KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Responding to the call of united resistance leadership, hundreds of people including men, women and children in North Kashmir’s Palhallan took out a pro-freedom rally.
Local sources from the area said that as soon as the Zuhr Namaz (mid-day prayers) ended, people assembled outside Jamia Masjid Raipora.
The united resistance leadership given no relaxation in shutdown today while it had asked people to hold sit-in protests from Zuhr to Asr with black flags and Mashaal Bardaar protest from Magrib to Isha.
“Hundreds of people, wearing black bands on their foreheads and arms marched towards Srinagar-Muzaffarabad highway,” local sources said, “people had carried loudspeakers with and a few respected citizens addressed protestors on the highway.”
Palhallan is a highway town. And forces regularly keep positioned at the main entrance of the village where a big round shaped sign board reads: Model Town Palhallan.
“It was a peaceful protest of around 1500 protestors,” the sources said, “it concluded around 4 pm and people started returning home.”
The locals said, “forces returned to their positions as the gathering started getting thin which created apprehensions in the minds of people and youths stopped and tried to block the entry of forces in to the village.”
They said that stone pelting started and tear gas shelling followed. “Forces pushed protestors backwards up to Government Higher Secondary School.”
The school is at least 300 metres away from Srinagar-Muzaffarabad highway.
“Sensing trouble,” the locals said, “people again started assembling in Eidgah which is located away from School.”
“In a major backlash,” they claimed, “people chased away forces far away from their stated positions as clashes continued up to Maghrib Namaz.”
