Vice chairman JKLF advocate Bashir Ahmad Butt along with dozens others was arrested when he was leading a protest march at Lal chowk Srinagar Friday.According to a statement issued to KNS, the sit-in was to be led by chairman JKLF Muhammad Yasin Malik himself but he was taken into custody day before and is still languishing in police station Kothibagh.Among those arrested Friday included advocate Bashir Ahmed Butt, Shaukat Ahmad Bakhshi, Siraj-ud-Din Mir, Mohammad Siddique Shah, Sheikh Abdul Rasheed, Bashir Ahmad Rather (Boya), Syed Nisar Jeelani, Professor Abdul Rashid Hurrah, Ghulam Mohammad Dar, Mohammad Azam Zargar, Shakir Ahmed Ahangar, Dar Mohammad Hanif, Ali Mohammad Dar, Shahid Ahmed Mackaya, Mushtaq Ahmad Wani, Nazir Ahmad Rather, Mohammad Yousuf Bhat, Mushtaq Ahmed Wani (Hajin), Fayyaz Ahmed Lone, Imtiaz Ahmad Dar, Imtiaz Ahmed Butt, Basharat Ahmad Bhat.
In an attempt to sabotage Friday’s JKLF protest program, RSS had send some of its goons from Jammu who in early morning when no one is on roads tried to unfurl RSS flags at Lal Chowk. These goons who reportedly included on Sachin from R-S-Pora were confronted by some Kashmiris and it was police and CRPF that came to their rescue. CRPF and local police also cane charged the people protesting against this RSS ploy and injured many by excessive use of force. Police in the garb of this incident laid siege around all the roads leading towards Lal Chowk, Maisuma, Kokerbazar and other adjacent areas were put on restrictions and barbed wire was laid around all exit points. This all was done to stop people from participating in today’s JKLF sit-in at Lal Chowk.
Despite all these restrictions, Arrest of Mohammad Yasin Malik and Policegiri, JKLF leaders and activists gathered at Maqbool Manzil and when people saw JKLF leaders emerging from the area, they came and joined the procession in large numbers.Led by advocate Bashir Ahmad Butt, the participants of this protest rally raised slogans in favor of freedom, martyrs, prisoners, resistance and leaders. Slogans were also raised against choking of political space, arrest, restrictions and communalizing Jammu Kashmir. As t he rally reached near budshah chowk were police had laid barbed wire to stop it, the participants croseed the first barrier but police and crpf cordoned them from all sides and arrested more than 2 dozen people on the occasion. Police used teargas, pepper gas, cane charge to disperse resistance but youth and elders present in the rally provided a stiff resistance. Prior to these arrests, JKLF vice chairman advocate bashir ahmad butt while addressing media and people present on the occasion said that today’s protest is against
choking political space, spree of arrests, restrictions and ban on all kind of political activities and against promoting religious hatred in Jammu Kashmir. He said that to sabotage today’s peaceful protest sit-in RSS goons from Jammu had come to unfurl RSS flag in Kashmir. These coward goons intended to do this in wee hours of morning so that nobody could see them but common Kashmiris confronted and stopped them from doing this. He said that these cowardly acts cannot stop people fighting for freedom from perusing the path of resistance.While condemning the choking of political space and restrictions on every kind of peaceful political activities in Jammu Kashmir, JKLF vice chairman said that a country that claims to be the largest democracy in the world has turned Jammu Kashmir into a big prison and concentration camp where nobody is allowed to speak or act freely and where a blanket ban has been imposed on all kinds of peaceful political activities. He said despite all these repressive acts, PDP rulers with utmost shamelessness and brazenness claim “battle of ideas” and “no bullet but talks” ideologies on daily basis.
Butt said that promoting hatred among various communities, communalizing Jammu Kashmir, putting ban on peaceful political activities and spree of arrests and restrictions and hence promoting worst kind of violence cannot be tolerated silently and today we are protesting against this shameful oppression by PDP led government.While condemning the incarceration of JKLF chief Muhammad Yasin Malik who was arrested by police on 8th OCT 2015 and was not allowed to attend the marriage ceremony of his nephew, Butt sahib said that brazenness of rulers has touched new heights and today a head of family and guardian of a young boy is not allowed to attend his Nikah Khawani. (KNS)