Srinagar, Apr 29: Hurriyat Conference (G), chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani was Thursday placed under house arrest ahead of the Friday’s march to the United Nations office here even as the authorities said that no march or protest rally would be allowed during the day.
A Hurriyat spokesman said that a posse of policemen was deployed outside Geelani’s residence in the city outskirts Hyderpora early Thursday morning and “the cops informed Geelani Sahab that he was under house arrest.”
The Hurriyat chairman has called a march to the United Nations’ Military Observers Group (UNMOG) at Sonawar after Friday prayers to protests against the ‘rising human rights violations and to present a memorandum there.’
 Meanwhile, the district magistrate, Srinagar, Me’raj Ahmad Kakroo, told Greater Kashmir that no protest rally or procession would be allowed on Friday.
 “Section 144 of CrPC (debarring assembly of four or more persons) is already in place for the past two months. We won’t allow anybody to violate it,” Kakroo said.
 “We are not going to grant any permission to anyone for any rally.”
 He, however, added that there won’t be any restrictions for school and college children or the office goers.
 “We don’t want it to be like an undeclared curfew. We want it be a normal day but, yes, no procession will be allowed.”
 Sources said that police was going to seal the roads and streets leading to the UN office at Sonawar by placing barricades and concertina wires apart from deploying additional police and paramilitary CRPF troopers around the spot.

GEELANI’S MISSIVE TO OIC
 Meanwhile, Geelani has urged the secretary general, Organisation of Islamic Conference, Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu to play a role for the resolution of Kashmir dispute.
 In a letter addressed to OIC secretary general and sent to the member countries, Geelani said: “The people of J&K have been struggling for the right to self-determination accrued to them through eighteen resolutions adopted by UN. India, despite its commitments before the community of nations, has been denying this right to people of J&K. It is the moral, political and religious obligations of the OIC to impress upon India to allow people of the state to exercise their right to self-determination.”
 The letter adds: “The people of J&K appeal to the civilized world especially the Muslim world to play their role and prevail upon India and Pakistan to resolve the dispute by granting right to self-determination to the people through referendum under the auspices of UN.”
 The letter reads that the OIC, despite passing many resolutions on J&K, has been mute spectator to the happenings in the state where “India has been brutally violating human rights of people.”
 “The state has been suffering hell under the disturbed areas Act and the armed forces special powers Act.”

‘JOIN MARCH’
 Kashmir’s Grand Mufti, Mufti Bashir Din has supported Geelani’s UN Chalo call.
 In a statement issued here Thursday Grand Mufti has asked the people to join Geelani’s march on Friday.
 “It is a Fatwa. Everyone should join the march as it is against human rights violations and disappearances. I’ll myself participate in the march. To make the march a success is duty of every freedom lover,” the Grand Mufti told Greater Kashmir.
 He said thousands of people have been subjected to enforced disappearance while hundreds are languishing in different jails. “I as a Grand Mufti support Geelani, Mirwaiz (Umar Farooq) and other pro-freedom leaders in their struggle. To settle the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the aspirations of Kashmiri people is must for peace in sub-continent,” he added.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 IST