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| Amid shutdown, restrictions; mainstream pays tributes to 1931 martyrs | | Mufti takes Government head on for imposing restriction on the day | | Bashir Assad
SRINAGAR, July 13: Though J&K Police and CRPF personnel had Thursday evening sealed Mazaar-e-Shohda or the martyrs' cemetery in Khawaja Bazaar where Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, his Cabinet colleagues, Opposition PDP leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and several other mainstream leaders offered fateha prayers and lay the wreaths at the graves of the July 13, 1931 martyrs this morning, tension gripped the Srinagar city as some separatist leaders tried to force their way though the posse of police personnel deployed outside their residences. Stringent security measures were put in place across the Srinagar city as normal life was disrupted due to a strike called by both factions of the Hurriyat Conference, however, the separatist leadership was placed under house arrest to prevent them from holding a rally.
Both factions of Hurriyat Conference and other separatist parties too had announced to organize processions from different parts of the City to Mazaar-e-Shohda to follow the tradition. However, they were barred from doing so as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order. Octogenarian Syed Ali Shah Geelani and his associates, including Ayaz Akbar and Rafiq Ganie were arrested near Haiderpora when they tried to march towards Naqashband Sahib Shrine.
JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik and chairman of Hurriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and his close aide Shahid-ul-Islam were placed under house arrest on Thursday evening.
Restrictions were placed on movement of people in five police station areas of the old city, including Khanyar and Nowhatta, as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order, official sources said.
Most of the shops and other business establishments across Kashmir Valley remained closed due to the strike called by the Hurriyat factions and supported by other separatist groups, the sources said.
While public transport remained off the roads in the morning , few busses were seen plying in the afternoon in civil lines area, however, private vehicles were plying the roads in uptown areas and other major towns of the Valley.
Separatists had called for a strike and march to Martyrs' graveyard at Naqshband Sahib to pay homage to 22 persons killed in firing by Dogra soldiers on this day in 1931.
However, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Javed Ahmed Mir, Shabir Ahmed Dar, Hilal Ahmed War, Ahsan Untoo and Yousuf Naqash forced their way through the posse of police personnel posted outside Shah's Rawalpora residence to stage protest, the sources said.
They said Shah and other separatists were whisked away by police and lodged at police station Saddar.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was the first to arrive at Khawaja Bazar to pay floral tributes to the 1931 martyrs. Omar was accompanied by several Cabinet Ministers.
PDP patron and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and several other leaders of his party also paid tributes to the martyrs. In a brief interaction with the media persons outside the graveyard Mufti criticized the Government for imposing unnecessary restrictions on the martyr's day. "Even on a solemn occasion the Government does not know of any thing other than curfew" he said.
Mufti said imposition of restrictions on an occasion like this is against the very spirit of the day. The martyrs had laid down their lives for us to enjoy our liberties and rights but the present Government is violating the sanctity of the occasion, he said. Mufti added that it is not always necessary to run Government through force. "During the PDP led coalition we never had to impose restrictions and the day used to be observed with full participation by the local population" he recalled and said no restrictions were ever imposed.
Among others who paid tributes to the martyrs were CPI(M) leader MY Tarigami, PDF chairman Hakim Mohammad Yasin, DNP chairman and Agriculture Minister Ghulam Hasan Mir.
July 13 is an official holiday in both Jammu and Kashmir. In his martyrs' eve message, the Chief Minister said their sacrifice to free the society from autocracy and lay edifice for democracy and human dignity is one of the richest chapters of the history of Jammu and Kashmir. |
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