Mirwaiz prevented from visiting Sopore, placed under house arrest

The authorities Monday foiled the Hurriyat (M) visit to Muhammad Afzal Guru’s residence in Sopore by placing Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and half-a-dozen leaders under house arrest. An angry Mirwaiz said the decision to prevent them from expressing condolence to Guru’s family reflects the “imperialistic thinking” of the government.

The Hurriyat delegation led by Mirwaiz was supposed to leave for Sopore at 11 am today. However, heavy contingents of police were deployed outside the residences of Mirwaiz and other Hurriyat leaders including Aga Syed Hassan, Moulana Masroor Abass Ansari, Zaffar Akbar Bhat and Syed Saleem Geelani. Another Hurriyat leader Mukhtar Ahmed Waza, according to Hurriyat, was lodged in police station Saddar, Islamabad (Anantnag). As per the Hurriyat spokesman,four Hurriyat activists were also arrested that include Fayaz Ahmed Shah, Abdur Rashid Tanki, Farooq Ahmed and Altaf Ahmed.

Hurriyat sources said Mirwaiz and other leaders of the amalgam came to know about their house arrest early on Monday morning. Talking to Greater Kashmir, the Mirwaiz expressed serious concern over the government move. “I was just allowed to move around on Friday after February 9. And I am under house arrest again,” he said.

He said the decision taken by the authorities to restrict the movement of separatists reflects “imperialistic thinking” of the government. “They kill our people and even don’t allow us to mourn and to express solidarity with the bereaved families,” Mirwaiz said. He said the fresh wave of placing separatist leaders under house arrest has made it clear that “now security agencies have started taking political decisions in Kashmir.”

He said the Hurriyat will continue to seek the return of Guru’s body. “We have already made it clear that we will write to European Union, OIC, and other fora to help build pressure on India on return of Guru’s body.

It is an irony that a country has hanged a person without informing his family and without allowing his family members to meet him for one last time,” Mirwaiz said.

The Hurriyat (M) Chairman also accused the government and police of lodging the separatist leaders along with criminals in various prisons. “This is height of high-handedness. The government should treat the separatist leaders, who have been lodged in various prisons, as political prisoners,” the Mirwaiz said.

Meanwhile, a Hurriyat (M) spokesman said by caging the separatist leaders the government won’t be able to suppress the voice of dissent. He said by placing the Hurriyat (M) Chairman under house arrest just after four days of his release “reflects utter frustration on part of the government.”

Pertinently, Mirwaiz had recently filed a petition in the state high court challenging his continued house arrest.


(Greater Kashmir)