Police on Friday detained chairman of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Muhammad Yasin Malik along with senior JKLF leaders Noor Muhammad Kalwal and Zahoor Ahmad after he was leading a peaceful protest march against the NIA raids on resistance leadership and Kashmiri businessmen as well as cold blooded murder of Adil Farooq Magray of Shopian and other innocents in various parts of Kashmir, spokesman said..According to the statement issued to KNS, the JKFL spokesman said that to lead today’s protest; JKLF chairman had gone into hiding as police was in pursuit to arrest him from yesterday evening.“Police besieged Sarai Bala, started a crackdown and held house to house search to arrest JKLF chairman. Ziyarat Dastigeer sahib and its surroundings including the graveyard were turned into a military garrison as police laid siege of every road, lane and Masjid of the area. Besides putting almost whole Srinagar under curfew, police besieged main Masajid of Gawkadal and Maisuma area too to prevent today’s protest rally and sit-in,” the spokesman said.
Despite all this ‘oppressive tactics’, which resulted in hardships to the people that too in the holy month of Ramazan, JKLF chairman and other leaders including Showkat Ahmad Bakhshi, Ghulam Rasool Dar Eidi, Javed Zargar, Mushtaq Ajmal, Sheikh Abdul Rashid, Bashir Ahmad Kashmiri, Muhammad Siddeq Sahha, Ashraf bin Salam, Professor Javed and others managed to reach Sarai Balla.Yasin entered Iqra Masjid and addressed people there.After Friday prayers, Malik leading thousands of people started his march towards Lal Chowk but police locked down the gate of Iqra Masjid.“People resisted the police oppression and chanted slogans in favor of freedom and martyrs and against killing spree and NIA terrorism against Kashmiris,” Malik added.On the occasion, police started indiscriminate shelling, aerial firing and Lathee charge and arrested Malik and others who are now languishing in police station Shaheed Gunj.One more group of JKLF leaders however managed to take out a protest rally from Astana Sariabala to Hari Singh High Street where they staged a peaceful sit-in against police ‘highhandedness’.
Prior to his arrest, Malik while talking to the media said that “today’s peaceful protest is against the recent NIA terrorism unleashed against resistance camp and businessmen and also against the recent killing spree especially the cold blooded killing of Adil Farooq Magray of Shupian and to stop this peaceful protest, police and other occupational forces have unleashed an unprecedented oppression against people of Kashmir.”He said that the curfew and restrictions, barbed wire and barricades, arrests and house arrests and even crackdown of localities have been an order of the day.“To stop a mere peaceful political activity, police today crossed every limit of decency and humanity and subjected people to worst kind of oppression despite the holy month of Ramazan which is highly condemnable,” he said.He said that “if police is such keen of proving itself more loyal than the king than they should remove their Khaki uniform and put on RSS knickers (Shorts) instead, so that their remains no doubt about their credentials. JKLF chairman said these undemocratic and unethical tactics of occupational forces are a glaring example of the hollowness of the Indian democracy regarding Jammu Kashmir.”Terming the recent NIA raids against some resistance leaders and Kashmiri businessmen as ‘a ploy to defame and defeat resistance movement’ and sabotage Kashmiri economy, JKLF chairman said that “Indian leaders, their Kashmiri stooges and occupational institutions want to defame, defeat and sabotage Kashmiris resistance movement by dubbing it as corruption and sponsored.”
“Simultaneously, they want to destroy Kashmiri economy by terrorizing the businessmen and business establishments and through these tactics wants to put Kashmiris into submission,” Malik said, adding that “everyone knows here that it is India that has institutionalized corruption through pro-India politicians and political parties and other occupational authorities and today if anyone is able to probe into the assets of these pro-India Kashmiri politicians and officers, this truth will come out in public glare.”He said that from last 70 years, India killed, maimed, blinded, arrested, tortured and oppressed thousands in Jammu Kashmir but has failed to put Kashmiris into submission and now they have started this new NIA type drama, intimidating and terrorizing resistance camp and Kashmiri damaging Kashmiri economy, that is also bound to fail.JKLF chairman said that “rulers using their biased media have already destroyed our tourism this year and they want to destroy our economy to put us into submission but their wish will God-willingly never come true.”
While condemning the brutal killing of a Shopian boy Adil Farooq Magray, JKLF chairman said that “killings in cold blood have become a hobby of Indian trigger happy forces and only during last 10 days from Sopore to Sumbal, Kupwara to Shopian and Tral to Pulwama, the story remains the same.”“Indian forces without any shame or humanity and with impunity are busy killing innocents in Kashmir which is highly condemnable,” he said.While castigating Indian media for their biased approach against Muslims and Kashmiris, JKLF chairman said that “media that is debating on Kashmiri red cheeks and health should seek some psychiatric medical advice. Our advice to these Indian media people is to shun their job and put on Indian military uniform as their behavior is proving detrimental to sacred job of journalism.”JKLF chairman said that “let Indian leaders do whatever they will and use whatever force and tactics they can, Kashmiri resistance against illegal occupation will continue till the achievement of the desired goal.” (KNS)