Comrade Shujat Kazmi and Qamer of the JKPSF (Jammu Kashmir People's Student Federation), along with other comrades went to the Chagothi crossing to collect the Caravan. However we encountered some problems. At first the Pakistani authorities would not permit the comrades to go to the crossing, claiming that their names were not on “the list”. In the evening, and after waiting for several hours, the border authorities said that their names were present on the list and that they could go to the crossing to collect the Caravan.

The Caravan was bringing many goods to Kashmir, including blankets, tents, medicines, household utensils and rice. When the comrades arrived at the border to collect the Caravan, the state refused to hand over the goods! The comrades were given some of the blankets and were told “ to come back tomorrow, then we will see.”

The comrades have repeatedly tried to collect all the goods on the Caravan, but the state refuses to hand them over. These goods are vital to the survival of hundreds of people in Kashmir, yet the state callously refuses to hand them over to our comrades. This scandal reveals the reality of the opening of the Line of Control. The opening of the border between Indian-held Kashmir and Pakistan-held Kashmir is just an act designed to show the world that Pakistan is serious about helping the devastated masses of Kashmir, yet in reality it reveals their callous cruelty and disregard for the suffering of their own people.

The Musharraf regime's response to the earthquake disaster has been bureaucratic and inept. They have continually interfered in our Earthquake Relief Campaign. Several trucks from our first Solidarity Caravan were sequestered and now they have taken most of the goods from our fifth Caravan. It is these actions, along with others such as the refusal to allow assistance from India and the delays in “opening” the Line of Control, that will fuel the anger the masses feel towards this regime. The rottenness of the regime can be clearly seen by the whole world. As the winter settles in Kashmir, the Musharraf regime has turned a blind eye to the suffering of the millions of people affected by this disaster. The regime has clearly demonstrated that it is not interested in helping these helpless millions, and that it is only interested in maintaining its rule and enriching itself by appropriating the relief goods that have been donated and collected by the poor across the subcontinent. Many thousands of people across the subcontinent and around the world donated their time and money, and worked very hard to make our Earthquake Relief Campaign a reality and a success, and now the state has actively interfered and is attempting to ruin this work.

It is essential that the goods are returned. We demand that the state return the relief goods! We are still trying to get the relief goods returned to us so that we can deliver them to our relief camps and to the outlying villages, and will be providing updates on the situation.

You can send a protest message by going to this site:

http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/Write2thePresident.aspx

Outline what has happened and demand that he stops this scandalous behaviour.

You can also find your local Pakistani embassy, if you wish to write to them, at:

http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/pakistan.htm

And of course solidarity messages can be sent to:

• PTUDC Earthquake Appeal: Fourth Solidarity Caravan arrives in Kashmir
  
• Kashmir Update: PTUDC campaign in full swing
• Introduction to "Kashmir's Ordeal - A Revolutionary Way Out"
• Kashmir in the aftermath of the earthquake
• Earthquake Disaster in Pakistan: Manzoor Ahmed lashes out at failure of regime in rescue operations
• Pakistan earthquake disaster: perhaps the biggest ever seen
• Earthquake in Pakistan exposes rottenness of regime
• Pakistan earthquake: an appeal for the Kashmiri workers