Srinagar: In occupied Kashmir, the authorities imposed curfew and other restrictions in Srinagar to prevent proposed protest march towards Lal Chowk, called by the joint resistance leadership, today.
The joint resistance leadership comprising Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik was scheduled to lead the march. However, the authorities arrested Muhammad Yasin Malik along with his associates outside the shrine of Dastgeer Sahab in Sara-e-Bala locality of Srinagar to prevent him from leading the march. Syed Ali Gilani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq are already under house arrest at their residences in Srinagar. The police also put APHC leaders, Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi Al-Safvi and Hilal Ahmad War under house detention to prevent them from participating in the march.
Senior Hurriyet leader, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq talking to Radio Sada-i-Hurriyet Kashmir condemned restrictions, crackdowns and arrest of entire Hurriyet leadership to prevent today’s march. He said that freedom struggle could not be weakened through such tactics. The Mirwaiz took strong exception to the raids conducted on Hurriyet leadership and appealed to India to read writing on the wall.
A delegation of Mirwaiz-led Hurriyet forum visited Dooru in Islamabad district to pay tributes to Sajjad Ahmad Malik who was killed by Indian forces on Thursday. The delegation demanded a fair probe into the killing. Hurriyet leader Mukhtar Ahmad Waza visited the father of martyred commander, Burhan Wani, in Tral and paid tributes to the family over sacrifices for the freedom cause.
On the other hand, US Vice President-elect Mike Pence in a media interview said that President-elect Donald Trump might serve the role of a mediator on the Kashmir issue by bringing his extraordinary deal-making skills to sort out the crisis. Mike Pence who appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press†said what the President-elect expressed in conversations with leaders from Pakistan and India was a desire for continued US engagement on building the relationship with both of those countries. He asserted that Trump recognized India and Pakistan as nuclear powers adding that US intended to be fully engaged in the region and fully engaged with both nations to advance peace and security.