Over a score of protestors were injured as the police reacted with violence to the processions taken out in the shutdown town, even as a number of leaders of the alliance, including the chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, had been detained since Thursday.
Apparently concerned by the massive response to Geelani’s troop withdrawal rallies in Shopian and Baramulla on two consecutive Fridays, the government cracked down on his campaign this week, arresting Geelani and several of his associates, and placing the Kulgam area under a virtual siege.
The town remained shut down on Geelani’s call, but the administration too imposed restrictions to foil a massive gathering, responding with overwhelming force after a procession was taken out near the Qazigund bus stand.
Clashes erupted as protestors retaliated with stones when the police and the paramilitary troopers barred their way and tried to disperse them with cane charges and tear gas.
Over a dozen people were said to have been injured in the violence.
The general secretary of the Hurriyat (G), Peer Saifullah, had managed to reach the shrine of Hazrat Hazrat Simnani where processions from various places had converged, and addressed the gathering, stressing the tripartite nature of the Kashmir issue and describing bilateral talks as futile.
Earlier, Hurriyat (G) leaders like Zahid Ali, Raja Merajuddin, Muhammad Yasin Attai and Mir Ghulam Hassan had addressed congregations in other local mosques.
Eyewitnesses said that the administration had created a curfew-like situation in the town by deploying large numbers of police and paramilitary forces to foil Geelani’s programme.
According to one report, the spokesman of the Hurriyat (G), Ayaz Akbar blamed CPI(M) leader, Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami, for having insisted on the police and the paramilitary forces “to do all they could” to foil Geelani’s rally.
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