Muzaffarabad, Apr 28: The PaK police on Saturday thwarted the attempt of more than one hundreds activists of a hard-line pro-independence group to stage a march towards the Line of Control (LoC) in Kotli district by taking many of them into “protective custody,” witnesses and police sources said.
 The call to cross the dividing line from Khuiratta sector, which faces Jammu province of Indian held Kashmir, was given by National Students Federation (NSF) on a day when “Karachi Agreement” was signed in 1949 by the Kashmiri leaders to handover the administrative control of Gilgit-Baltistan to the government of Pakistan.
 NSF advocates complete freedom of the disputed Himalayan region.
 Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in Kotli Riyaz Mughal told Greater Kashmir over phone that they had set up roadblocks at three points - Dhanna, Seri and Chattar – to prevent the marchers from nearing the LoC.
 Chattar is hardly three kilometres before the LoC, which used to be the scene of regular skirmishes and artillery duals between the Indian and Pakistani troops until they struck a historic cease-fire in November 2003.
 According to witnesses and police sources, when a group of around 100 NSF activists, led by their president Anwar Baig, reached Dhanna village in some eight or so  vehicles, they were intercepted by the police.
 The NSF activists were wearing red head and armbands and had displayed several banners inscribed with pro-freedom slogans as well as red party flags on their vehicles.
 “India and Pakistan: Pull out your troops from Kashmir and let us live as a free nation,” one of the banners read.
 Mughal said despite being stopped some activists tried to make their way beyond the police cordon following which they were taken into “protective custody.”
 Around a dozen other activists, including Muzaffarabad based NSF leader Kamran Baig, was taken into custody from Seri village where they had managed to reach separately from another route.
 The detained activists were kept in Police Lines Kotli for several hours and were set free in the evening, Mughal said.
 It may be recalled that in 1990 the NSF had staged a massive march towards the LoC in Chakothi sector in the south of Muzaffarabad, choosing February 11, the death anniversary of the JKLF founder Maqbool Bhat, for the crossing. Two of its activists had died in firing by the troops right at the LoC
 In August 2007, the group attempted to cross a snowcapped route in Neelum Valley that connects PaK and Gilgit-Baltistan and had lost another two activists, due to harsh weather.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 28 Apr 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 28 Apr 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:00:00 IST