Indian security forces arrested two senior Muslim leaders in Kashmir and enforced a strict curfew yesterday to prevent separatists from holding a pro-independence rally.
Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who head hardline and moderate factions of the region’s separatist alliance, were held after overnight raids on their homes in the summer capital Srinagar, police said.
The two have been leading a series of large demonstrations over the past two weeks, reviving calls for independence from Indian rule in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley.
PHOTO: AFP
They planned to hold a rally yesterday in Srinagar’s Red Square, where in 1948 India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru promised Kashmiris the right to self-determination through a referendum — a pledge that has not been upheld.
“The two have been arrested to prevent today’s rally,” a police officer who asked not to be named said.
State-owned media said they had been detained for “instigating crowds and causing law and order problems.”
Police said the curfew was being kept in force in Srinagar and other Muslim-majority towns for a second straight day to prevent protests yesterday.
Policemen used loud-speakers to urge residents to stay indoors after some separatists said they would defy the curfew and try to reach the Red Square.
Thousands of troops have been deployed around the venue, with all entry points blocked by fencing encircled with barbed wire.
“It is very tense out here. There are only policemen visible on the streets,” said Joginder Singh, a resident of Red Square.
On Sunday evening a Muslim man was shot dead by police after he defied the curfew. Thousands of people attended his funeral chanting “we want freedom” and “we will spill blood for blood.”
Some 50 people were hurt across Kashmir in police action on Sunday when they failed to heed the curfew and held small anti-India demonstrations.
Residents in several parts of Srinagar held noisy rallies overnight, carrying burning hay torches through the streets.
“We have called in the army to assist the police in enforcing curfew,” police Inspector General S.M. Sahai told reporters in Srinagar.
Residents said shops and offices were closed and the streets were empty.
“We are not even being allowed to peep out through windows,” said Fayaz Ahmed, 42, in central Srinagar.
The recent troubles have been triggered by a state government plan announced in June to donate land to a Hindu shrine trust in the Kashmir valley. The decision was later reversed after massive Muslim protests, angering Hindus.
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