Srinagar
Hurriyat (G) Conference chairman, Syed Ali Geelani on Wednesday condemned the use of brute force against the Muharram procession in different parts of the valley.
Terming the police action as a sheer interference in the religious matters of the Muslims, the Hurriyat leader castigated the police administration for imposing curfew within the boundaries of nine police stations of Srinagar city in addition to the different towns of the valley, said a spokesman in a statement.
The Hurriyat leader also condemned the widespread arrest spree of the participants of the Muharram processions including Tehreek-e-Wahdati Islami, chairman Nisar Hussain Rather, Syed Imtiyaz Hyder, Ali Mohammad Rather, Shabir Hussain Dar, Mohammad Qasim Bhat, Mohammad Afzal Bahar in addition to hundreds of participants, lodged in Ram Munshi Bagh, Kothibagh, Maisuma, Shaheed Gunj, Dalgate and other police stations.
Meanwhile, Hurriyat (M) Conference denounced the imposition of curbs in the city center Lal Chowk and the majority of parts Srinagar to foil Muharram processions and use of “force on mourners beside blocking all routes even those leading to hospitals terming it as the direct inference in the religious affairs.”
The Hurriyat spokesman said that it has been the age-old practice across Kashmir that on 8th and 10th of Muharram, huge processions used to take out from various parts of Srinagar and other parts of the valley to pay rich tributes to Hazrat Imam Hussain ( AS) and his companions who were martyred in Karbala. However, over the past three decades, the rulers have been disallowing these processions and using brute force against the mourners which are highly condemnable. The Hurriyat said the government’s practice of foiling Muharram processions is totally undemocratic.
Meanwhile, Hurriyat also strongly condemned the continuous arrest of a Kashmiri nursing student Muhammad Iqbal who was arrested at Khabar Kotli Jammu stating that his family is not being provided information about their son which has added to their worry.
The Hurriyat also expressed deep shock and grief over the mysterious murder of a minor boy of Basarbugh, Ganderbal whose body was found in an orchard and demanded that those behind this gruesome killing must be given an exemplary punishment.
While condemning the force against the mourners across the valley especially in Srinagar today, JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik said that Srinagar was sealed by barricades, restrictions, and a curfew was imposed in many areas of the city. the spokesman said that when mourners defied these barricades they were showered upon with tear smoke shells. Malik also condemned the arrest of hundreds of mourners and termed this highhandedness as direct interference in religious affairs.
