March to Hazratbal thwarted : Geelani, Mirwaiz under house arrest
Shabir among scores injured in cane-charge, teargassing
KT NEWS SERVICE
SRINAGAR, July 4: The march towards Dargah-Hazratbal and the subsequent joint address by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was thwarted today by the government by putting them under house arrest for the whole day. Meanwhile, senior pro-freedom leader Shabir Ahmad Shah today received serious injures and scores of the protestors including Hurriyat activists also received injuries when police resorted to cane-charge to disperse them even as senior Hurriyat leader Mohammad Ashraf Sehrayee and many others were arrested.
As per the programme announced by the Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq were supposed to address the people jointly at Dargah-Hazaratbal after Friday prayers and Nimaz-e-Shukrana (prayers in thanks-giving). Reports from various parts said that people were bracing up heading towards Hazratbal since early this morning.
However, the two leaders, Geelani and Mirwaiz were put under house arrest since Thursday evening and were confined to their homes throughout the day which decreased their chances of going to Hazratbal and addressing the people. However, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Mohammad Ashraf Sehrayee, Nayeem Khan, Masarat Aalam, Sheikh Aziz and others were able to make it to Hazratbal.
They later addressed the people and condemned the house arrest of Geelani and Mirwaiz. They said that it was an act of "cowardice of the so called government" which forced them to issue orders of putting the two leaders under house arrest. They also said that Waqaf Board had no right to keep the Hurriyat leaders away from Dargah.
They said that the resources of Auqaf belong to the people of Kashmir and the government had no right to infringe upon the resources which come through Auqaf. Sehrayee and Shah also appealed the people to observe complete election boycott during the upcoming assembly polls.
Shah and Sehrayee, after addressing the people, tried to take out a protest demonstration. However, they were not allowed to proceed ahead. When the protesters refused to budge, police resorted to severe cane-charge and fired tear-gas shells. Shabir Ahmad Shah, who was leading the protest demonstration, received serious injury in his head after he was hit by a cane or some other object by police. Shah was later taken to SKIMS where he is undergoing treatment. While talking to media persons, doctors treating Shah, said that no final opinion could be made in 24 hours till all the related tests are completed.
Scores of other protestors which included two women from Muslim Khawateen Markaz were also injured. Later police arrested Mohammad Ashraf Sehrayee, Shiekh Aziz and a number of Hurriyat activists. Reports from Bota-Kadal and Lal Bazar said that similar protest marches were taken out from these areas also but were not allowed to proceed towards Hazratbal by police. Police burst smoke shells and resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the demonstrators.