Daily Times

SRINAGAR: Indian police on Wednesday arrested senior Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani after he allegedly defied restrictions and marched towards the martyrs’ graveyard in Srinagar.

Several areas of the Valley, including Pampore, Kupwara and Anantnag, remained under unrelenting curfew as Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control observed the 86th Kashmir Martyrs Day on Wednesday with renewed pledge to continue the struggle for the freedom of Kashmir from the Indian yoke.

Geelani, who was under house arrest, was detained by police officers outside his residence after he attempted to march towards the martyrs’ graveyard to commemorate the anniversary of those who lost their lives fighting the autocratic rule in the state in 1931. According to the media reports, some other Hurriyat leaders were also arrested along with Geelani.

On Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a high level emergency meeting to discuss the escalating tension in Indian-held Kashmir amid anti-India protests that have left at least 34 people dead so far.

The protests followed the killing on Friday of Burhan Wani, a 22-year-old commander of Kashmir’s largest pro-freedom group Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), during a gun battle with the Indian forces. HM is one of several groups that have for decades been fighting around half a million Indian troops deployed in the region, calling for independence of Kashmir or its merger with Pakistan.

Around 300 people have been injured, including nearly 100 policemen, and hospitals say they are overwhelmed. Most victims suffered gunshot wounds or teargas inhalation.

According to the police, death toll from street violence had reached 34, after three young men died overnight. Scores of civilians and troops have been injured in the clashes. The fresh wave of violence has sparked a diplomatic spat between Pakistan and India.

Pakistan summoned on Monday India’s high commissioner to lodge a formal protest over human rights violations in the disputed region following the killing of Wani. New Delhi was quick to dismiss Islamabad’s protest as “interference in its internal affairs”.

In a related development, Hyrriyat leader Shabir Shah said that Pakistan was properly advocating the case of Kashmir. In an interview, he thanked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for raising the Kashmir issue at every international forum.