KL Report
SRINAGAR
Police have formally restricted the public from visiting Chairman Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Geelani from Saturday morning and the whole office staff including the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat leaders Peer Saifullah, Raja Mehraj-Ud-din, Hurriyat Spokesperson Ayaz Akbar and Mohammad Yousuf Mujahid have been held hostage in the Hurriyat head office Hyderpora.
According to Ayaz Akbar, chief spokesperson of Hurriyat (G): “The police has formally declared the residence of Geelani Sahib as a sub jail and directed everybody there not to move outside the house. The SHO concerned had visited the Geelani Sahib’s residence with the announcement.”
Meanwhile, strongly condemning the government action, Akbar said that the record braking election boycott of South Kashmir people have frustrated the whole system from New Delhi to Omar led government in Srinagar and with the result, they have started a spree of arrest and harassment in the entire region of Central and North Kashmir from Friday evening.
The Hurriyat statement said that besides Fareeda Behanji, Molvi Bashir, Peer Abdul Rasheed, Mir Hafizullah and Mukhtar Ahmad Sofi about 300 youth have been detained so far. Hurriyat spokesperson Ayaz Akbar said that a top police official came to Hyderpora office at 9 a.m on Saturday and verbally ordered the restrictions that nobody should be allowed to meet Geelani and office staff including some pro-freedom leaders are also banned to come out and he asked the police party which is already present at the main gate of Hyderpora office to strictly follow the directions and after that whoever came to meet Geelani, were not allowed to enter and were forced to return.
The statement further said, “Geelani has been detained at his home from the very day he returned from New Delhi, but today this office were formally sealed and restrictions has been imposed on exit and entry. Besides this, Mohammad Ashraf Sehraie and Dr. Gh. Mohammad Ganie have also been kept under house arrest while as 50 Hurriyat leaders have been detained.”
Ayaz Akbar said that the police have started crackdown in Srinagar, Ganderbal, Budgam, Baramulla, Sopore, Handwara, Hajan and Bandipora areas and from last 24 hours about 200 more youths have been arrested. He said that after having a tough experience in South Kashmir, the government is frustrated now and they have formed a new strategy to make 2nd and 3rd phase of “election drama” a success.
“They have not only started the arrest spree, but a huge number of mobile voters have been prepared. According to the reports, the training of the hundreds of National Conference workers have been started in Srinagar for this purpose and they are dumped in different places where they are accommodated,” the statement said.
