Mirwaiz put under house arrest; restrictions on Geelani, others continue
Srinagar , Jul 23: Chairman of moderate Hurriyat Conference (HC) Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq has been put under house arrest since early this morning, while restrictions on hardline HC chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and some other leaders continued in Srinagar.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohammad Yaseen Malik gave slip to the security forces and reached Charar-e-Sharief to address the congregation of Jamait-ul-Vida, the last Friday of Holy month of Ramadan. A Spokesman of the front said police raided the Maisuma residence of Malik many times since last night, adding that a senior leader of the front, Showkat Ahmad Bakshi has been detained.
Immediately after Mirwaiz returned from the historic Jamia Masjid, where he addressed the Lailat-ul-Qadr congregation, he was put under house arrest. He was not allowed to offer Fajr (morning) prayers in a Mosque as large number of security forces and state police have been deployed outside his Nigeen house. Mr Geelani and other leaders, including Mohammad Ashraf Sehrayee and Mohammad Ashraf Laya, also remained under house arrest, Spokesman of the amalgam Aiyaz Abar said. He said he too has been put under house arrest for the past one week.
Both the factions of the Hurriyat Conference (HC) and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), spearheading the agitation, have called for protests after Friday prayers in the valley against the death of a 22-year-old youth and injuries to several others after security forces fired pellets to disperse the demonstrators at Kakpora in Pulwama, where three Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) militants were killed in an encounter, early yesterday.