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| Head Mufti issues Fatwa, Geelani calls another shutdown, stone pelting refuses to subside | | Durbar opening amid poll time tension today | |
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, May 3: Omar Abdullah-led National Conference-Congress coalition government’s first Durbar in Kashmir valley is opening on Monday amid highest ever tensions for the establishment. This capital city has been reeling under government’s undeclared curfews and the Hurriyat-sponsored shutdown after shutdown in advance of polling in the Central Kashmir constituency of Srinagar-Budgam-Ganderbal which is scheduled to be conducted on April 7th.
Authoritative sources revealed to Early Times that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, to be escorted by Divisional Commissioner Masood Samoon and IGP Kashmir Dr B Srinivas, would be reaching Civil Secretariat at exactly 0930 hours. Before opening the Move offices and making an inspection of the government work on different floors of the Secretariat complex, Chief Minister would be treated to a ceremonial guard of honour.
Even as Chief Minister, who happens to be the senior leader of the ruling NC, is not barred by Model Code of Conduct from attending this ceremony, sources said that Chief Secretary, S S Kapoor, and DGP, Kuldeep Khoda, would not accompany him as they would be reaching the venue 10 minutes before the chief guest’s arrival. Omar Abdullah, alongwth CS, Principal Secretary Khursheed Ahmed Ganai, Commissioner-Secretary GAD Basharat Ahmed Dhar and Directo of Estates Khursheed Ahmed Shah, would also visit different offices and interact with the employees, particularly regarding their accommodation and transportation arrangements.
This spring, Durbar is opening here just two days before the scheduled date of polling in Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal districts in Central Kashmir. Though, militants have not been able to strike on their targets anywhere till date in this hyper-sensitive constituency and their threats have not spread any tension among the electorate, a large number of voters does not appear to be interested in exercising their right of franchise. Peoples’ disenchantment vis-à-vis the new dispensation---that has failed to bring about even a cosmetic change in the last four months---is believed to be the foremost reason behind lukewarm response to the Lok Sabha election.
Heads of both factions of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani, have been running an orchestrated campaign against the Lok Sabha elections even as they have been, alongwith about a dozen others, restricted from making movement out of their residences since last week. Much like his call on occasion of the polling in South Kashmir on April 30th last, Geelani today asked the people of Kashmir to observe “total shutdown” for 50 hours, beginning at 1800 hours on Tuesday. On his umpteenth call, Valley would remain shut on Wednesday and Thursday. Kashmir has witnessed over 1400 days of shutdown over the calls issued by separatist leaders and different militant groups since January 1st, 1990.
In the wake of restriction on the movement of over a dozen separatist leaders, shops have been continuously closed and groups of youth have been striking with intense stone pelting on Police and CRPF since last week. Over a hundreds persons, including 30 Police and paramilitary personnel, have sustained injuries in such clashes in Srinagar downtown. Life, however, has been normal in uptown and other localities in Valley.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq today succeeded in influencing Mufti Azam, Mufti Bashiruddin, to issue a Fatwa against Government’s act of restricting peoples’ movement in parts of Srinagar. In a statement, Mufti Azam called the government action as “interference in religion” and said that stopping Muslims from offering daily prayers at mosques was not acceptable. Mirwaiz has also asked the Kashmiris to register their strong protest against the government action by tying black bands on their arms and installing black flags on their vehicles from tomorrow.
Authorities have justified all of its action with the argument that “unruly elements” could not be allowed to disrupt the democratic exercise in Kashmir. They insist that “paid stone pelters” have been causing damage to shops and vehicles and holding the innocent people hostage in the name of running “anti-election campaign”. In view of fresh threat perception, security arrangements have been reviewed and the Police and paramilitary bandobust put on its maximum alert.
However, candidates and leaders of different political parties have been running their election campaign effectively in the rural districts of Budgam and Ganderbal as also in the rural areas of Srinagar district. Sources said that senior NC leader and Minister incharge Rural Development, Ali Mohammad Sagar, was planning to “break the jinx of downtown disturbance” by holding a rally for his party at Khanyar in the forenoon tomorrow. NC’s candidate and former Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, is expected to address the rally before attending a thicker one in Khansahib area of Budgam district tomorrow.
Sources said that on Monday and the last day of campaigning on Tuesday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah would be addressing a series of public meetings in Ganderbal and Kangan. PDP President, Mehbooba Mufti, has organized over a dozen thinly attended rallies in Budgam and Ganderbal districts in the last 15 days. Most of these rallies have also been addressed by PDP’s candidate, Maulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari.
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