Kashmir hostage conspiracy theory

Puppycow · 7th May 2012, 11:07 PM

Just came across this article in Bloomberg. It struck me as too diabolical to be true, but that's just a gut reaction. Does this seem plausible?

Kashmir Is Killing India’s Military and Democracy

Quote:

By Pankaj Mishra May 7, 2012

In July 1995, an Islamic fundamentalist group called Al Faran kidnapped six foreign tourists, including two Americans, in Kashmir. For a few weeks, the world’s attention was fixed on the Himalayan valley as the allegedly Pakistan-backed militants negotiated with Indian security officials and foreign diplomats.

Eventually, one of the Americans escaped. Another hostage, a Norwegian, was beheaded. The other four were never found.

“The Meadow: Kashmir 1995 -- Where the Terror Began,” a staggeringly well-researched new book by two respected journalists, Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark, concludes that the hostages were killed by local mercenaries funded and controlled by Indian army and intelligence.

The authors argue that the drawn-out negotiation, during which Indian intelligence allegedly knew the hostages’ whereabouts, was a charade, part of India’s larger effort to portray Pakistan as a sponsor of Islamist terror, thereby delegitimizing the Kashmiri struggle for freedom.

Any thoughts?

Orphia Nay · 8th May 2012, 03:54 AM

"The Meadow: Kashmir 1995 -- Where the Terror Began,” a staggeringly well-researched new book by two respected journalists, Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark, concludes that the hostages were killed by local mercenaries funded and controlled by Indian army and intelligence."

I spent 3 months in Kashmir in 1991. There was/is a huge tendency to blame any evil doing on the Indian army. Just an anecdotal comment, but I hope to look into this further.

ETA I met Kashmiri "freedom fighters" who had trained in Pakistan.

7th May 2012, 11:07 PM	#1
Puppycow Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Japan Posts: 15,789	Kashmir hostage conspiracy theory Just came across this article in Bloomberg. It struck me as too diabolical to be true, but that's just a gut reaction. Does this seem plausible? Kashmir Is Killing India’s Military and Democracy Quote: By Pankaj Mishra May 7, 2012 In July 1995, an Islamic fundamentalist group called Al Faran kidnapped six foreign tourists, including two Americans, in Kashmir. For a few weeks, the world’s attention was fixed on the Himalayan valley as the allegedly Pakistan-backed militants negotiated with Indian security officials and foreign diplomats. Eventually, one of the Americans escaped. Another hostage, a Norwegian, was beheaded. The other four were never found. “The Meadow: Kashmir 1995 -- Where the Terror Began,” a staggeringly well-researched new book by two respected journalists, Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark, concludes that the hostages were killed by local mercenaries funded and controlled by Indian army and intelligence. The authors argue that the drawn-out negotiation, during which Indian intelligence allegedly knew the hostages’ whereabouts, was a charade, part of India’s larger effort to portray Pakistan as a sponsor of Islamist terror, thereby delegitimizing the Kashmiri struggle for freedom. Any thoughts?
	__________________ “Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

8th May 2012, 03:54 AM	#2
Orphia Nay Penguilicious Spodmaster. Tagger Join Date: May 2005 Location: Ponylandistan Presidential Palace (above the Spods' stables). Posts: 28,425	"The Meadow: Kashmir 1995 -- Where the Terror Began,” a staggeringly well-researched new book by two respected journalists, Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark, concludes that the hostages were killed by local mercenaries funded and controlled by Indian army and intelligence." I spent 3 months in Kashmir in 1991. There was/is a huge tendency to blame any evil doing on the Indian army. Just an anecdotal comment, but I hope to look into this further. ETA I met Kashmiri "freedom fighters" who had trained in Pakistan.
	__________________ Are you an ex-Truther? Please share your story. ~ The Australasian Skeptics Forum. Last edited by Orphia Nay; 8th May 2012 at 03:58 AM.