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| Anantnag goes polling today amid tight security, clashes | | Geelani’s call halts Valley, undeclared curfew in Srinagar | |
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Apr 29: Humbled by over 17 Lakh Kashmiri voters with their massive participation in the Assembly elections of November-December 2008, hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani today seemed to have staged a comeback when his maiden call for boycott to the current Lok Sabha elections brought the Valley to a halt. On the eve of the April 30th polling in the South Kashmir constituency of Anantnag-Pulwama, Geelani has asked the people of Kashmir to stay indoors and observe complete shutdown for 50 hours, beginning at 1800 hours on April 28th.
With the authorities making tight security arrangements and fine tuning contingency plans in view of varied apprehensions and threat perceptions related to holding of the elections smoothly, both, Geelani as well as Mirwaiz factions of the separatist Hurriyat Conference have called for a shutdown in Valley. Polling is scheduled to be held in all the 16 segments of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam districts in South Kashmir on Thursday as 11.65 Lakh voters have to elect a representative for Lok Sabha. There are 13 candidates in the fray, though Dr Mehboob Beg of the ruling National Conference (NC) and Pir Mohammad Hussain of the Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are believed to be the key contestants.
Polling has already been held in Jammu and Udhampur Parliamentary constituencies in Jammu division during the first and second phases of Lok Sabha Elections in the State. While polling is scheduled to take place in the Central Kashmir constituency of Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal districts on May 7th, it will be held on May 13th in the North Kashmir districts of Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipore as also in the Ladakh region, comprising Leh and Kargil districts.
Responding to serious apprehensions of disruption of the polling, authorities have taken into detention over 50 separatist activists in Srinagar and elsewhere in the Valley while as around a dozen of the senior separatist leaders, including Geelani and Mirwaiz, have been placed under “house arrest” since last evening. As the Geelani-sponsored shutdown came into effect at 6.00 pm last evening, vehicular traffic thinned out on the main streets in the capital city and business establishments began downing their shutters. It was quickly followed by scores of youngsters clashing with Police and CRPF. One of the private vehicles used by CRPF temporarily was also torched in downtown Srinagar.
It was after a long time that streets were deserted and almost all shops, business establishments, educational institutions, banks and even a large number of government offices were seen shut in this capital city. Situation was not reportedly far different in other rural district headquarters and major townships in Valley. Commercial traffic was almost completely off the road and few private vehicles were seen in operation.
Police and security forces themselves seemed to be more interested in keeping the businesses shut and the streets blank as they had apprehensions of the human movement swelling into unruly crowds at several places in Srinagar, Sopore and Baramulla. Officials called it precautionary measures to ward off trouble and violence but the people at large here call its “undeclared curfew”. Reports said that little movement was allowed in downtown Srinagar but government officials, particularly those associated with essential services, mainstream political activists and mediapersons did not face any major trouble whether moving in their vehicles or on foot.
Thin groups of youngsters appeared as usual with pro-Azadi, anti-election and anti-India slogans in certain localities---particularly the areas of influence of JKLF Chairman Yasin Malik and Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq---and resorted to stone pelting on Police and paramilitary forces. Scenes of pitched battles were witnessed intermittently in Rambagh, Chhanapora, Maisuma, Nowhatta, Rajourikadal and adjoining localities in the old town where Police responded with tearsmoke and baton charge. Even as officials maintained that nobody had sustained major injuries, non-state sources insisted that 20 demonstrators suffered fractures and injuries in today’s clashes in Srinagar.
Reports from Bandipore said that Geelani’s supporters came out on the streets and they enforced “civil curfew” with heavy stone pelting on the civilian vehicles found in movement. Several vehicles were reportedly damaged in their strike. Reports said that the impact of Geelani-sponsored shutdown was substantial in Sopore and Baramulla. However, according to these reports, there was little impact in some towns in Kupwara district.
In a statement release to the Press this evening, Geelani conveyed his gratitude to the Kashmiris that they had been “impatiently” waiting for his call and they made it a total success. He claimed that by observing “complete shutdown without any coercion”, the people of Kashmir had loudly rejected the Indian democratic process and affirmed their faith once again in Azadi. He asked the Kashmiris to go for total boycott of the polling on April 30th and the following days. Geelani charged the state’s mainstream political leaders with “facilitating and strengthening the Indian occupation” in Jammu and Kashmir.
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