of a visit to Neelam
Valley, situated in Pakistani Administered Kashmir. He lived in Lahore and went
to the Neelam Valley with his family for a holiday. He said police check posts
on the way to the Neelam Valley and the attitude of the security men was
harassing and intimidating. He said wherever they went they were followed by
two motor bikes all the time. He had his wife, sister and children with him. They
felt so insecure that after two days they cut short their holiday and went back
to Lahore.
The authorities in Islamabad DONOT like people to
visit areas of the Jammu and Kashmir State under their control, especially
areas adjacent to the LOC and Gilgit Baltistan. People of these areas live
behind ‘Iron Curtain’; and the authorities don’t like even the Pakistanis to know
what actually goes on in these areas. Apart from that they know tourism will
promote the local economy, and will give people economic independence which
will ultimately reduce their reliance on those who control and plunder these
areas.
Furthermore, interaction with the outside world,
even with well off and liberal minded Pakistani is not tolerated, as that could
jeopardise their game plan and loosen their grip. People have to see the recent
barbarous and inhuman attack on the Mountain climbers in Gilgit in the light of
the mind-set explained above. I agree, there might be some other motives too,
but the fact remains that authorities do not even like people of so called Azad
Kashmir visiting Gilgit Baltistan and interact with each other.
The killed Mountain Climbers, who came from various
countries, were our guests. All civilised people respect visitors. Their
presence there was not threat to any state secrets or defence installations.
They were spending their hard earned money there, which was helping the local
people. Why kill them? It is crystal clear that the local people will never
kill them.
Killers were not ordinary people. They were highly
trained individuals who could not have reached that area without some
‘official’ support. The attack was well planned, and they were appropriately
equipped with arms. The camp was at the height of 4,200 Meters; and the
attackers knew exactly where to find them and what to do. One commentator said,
“It
takes two to three days to reach (the camp). The body needs to acclimatise for
climbing up. How they went undetected is a big question."
It is a known fact that extremist groups in Pakistan
get some official support. They were set up, trained, armed and financed to
advance a certain policy that the men in uniform could not officially do. It is
widely believed that different extremist groups have official patronage in
Pakistan; and Western reputable writers and Think Tanks have extensively
written on this subject. Mark Bowden, a famous author of many books related to
South Asia and terrorism wrote:
‘But the issue of Pakistan was delicate. That
unstable nation was critical to the war efforts in Afghanistan. It was a
nuclear power in one of the world’s most volatile regions, and yet elements of
its government, particularly its powerful intelligence agency, the Inter –
Services Intelligence (ISI), were known to be in bed with all manner of
Islamist radicals. Pakistan’s President Musharraf had been walking a narrow
thin line with the Bush administration, providing enough cooperation to avoid
being branded an enemy but falling well short of routing extremists hold in
Pakistan’s lawless northwest.’ Source: The Killing of Osama Bin Laden, page
79-80
It was because of Pakistan’s hobnobbing with the
extremist groups that many experts on terrorism said ‘Pakistan was part of the
problem’ and ‘not part of the solution’ in fighting terrorism. The American
intelligence sources believed that ‘Pakistan had become the new safe haven for
the terror groups after the fall of Taliban’. As the result of this double play
America also got frustrated, and due to lack of distrust, President Obama had
to say: “If we have actionable intelligence about high – value terrorist
targets and if President Musharraf won’t act, we will.” It was as a result of
this policy that America unilaterally conducted a secret operation in Abbottabad
to kill Osama Bin Ladin. Despite the fact that Pakistani sovereignty was
violated, Pakistani government congratulated America for this success.
The brutal killing of mountain climbers has further
tarnished Pakistan’s image at the international level. The fanatic killers were
wearing police uniform. This was the worst attack on foreign nationals for many
years; and it will have very serious impact on tourism in this region. Naik Nam Karim,
General Secretary of the Pakistan Association of Tour Operators said:
‘The
killings were a "disaster" for Gilgit-Baltistan, where tourism is the
main source of income. "It will destroy tourism in our area," he told
AFP, saying that he had already received a slew of cancellations by email and
telephone’. "We used to be able to convince foreign tourists that there
was peace in Gilgit-Baltistan but this incident has ruined everything."
Foreign
tourists were of two kinds: climbers and trekkers – those who wanted to see
stunning natural beauty of the region. On average non-trekking tourists used to
spend $3,000; and trekkers used to spend between $8-10,000 because they stayed
here longer.
It
must be pointed out that before the war on terrorism more than twenty thousand
foreign tourists visited Gilgit Baltistan each year, which greatly helped the
local people run their kitchens. The number of visitors has dropped
dramatically to around 5,000 a year now. After this tragic incident who would
like to risk their lives and go there; and it will hurt the local people
immensely.
If
the authorities in Islamabad are serious in combatting and eradicating
terrorism and encouraging tourism, then they will have to take some bold steps
which may not be popular in certain quarters. However, if they continue with
their old policy, then I am afraid these fanatics will lead Pakistan to a
disaster.
Writer is a political analyst and author of many
books and booklets. Also he is Director Institute of Kashmir Affairs.Email:drshabirchoudhry@gmail.com
