Information on an August 1996 attack on Kangra, Mirpur District, Azad Kashmir, by the Indian army, and on the area's inhabitants [PAK28292.E]

Information on an August 1996 attack on Kangra, Mirpur district, Azad Kashmir, by the Indian army could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

The following information may be of interest, however.

Himachal Pradesh state in northwestern India has a city and a district called Kangra (The New Encyclopaedia Britannica 1989, 718). Kangra city lies just south-southwest of Dharmasala, and Kangra district "lies at the southern edge of the Himalayan foothills" (ibid.). Agence France Presse (AFP) describes Kangra as a "Himalayan resort town" (6 June 1997). Please see the attached Schletter map, which provides the location of Kangra city in Himachal Pradesh, India. The city of Kangra could not be located in Mirpur district, Azad Kashmir, among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

In Azad Kashmir, the districts of Mirpur, Bagh, Poonch and Kotli are non-border areas (King Apr. 1993, 233).

Please find attached two maps locating Mirpur district in Azad Kashmir.

Information on the people of Kangra and/or Mirpur district could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, general information on Kashmiris is found in Pakistan: A Travel Survival Kit, which states:

Of AJ&K's 2 1/2 million people, the Kashmiris of Muzaffarabad and Bagh districts hardly differ from those in the Vale of Kashmir, to which they have historically been linked up the Jhelum River. The southern districts are culturally closer to the Punjab.
Despite obvious differences, there are parallels between AJ&K's Kashmiris and the North-West Frontier Provinces Pashtuns (Pathans)–particularly their strong tribal bonds, Islamic piety and an understandable preoccupation with what to them is foreign occupation of their homeland. As in NWFP, refugee camps abound; there may be as many as three million refugee Kashmiris in Pakistan (King Apr. 1993, 235).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate 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 find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References


Agence France Presse (AFP). 6 June 1997. "Urgent: Blast in Bus Kills Four in India's Punjab." (NEXIS)

King, John and David St. Vincent. April 1993. 4th ed. Pakistan: A Travel Survival Kit. Hawthorn, Vic.: Lonely Planet Inc.

The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1989. 15th ed. Vol. 6. Macropaedia. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc.

Attachments


King, John and David St. Vincent. April 1993. 4th ed. Pakistan: A Travel Survival Kit. Hawthorn, Vic.: Lonely Planet Inc, p. 234.

The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1989. 15th ed. Vol. 6. Macropaedia. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., p. 718.

Schettler, Margret and Rolf. May 1989. 3rd ed. Kashmir, Ladakh and Zanskar: A Travel Survival Kit. Hawthorn, Vic.: Lonely Planet, pp. 10-11.

Additional Sources Consulted


All-Asia Travel Guide. 1995.

Amnesty International Report 1997. 1997.

Asian Survey [Berkeley, Calif.]. Monthly. July 1996-August 1997.

An Atlas of World Political Flashpoints: A Sourcebook of Geopolitical Crisis. 1993.

Dawn Weekly Service (DWS). June 1996-November 1996. (WWW)

DIRB. "Pakistan" country file. January 1996-present.

_____. "Pakistan: Amnesty International" country file. January 1996-present.

Europa World Year Book 1997. 1997.

The Far-East and Australasia 1996. 1995.

The Fighting Never Stopped: A Complete Guide to World Conflict Since 1945. 1990.

The Herald [Karachi]. Monthly. September 1996-October 1997.

Human Rights Watch World Report 1997. 1996.

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. Monthly. January 1996-June 1997.

Minority Rights Group International (MRGI). Various reports.

The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. Various dates.

Research Directorate. Indexed Media Review [Ottawa]. Weekly. July 1996-present.

World Directory of Minorities. 1991.

World Minorities. 1978.

Electronic sources: Internet, IRB Databases, LEXIS/NEXIS, World News Connection (WNC).