Malik, others arrested at Sarai Bala, shifted to central jail

Srinagar, Feb 11: Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik along with scores of party leaders were Friday detained after they tried to carry out a protest towards UN office Srinagar.
As soon as the Friday prayers ended in the local Masjid’s, Malik along with scores of party leaders and activists appeared on roads and tried to carry out a protest rally towards UN office amid chanting anti-India slogans.
However, police swung into action and detained Malik along with scores of party activists.
Earlier talking to reporters, Malik said that denying those executed illegally proper burial and a chance of last meeting with their kith and kin and confiscating their mortal remains is ‘a testimony of bogus Indian democracy vis-à-vis Kashmiris.’
He said that disallowing mourning and peaceful protests demanding mortal remains is undemocratic.
According to the statement issued to KNS, the JKLF spokesman said that Malik who was detained along with many others including Muhammad Yasin Butt, Ghulam Muhammad Dar, Imtiyaz Ahmad, Basharat Ahmad and Gazi Javed Baba (Tehreek I Hurriyat) at Sarai Bala Srinagar today was lodged at Kothibagh from where JKLF chairman along with Muhammad Yasin Butt, Ghulam Muhammad Dar and Gazi Javed Baba have been shifted to central jail Srinagar on a remand till 15th February 2017.
The statement reads that JKLF chief who for avoiding arrests had gone into hiding from last 4 days reached Sarai Bala today from where he led a protest rally towards Lal chowk.
The protest announced by united resistance leadership was organized to press upon the demand of Kashmiris for mortal remains of Muhammad Maqbool Butt and Muhammad Afzal Guru.
The spokesman said that Police and CRPF had laid a siege around the whole area and all roads leading towards Lal chowk had been virtually sealed by barbed wire and other barricades. “To stop protest rally, Police even had laid barricades at the door of Ziyarat Dastageer sahib but JKLF chairman and others managed to reach main Chowk, resisted police highhandedness and took out a dignified protest rally in which people from all walks of life especially youth and women displaying placards and photos of Butt and raising slogans demanding the mortal remains of martyrs, participated with enthusiasm and passion,” the spokesman added.
The spokesman said that as this peaceful rally marched towards Lal Chowk, police using its ‘brute force’ stopped it, dispersed the rally and arrested Yasin along with others.
Malik according to the statement told reporters said that today’s peaceful protest was organized to reiterate the demand of Kashmiris for the return of Mortal remains of Butt and Guru who were illegally and unethically hanged and buried by Indian state inside the jail premises.
He said that a blanket ban has been put on every peaceful protest and even mourning and demanding mortal remains of those crucified has been barred.
Malik said that such is the suffocation imposed by Police on political activities that to lead today’s protest he had to go into hiding before four days. “How a country and its leaders can call themselves the biggest democracy when they are not allowing any voices of dissent and suppressing people’s voices by military and police might,” asked Malik.
JKLF chief said that denying those executed illegally a proper burial, a chance of last meeting with their kith and kin and confiscating their mortal remains is a testimony of bogus Indian democracy vis-à-vis Kashmiris.
Malik said that disallowing mourning’s and peaceful protests demanding mortal remains is undemocratic and today when Kashmiris across the globe protest against hangings of Butt who was hanged and buried at Tihar jail 33 years ago and Guru who also became a victim of same Indian tyranny, “we urge on international community especially United Nations to impress upon Indian rulers and ask them to hand over the mortal remains of both crucified to their families.”
Terming the ‘conceited intimidations’ of police as an example of ‘J&K being a police state’, JKLF chairman said that in which democracy one will find police threatening peaceful political protests and protesters.
“We want to tell police and their masters that your threats, intimidations, arrests, barricades, curfews and restrictions can never succeed in breaking our will and resolve for freedom. In-fact these oppressive measures embolden us and our resolve is getting more powerful by Allah’s grace,” said Malik.
He said that people following Quran and Sunnah and treading footsteps of great ideologues like Muhammad Maqbool Butt will never budge before anyone’s hegemony and will continue their freedom struggle till the achievement of the desired goal. (KNS)