Srinagar, May 19: Authorities have placed the Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani under house arrest, a spokesman of the amalgam, Ayaz Akbar said on Thursday.

 He said Geelani was placed under house arrest last evening to foil his public rally in south Kashmir’s Islamabad (Anantnag) district on Friday.

 “The objective of the peaceful programme was to press for the release of detainees and to mobilize public opinion in their favour. We had decided to launch the programme from Shopain, but government foiled it by creating curfew like situation in the town without any announcement. Now the government is repeating the same tactics to foil the rally in Islamabad (Anantnag),” he said. 

 Akbar termed government’s approach as “undemocratic and unethical.” 
 “By imposing a ban on the rallies Omar Abdullah has proved that he is a non-serious ruler and his actions speak louder than his words,” he added.

 The spokesman claimed that Home Ministry and Intelligence agencies were running the state government. “The decision whether to allow Geelani to hold the rally or not is decided in New Delhi and sometimes Omar Abdullah is intimated about the decisions,” he added. 

 Meanwhile, Geelani has been invited to participate in the international conference--- “Kashmir in Emerging Global Perspectives” to be held in  Pakistan administered Kashmir (PaK) next week, the spokesman said.

 Quoting the organizers, the spokesman said, the major objective of the conference to be held on May 23-24 , is to provide a platform to researchers and scholars to share their views and ideas on Kashmir in the emerging global scenario, particularly in the backdrop of a renewed Kashmiri quest for their rights.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 19 May 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 19 May 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 20 May 2011 00:00:00 IST