KL Report
SRINAGAR
Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani continues to be under house arrest since March 7 and he was continuously not allowed to offer Friday prayers.
As per a statement the party spokesperson Ayaz Akbar has said since Geelani’s arrival from Delhi in March, he continues to be virtually in jail and a heavy contingent of police is keeping a continuous and strict vigil over all visitors and guests. While terming restrictions, a worst type of ‘state terrorism’, he alleged that “Omar Abdullah regime has surpassed all previous records and virtually the entire state has been turned into a jail.”
He urged human rights organizations for their cognizance and said that Geelani, since 2010 has been confined to his house. “However administration has so far failed to provide any legal or constitutional justification for his detention. Neither it is clear that under which section of law he has been detained and he is not getting released from the illegal confinement. Over last three years of detention police has failed to submit a court order and till now Hurriyat Conference has not received any such written directions in this regard,” he said.
“It is a sheer coercion and on gunpoint a responsible citizen is being detained,” he alleged.
Referring to statement of Omar Abdullah wherein he had said that there are no restrictions on Geelani and he is free to offer Friday prayers and this was followed by the statement of police chief Ashok Prasad that Geelani can offer prayers in nearby mosque, the spokesperson said that despite these statements, detention not only continues, but even more and severe restrictions were imposed.
“Omar Abdullah and Prasad are lying or the entire matter is out of their jurisdiction and it is Home Ministry of India that runs all affairs in the state. In both cases the position of Omar Abdullah becomes suspicious and ridiculous,” he claimed.
The Hurriyat (G) spokesperson criticized the attitude of police and added that visitors are being subjected to sever questioning and even journalists are not allowed to meet Geelani, unless they produce permission from IG police.
Quoting example of a lady journalist from Washington Post he said that she too was not allowed to meet Geelani and ‘police forced her to stay in open and only after direction from their top brass, was allowed to meet the leader.’
