Separatist march to Anantnag foiled

Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, December 15

A march called by the separatists was foiled and dozens of areas in Srinagar and in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, the venue of the rally, were sealed off on Friday as the police aborted the mobilisation attempt by separatists.

The march to Anantnag was called by three key separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Yasin Malik and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who refer to themselves as Joint Resistance Leadership. The trio were already under detention.

The separatists had said that they aimed to achieve several goals at the rally, including highlighting “the miseries and hardships faced by the people of Kashmir at the hands of oppressive forces”. “It will also be a show of solidarity with the people of south Kashmir,” the separatists had said in the statements urging people to reach Anantnag district.

The authorities, however, imposed a series of preventive measures to foil any attempt by the separatists or their sympathisers to hold the march. The mobile internet services were shut down across the Kashmir valley last evening and dozens of areas were placed under restrictions.

In several volatile localities of Srinagar, the police and paramilitary forces were deployed in large numbers to impose restrictions on civilian movement and seal off roads.

A senior police officer said restrictions were imposed in most areas falling under the jurisdiction of the Nowhatta and MR Gunj police stations. The midday congregational prayers were also barred at Jamia Masjid, the political stronghold of the Mirwaiz family.

Mirwaiz, who was under detention at his Srinagar house, was taken into custody by the police when he attempted to defy the detention and march towards Anantnag.

In south Kashmir, roads leading to Anantnag district – the proposed venue of the separatist march and rally - were sealed off and residents of the district were barred from organising any gathering. The Srinagar-Jammu highway, which passes through Anantnag district, was also sealed off and entry to the district was restricted.

Despite their repeated calls for marches and rallies, separatists have not been able to organise any march or rally in the past five years due to strict preventive measures imposed by the authorities.

The separatist group Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front in its statement lashed out at the state government and said the foiling of the rally at Anantnag “has once again proven” that the government has “no guts to compete with the resistance camp on the political front”.

The JKLF said several of its members were arrested during nocturnal raids last night and a few of its activists who had managed to reach Anantnag were arrested today.