Chairman of moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, deliberately chose the national day of Kashmir on Monday to protest against the Centre -- for not including the people of the state in finding out an amicable solution to the Jammu and Kashmir problem by holding talks with Pakistan.
In a confidential report, the Jammu and Kashmir police has accused moderate Hurriyat Conference leader Shabir Ahmed Shah of having links with Pakistan-based terror group Lashker-e-Tayiba. In the report to the state Home Department, the police have suggested some pro-active measures to curb the anti-national activities of separatist leaders and also slapped the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act against pro-Pakistan leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
Mirwaiz also alleged that 'human rights violations by security forces' are continuing in Jammu and Kashmir and there is an urgent need to put an end to them.
A general shutdown called by All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) headed by Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq on Thursday affected normal life across summer capital Srinagar and other district headquarters of the valley.
The case relates to alleged terror funding in 2017 in the valley and involves Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, the 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind based in Pakistan.
Varun Gandhi has been gaoled for reportedly making provocative statements. Would any ministry, ever dare apply the same draconian laws against the Hurriyat Conference chairman?
After People's League chief Sheikh Abdul Aziz last week, Shabir Shah has joined the moderate separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference headed by Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq.
"My decision to join the moderate group is aimed at strengthening the separatist voice in Kashmir," Aziz said. "Kashmiris are the basic party to the dispute, and must be included in the ongoing peace process to make it meaningful and result-oriented," he added.
Hardliner Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Tuesday said that fulfilling election promises will be a test for the new government but added that the 'struggle for freedom' in the state will continue.Those who were elected have made promises to the people, Geelani said & added that while people voted for the mainstream politicians on the promises of better civic amenities and jobs, the separatists continue to represent the real sentiment.
"I believe that China is not a party to the conflict (over Kashmir) but China has a stake as far as peace in the region is concerned. So, the Hurriyat Conference welcomes the approach adopted by China and America jointly in terms of addressing the issue of Kashmir in South Asia," Farooq said. He was referring to the Sino-US joint statement issued on Tuesday after a meeting between President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao.
Chairman of the hard-line faction of Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Friday said he was not against the dialogue process on Kashmir issue but it should be aimed at finding a permanent solution.Geelani's statement came in the wake of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's appeal for dialogue with separatists and other groups for peace in the state."Kashmir is the core issue between the two countries," he said.
Cutting across ideological differences, political parties and separatists in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday welcomed the unilateral three-day ceasefire announced by the United Jehad Council, saying the Centre should reciprocate the gesture. "It is a good move which should have come earlier," said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference. UJC chief Syed Salahuddin had announced the unilateral ceasefire from Oct 12 for Eid-ul-Fitr.
Altogether 45 participants from India and Pakistan, including retired generals, former bureaucrats, journalists and politicians are participating in the three-day meet on Kashmir.
The state government is just a puppet of New Delhi, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the hardline leader of the Hurriyat Conference (G), tells Saubhadra Chatterji.
Chairmen of both the factions of the Hurriyat Conference (HC) Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Moulvi Omar Farooq and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Mohammad Yaseen Malik have been put under house arrest to prevent them from leading the Friday demonstrations in the valley.
With Shah's arrest, the authorities have detained almost the entire top brass of the two groups of separatist conglomerate, All Parties Hurriyat Conference, some of whom including Dukhtarani Milaat chief Asiya Andrabi have been detained under harsh Public Safety Act. A senior police officer said Shabir Shah was arrested from a house in the uptown Rawalpora locality on Friday morning. He was immediately taken to an undisclosed destination.
In a related development, protests continued for the second day in north Kashmir's Kangan town, where protesters shutdown markets and blocked the highway leading to the Baltal base camp of the ongoing Amarnath Yatra.
Professor Abdul Gani Bhat, the chief spokesman of the separatist conglomerate, said APHC's 'self governance was not something of a concession like autonomy.'
The strike was called to protest the arrest and subsequent booking under Public Safety Act of six of Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's close associates in Srinagar last week.
About half a dozen senior leaders of both the factions of the Hurriyat Conference were on Monday put under house arrest to prevent them from participating in the scheduled demonstrations against the transfer of forest land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. However, police raided the Hyderpora residence of chairman of the breakaway HC Syed Ali Shah Geelani several times, who had already left for some undisclosed place.
Leaders of the two factions of the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference met in Srinagar on Thursday for the first time after their split in 2003. Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq, accompanied by another senior separatist leader of his group, visited the uptown Hyderpora residence of Syed Ali Shah Geelani for talks, which continued for over six hours.
The Centre will resume the stalled dialogue with separatists in Kashmir at an "appropriate time", Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said today.
The Hartal was in protest against the article published in a Denmark daily "Jyllands Posten" against Prophet Mohammad.
A strike to mark the death anniversaries of two senior separatist leaders affected normal life in Srinagar and some other parts of the Valley on Wednesday. Markets and educational institutions remained shut in Srinagar because of the strike, called by the moderate All Parties Hurriyat Conference, which is headed by Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq. A rally to commemorate the death anniversaries of the two separatist leaders is scheduled to be held in Srinagar later today.
The Mirwaiz, currently on a visit to Pakistan had on Saturday sought an 'end to the armed struggle'.
A three-member moderate Hurriyat Conference delegation, led by chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, would leave New Delhi on a five-day visit to Pakistan on Thursday.
The Mirwaiz said that the attack was the 'handiwork of forces who were opposed to peace in Kashmir.'
Atal Bihari Vajpayee has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stating that the Indo-Pak peace process has become Kashmir-centric with the Hurriyat Conference getting prominence over the democratically-elected government of J&K.
Senior separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Shabir Ahmad Shah were placed under house arrest as the funeral of a youth, found dead under mysterious circumstances in New Delhi, was carried out amidst tight security in Srinagar on Thursday.
The Mirwaiz has accused Dr Singh of not living up to the promises he made.
Asserting that a change of guard in Jammu and Kashmir does not mean an 'end' to the vexed Kashmir issue, the moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference on Monday demanded that the matter be resolved politically. Referring to National Conference Chief Omar Abdullah taking oath as the state's chief mMinister, Mirwaiz said, "He is young and should keep in mind aspirations of the valley's youth, pursue pro-people agenda and understand ground realities."
Chairmen of both factions of Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq addressed the gathering at Eidgah while chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Mohammad Yaseen Malik addressed the gathering at the TRC.
Major opposition political parties and separatists groups in J&K on Wednesday slammed the move of the government to create separate townships for Kashmiri pandit migrants.
Former All Party Hurriyat Conference Chairman Abdul Gani Bhatt has welcomed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's viewpoint that the Kashmir issue must be looked at from a fresh angle that may lead to finding an amicable solution to the problem.
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