For the 13th straight day, the strike in southern Pulwama Town continued over the demand of installing a militant memorial at ‘Shaheed Park’ in the area.
Eyewitnesses told Srinagar-based news agency GNS that all the markets of the Town and its adjoining localities were closed while the traffic also remained off the roads. Reports said that the shutdown was also observed in Kakapora hamlet of the Pulwama district.
The situation in the Town remained peaceful throughout the day and there was no protest or stone-pelting incident. Meanwhile, reports said police have detained several youths during nocturnal raids.
Condemning the police action in Pulwama, the Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani has called for a one-hour long protest on Friday. In a statement issued to GNS, Geelani said demanded immediate release of all the youths and roll back of all the cases registered against them.
Geelani said that they have decided to announce a high level committee who will hold meetings with the respectable citizens and youths of Pulwama and criticized police and administration for making a simple issue a complicated case and for giving unnecessary hype to it.
“More than 500 martyrs’ graveyards present in Kashmir and they are all marked with memorial boards. Installation of memorial boards have never been any issue anywhere but the Pulwama police and local administration unnecessary created an issue out of nothing due to which the local people of the district are suffering from last many days,” he said.
Geelani said that the Pulwama district particularly from last two years has been on the radar of the Indian secret agencies and its forces. “The countless and endless participation of the local people in the funerals of the martyred Mujahideen is giving sleepless nights to these agencies and the policy makers of India. The policy makers of India have formulated a plan to punish the people of this district for their pro-freedom sentiments. They want to dent the economy of the people of Pulwama which will have direct impact over the freedom sentiments of the people,” he said.
Hailing people of Pulwama, he said: “We have to deal with this kind of situation with extreme wisdom and intellect so that the enemy may not succeed in his evil designs.”(GNS)
