SrinagarJoint Resistance Leadership (JRL) Saturday condemned the arrest of Mohammad Yasin Malik and house arrest of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and continued detention of Syed Ali Geelani.
They also flayed authorities for sealing all roads to their residences and imposition of curfew and strict restriction in parts of Srinagar by the authorities, to disallow the leadership from going to New Delhi regarding the persecution and intimidation of the people from all walks of life and the leadership by the government through the NIA, and to court arrest at their headquarters to put an end to it.
The leadership, according to the statement issued, said this move completely exposes the so called investigation and its actual purpose.
Leadership asked that if they themselves volunteered to go to Delhi and let the investigating agency arrest them and ask them regarding the charges leveled against their organizations and the people’s political movement, why were they barred? Especially when the Government yesterday made tall claims of everyone being free to go anywhere, and released Mirwaiz from house arrest and Yasin from jail.
JRL said that stopping the resistance leadership from courting arrest, giving contradictory statements and creating a law and order bogey they have exposed themselves and their bluff. They said NIA should put an immediate end to this harassment
JRL said that It becomes quite evident that along with brute military force the Indian state is deploying all its institutions to crush our movement. For the past three months repeated raids, notices and arrests by the NIA-an unaccountable machinery unleashed upon Kashmiris from different segments of society including political activists, our relatives and associates , lawyers, businessmen journalists students and others is being carried out to intimidate and instill fear among the masses while simultaneously an all out vicious and venomous propaganda campaign to defame and malign leadership and the peoples political struggle is being aggressively pursued by electronic print and social media. Lies and falsehoods about us and the people’s political struggle promoted and spread. Our just and legitimate indigenous political movement for which people have given extreme sacrifices, branded as sponsored and linked to terrorism and monetary benefits. We, our activists and those associated with the movement abused and vilified and accused of being associated with the sacred movement for monetary gains. All this being done under a ploy to change the narrative on the Kashmir dispute, demoralize and disillusion the people regarding their internationally recognized and legitimate political struggle and their leadership while misleading the Indian masses about the reality of Kashmir and the ground situation here.
JRL said that let it be known to all that leadership is ready to face every hardship for the sake of the sacred peoples movement, but there is no question that we can be pressurized to move away from the path of seeking justice and resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the people’s aspirations and wishes.
JRL also strongly condemned the house arrest of human rights activist SAR Geelani by Delhi police, who according to police was presumably coming to the airport to receive them.
Yasin Malik arrested
Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik was arrested while other senior separatist leaders were placed under house arrest ahead of their proposed protest at the NIA headquarters in Delhi, even as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Srinagar on Saturday to hold talks on the Kashmir issue.
Rajnath, who is here on a four-day visit, has said he was going to Jammu and Kashmir with an open mind and was willing to meet with anyone who could help in finding solutions to the Kashmir issue.
The Union Home Minister began his visit by meeting state Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in the Nehru Guest House in Srinagar.
He is expected to travel to Srinagar, Anantnag, Jammu and Rajouri and meet civil society members, leaders of political and social outfits, business leaders and others during the visit.
Meanwhile, senior separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq have been placed under house arrest in Srinagar, while Yasin Malik was arrested by police from his uptown Maisuma residence around midnight.
Authorities have imposed restrictions in six police station areas of Rainawari, Khanyar, Nowhatta, M R Gunj, Safa Kadal and Maisuma.
Police claimed that the senior separatist leaders had not been detained because they intended to go to Delhi, but because they were trying to create a law and order problem.
Munir Ahmad Khan, Inspector General of police (IGP) Kashmir, told reporters that the three senior separatist leaders were trying to mobilize people for a separatist rally that would have created a law and order problem for the authorities.
“Had they moved to Delhi as normal passengers we would have allowed them to go wherever they wanted to go. But, we cannot allow anybody to create a law and order problem,” the IGP said.
State Director General of Police (DGP) S P Vaid had said on Friday that the three separatist leaders would be allowed to go anywhere they wanted to go.
The separatist trio had announced on Wednesday their plans to visit Delhi today for holding a sit-in outside the NIA headquarters and court arrest against what they termed as the vilification of Kashmiri people by the investigating agency.
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