Valley shut but calm on JKLF founder’s death anniversary

Minor clashes at some places over ‘attack’ on Yasin in Ajmer

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Feb 11; On 27^th anniversary of JKLF founder Maqbool Bhat’s execution at Tihar Jail of Delhi, Kashmir valley observed shutdown but no major incident of demonstration or clashes with Police took place. JKLF activists engaged in minor clashes with Police at few places after they learned about BJP activists’ attack on the outfit chief Yasin Malik at Ajmer Sharief in Rajasthan.

ON JKLF Chairman Yasin Malik’s call, most of the shops and business establishments remained shuttered in the capital city and other major townships in the Valley today. Only a small section of public transport operated. Parts of Srinagar, Anantnag, Baramulla, Sopore and Kupwara, wore deserted looks. Government offices, however, functioned smoothly, though attendance was affected to an extent due to absence of passenger transport. The JKLF shutdown call had been supported by both factions of the Hurriyat Conference, headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. While Malik is currently at Ajmer, Geelani has been staying ay his New Delhi house since last fortnight. Mirwaiz is currently on a tour in United States of America.

The call for shutdown evoked substantial response. Nevertheless, there was little tension in the air as youth in large numbers played cricket on public roads and neighbourhood parks.

With Malik being on a spiritual visit in Rajasthan, alongwith his Pakistani wife, his one-time second-in-command in then guerrilla outfit, Javed Ahmed Mir appeared in the Civil lines locality of Abi Guzar with over a dozen of his associates. Mir led a thin rally towards Lalchowk while shouting slogans in favour of Azadi and demanding custody of Maqbool Bhat’s remains from the jail authorities in Delhi.

Malik’s supporters, led by Bashir Ahmed Bhat and Showkat Bakshi, brought out a similar but thinly attended rally from Maisuma. They too yelled for freedom and return of Bhat’s remains from Tihar Jail.

Police swooped on both the demonstrations and took into custody over a dozen activists of both the factions of JKLF. As usual, they were forced to remain confined at two Police Stations.

Malik’s supporters broke the calm in the afternoon when they came to know that their leader had been attacked by BJP activists at Ajmer Sharief in Rajasthan. They clashed with Police in Malik’s residential locality of Maisuma, Reka Chowk Batmaloo and Bohri Kadal. Unconfirmed reports said that over a dozen demonstrators and Police personnel sustained injuries.

In a statement, JKLF claimed that its office at Mohri Kadal in downtown was raided and later sealed by Police. Reports of minor clashes also poured in from Sopore and Baramulla. Reports said that Police intercepted senior separatist leader, Shabir Shah, at Mirgund (Pattan) and took him into custody when he was on way to Bhat’s residential village of Trehgam in Kupwara district to participate in a remembrance function. Yet another separatist leader, Hashim Qureishi, alleged that Police swooped on his followers and left many of them injured when they were peacefully paying tributes to Bhat and demanding custody of his remains.

Notwithstanding shutdown, a number of shops were found open in Srinagar and all other towns. Youngsters in large numbers were seen playing cricket on road and at neighbourhood public parks for the whole day.

Bhat had been hanged to death on February 11^th in 1984 according to the capital punishment pronounced against him by District and Sessions Judge of Srinagar, Neelkanth Ganjoo, in the matter or his alleged murder of a bank manager and a Police official. Years later, JKLF militants, led by Malik as “Chief Commander”, gunned down the judge in close vicinity of J&K High Court premises here in 1990. Implementation of Bhat’s execution was sequel to killing of an Indian diplomat, Ravinder Mhatre, at Birmingham, England.

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