Banned JKLF booked for bandh call

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 8

The J&K Police have registered a case against the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front for calling a two-day shutdown on the anniversaries of Maqbool Bhat and Afzal Guru.

The police even called two Srinagar-based journalists, who had reported the JKLF statement, for questioning.

“The JKLF is a banned organisation and we have registered a case against the organisation under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act,” a senior police officer said.

The JKLF had in a statement emailed to journalists called for the two-day shutdown on February 9 — the hanging anniversary of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru — and February 11 — the anniversary of hanging of JKLF founder Maqbool Bhat.

Incidentally the banned JKLF was the first separatist outfit to issue any strike call post abrogation of Article 370. Kashmiri separatists have maintained total silence over the abrogation of Article 370.

Senior journalist Naseer Ganai of the Outlook magazine and reporter of a local news agency CNS Haroon were called o the headquarters of the J&K Police’s counter insurgency unit — Cargo — where they were questioned about the statement.

While Ganai had reported the JKLF statement for the online edition of Outlook, Haroon had a shared the statement in the social media group of the agency. The two journalists were allowed to leave from Cargo on Saturday evening.

The Kashmir Press Club — a representative body of Valley journalists — took up the matter of with the Inspector General of Police, Kashmir.

Journalists questioned

• Senior journalist Naseer Ganai of the Outlook magazine and reporter of a local news agency CNS Haroom were called to the headquarters of the J&K Police’s counter insurgency unit Cargo, where they were questioned about the JKLF statement.
• While Ganai had reported the JKLF statement for the online edition of Outlook, Haroon had a shared the statement in the social media group of the agency. The two journalists were allowed to leave from Cargo on Saturday evening.