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| Govt launches crackdown on separatist leaders | | Geelani, Nayeem Khan among several arrested | |
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Jun 7: Ending its policy of tolerance towards the separatist hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s much repeated calls of shutdown in Kashmir, Omar Abdullah-led coalition government of National Conference (NC) and Congress has finally launched a crackdown on the Valley’s separatist leaders and arrested a number of them---including Geelani and the Mirwaiz Hurriyat functionary, Nayeem Khan. Government has also demolished Dukhtaraan-e-Millat’s scheduled rally at Iddgah in Srinagar and decided to fail Geelani’s call for a massive march to Shopian on Monday.
Hours after the Hurriyat (G) Chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, declared to end current spell of 8-day-long shutdown from Tuesday next and issued a 7-day-long calendar of protests, Police swooped on the residences and offices of several separatist leaders and detained a number of them. While Geelani was picked up alongwith few others from his Hyderpora house last night, Hurriyat (Mirwaiz) leader Nayeem Khan, Firdaus Ahmed Shah, Fareeda Behenji and Zamrooda Habib were rounded up from different places in the capital city today.
Sources said that National Front (NF) Chairman, Nayeem Khan, was taken into custody when he was coming out of a meeting at Mirwaiz Manzil in the afternoon today. He was whisked away to an undisclosed destination. Former Peoples League stalwarts, Nayeem Khan and Shabir Shah have emerged as strong votaries of unity among different separatist outfits, particularly unification of the split factions of Hurriyat Conference, led by Geelani and Mirwaiz. Both had been released after months of continued detention in May but both have been detained once again.
Shabir Shah was among a number of separatist leaders detained by Police earlier this week. Sources said that Police today produced Shah, Hurriyat (G) leader Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai, JKLF (Rajbagh) functionary Mohammad Saleem alias Nanhaji and one-time Hizbullah chief Mushtaq-ul-Islam before a judicial magistrate who remanded them to 7-day-long judicial custody. They were subsequently lodged at Central Jail in Srinagar.
Police have already detained Hurriyat (G) functionaries Amir Hamza and Farooq Gotapuri and reportedly lodged them at two separate jails in Kathua and Kot Bhalwal in Jammu.
Sources said that Hurriyat (Mirwaiz) chief, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, JKLF Chairman, Mohammad Yasin Malik, J&K Liberation Forum leader Javed Ahmed Mir and Ghulam Mohammad Hubbi have been placed under “house arrest” and prevented from making any movement out of their respective places of residence.
Police crackdown on the separatist leaders began on the 7th consecutive day of Geelani-sponsored shutdown as also on the day of Dukhtaraan-e-Millat rally at Iddgah in Srinagar. Both are offshoots of the alleged rape-cum-murder of two young women in Shopian on May 29/30 last.
Police cracked its whip on the Dukhataraan rally which took off from Jamia Masjid in downtown inspite of thick concentration of Police and CRPF. Dukhtaraan chief, Asiya Andrabi, appeared at Jamia Masjid alongwith a dozen of her typically Burqa-clad women activists who formed a 100-strong procession and began marching towards Iddgah. Dukhtaraan had declared to hold a rally of women and announced that participants would be trained how to protect their chastity from the men of the Indian armed forces. Almost all the separatist outfits, including Dukhtraan, have been holding men of a CRPF camp responsible for the “rape-cum-murder” of the two young women whose dead bodies had been recovered from Rambiara Nallah in the morning on May 30th.
Eyewitnesses said that immediately after Police and CRPF blocked the way of Dukhtaraan march to Iddgah, scores of male youngsters appeared at six places from Jamia Masjid to Iddgah and engaged Police and CRPF in pitched battles. While the masked youth pelted stones and brickbats, Police and CRPF retaliated with a baton charge, tearsmoke and firing in air. Unconfirmed reports said that at least five persons sustained injuries. A thick concentration of Police and CRPF in Iddgah area, right from the morning, ensured that there was no Dukhtaraan rally.
Asiya Andrabi, who was not arrested, spoke to mediapersons and lashed out on both, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as well as the opposition PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, for “protecting the perpetrators of sexual violence on the Kashmiri women”. According to her, Omar had proved himself to be very much insensitive to the moral sensibilities of the Kashmiri Muslim women and Mehbooba had shielded many of the criminals involved bin similar crime during her father’s and party’s government for three years.
Sources said that Police and CRPF had been directed to see that there was no march to Shopian, as called by Geelani, on Monday. Restriction of movement is likely to be enforced at certain places tomorrow, though the authorities have been ordered to encourage movement of common civilians, students and government employees besides those associated with trade and tourism.
On the first day of Geelani’s detention and on the 7th day of his shutdown, most of the shops and business establishments remained closed in Srinagar and elsewhere but there were little signs of tension. Notwithstanding shutdown, a significant number of shops was seen open for business in Srinagar uptown and private transport too operated on the roads. Sections of the population seemed to have exhausted their patience.
Criticism to the continued shutdown, that has resulted in closure of businesses, educational institutions and government offices besides cancellation of hundreds of marriage ceremonies, has begun to surface not only in private conversations but also in editorial opinion of leading newspapers in Srinagar. One of the prominent Urdu dailies today reported how a poor old man had cried publicly over the fact that he and his family had now nothing to eat before he jumped into a river with an attempt to commit suicide.
Sources said that a number of similar incidents, coupled with increasing pressure from thousands of people associated with tourism as also resultant crippling of the official machinery, have finally prompted the Government to drop the carrot and take up the stick against the separatist leaders. Government has also cracked its whip on the local cable television channels and warned them against any over-exposure to the separatist leaders bent upon disrupting a promising tourist season in the Valley.
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