Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Mohammad Yaseen Malik was Saturday joined by hundreds of people including family members of those who lost dear ones to state action during a day-long hunger strike to protest ongoing raids and arrests against the youth in Kashmir Valley.
The protesters also demanded justice for people ‘martyred’ during the summer last year besides showed solidarity with people languishing in jails in and out of the state.
Besides Malik and victim families, leaders of Hurriyat Conference (M), member of bar association and people from other walks of the life joined the hunger strike at Maisuma here in civil lines.
JKLF Chairman, Mohammad Yasin Malik alleged that New Delhi was forcing ‘non-violent’ Kashmiri youth to violence again.
“Our student teenagers are arrested and labelled as stone pelters by Indian security agencies. By these tactics India is forcing them to take the gun again,” Malik said.
“The need of the hour is to safeguard and sustain the ongoing peaceful agitation to reach the right to self determination,” he added.
He said that the Indian government and its civil society should recognize it and give a proper political space to the Kashmiris.
He said that the hunger strike was joined by almost all the families whose children were killed in last year’s unrest. “Apart from these families, the protest was joined in people from intelligentsia, lawyers and from other walks of life. At least 3000 people took part in it which clearly sends out a message that this oppressive tactic of rounding up people should and as soon as possible,” he said.
Drawing parallels with current wave of demonstrations in Arab world, he said, “What is happening in Middle East is what the people of Kashmir had shown through a transition from a violent to a non-violent movement. The discourse of this peaceful way of struggling against the dictatorship was actually started by the people of Kashmir,” he said.
The Hunger strike was joined in by senior Hurriyat (M) leaders including Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Bilal Gani Lone, Mukhtar Ahmad waza, Masroor Abbass, Hakim Abdul Rashid, advocate Shahid-ul Islam and others.
Advocate Zafar Shah, Advocate Nazir Ahmad Ronga, APDP Chairperson Parveena Ahanger, Dr Ghulam Qadir Allaqaband, and activists of Anjuman-e-Sheri-Shiyan and Muslim Khateen Markaz led by Yaseem Raja also participated in the fast strike
Most of the speakers stressed upon peaceful and sustain the peaceful agitation till its logical end, urging youth to desist from non-violent methods to avoid any damage to the ongoing ‘peaceful’ struggle.
Professor Abdul Gani Bhat called for a disciplined means to continue the “freedom struggle”.
He also divulged on three member interlocutors by New Delhi and stressed that there was “no fun in talking them as they only can recommend things to the decision makers.”
“The panel can only recommend while as the power to implement it rests with some other people. Our stand is to seek a permanent settlement of Kashmir so the recommendations will not serve any purpose,” he said.
“Though the final decision on talks with the panel rests with the party, there seems no fun in talking to them,” Bhat added.
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