Srinagar, July 13: Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other senior separatist leaders including chairman Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Muhammad Yasin Malik, National Front (NF) chairman Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Bilal Gani Lone and Shahid-ul-Islam were put under house arrest.
Heavy contingents of cops were deployed at residences of most of separatist leaders Thursday evening and they were informed about their house arrest. The government also prevented people from offering prayers at main Jamia Masjid here. Hurriyat Conference (M) has flayed the government for imposing restrictions and putting the pro-freedom leaders under house arrest and has termed it as dictatorial attitude of the government.
A statement of Hurriyat Conference (M) said that apart from restricting lakhs of people inside their houses, the authorities put APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other Hurriyat leaders including Professor Abdul Gani Bhat, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Bilal Gani Lone, Agha Syed Hassan Al Moosvi Al Safvi, Masroor Abbas Ansari, Musadiq Adil, Mukhtar Ahmad Waza, Zaffar Akbar Bhat and Shahid-ul Islam and others under house detention since Thursday evening in a bid to make the July 13 programme unsuccessful.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was quoted saying in the statement said that he was forcibly barred from offering Friday prayers at historic Jamia Masjid by the authorities. Besides, he said, lakhs of people were also prevented from offering prayers at their respective mosques, adding, it depicts the dictatorial attitude of government. He said the tall claims of democracy have fallen flat after government forcibly prevented people from paying rich tributes to the martyrs of July 13, 1931.
Ridiculing the policy of the government, Mirwaiz said on one hand the pro-India parties visit the martyrs graveyard under heavy security cover to exploit the martyrs’ blood for their vested interests, while on the another hand the relatives of the martyrs, real representatives of the sacred mission and freedom loving people are being incarcerated in their homes and police stations.
He termed the action as highly condemnable. “By placing curfew and restrictions to stop peaceful processions, it has become clear that authorities are fearful of the unity and unflinching association of public with the freedom movement,” he said.
National Front in a statement said that it is an irony that while Kashmir observes Government holiday on the Martyrs Day but the so-called Government does not allow people to come out of their homes so that they could pay homage to their martyrs.
The NF spokesman termed Nayeem Khan’s continuous house arrest as unwarranted, uncivilized, undemocratic and inhuman. He said that such tactics can’t break the will of Nayeem Ahmad Khan who has faced this type of ‘oppression’ for decades.
Condemning the house arrest of its chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik and other pro-freedom leaders and activists, JKLF termed it undemocratic.
“It is sheer demonstration of State terrorism to detain the pro-freedom leaders and activists in houses, police stations and jails on the day when they were to pay tributes to their martyrs,” said a spokesman of the Front in a statement today. He said the rulers today detained the pro-freedom leaders and activist and enacted the drama of offering tributes to the martyrs. “The fact remains that the martyrs had offered the supreme sacrifices of their lives for freedom of their homeland, not for grabbing the seats of power,” he said.
Meanwhile, Front leaders took out processions and addressed public gatherings at Handwara in Kupwara district and Banihal, paying rich tributes to martyrs of July 13, 1931.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 13 Jul 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 13 Jul 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 IST