Soon after the Friday prayers at the old city Srinagar, a group of youth, shouting pro-freedom slogans, tried to take out a march towards Nowhatta Chowk.
For the first time since row over Pro-Azadi protests in Jawaharlal Nehru University erupted, protesters in old city Srinagar carried banners “thank you JNU.”
Some of the protesters were also carrying posters of parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru, who was hanged in Tihar Jail on February 9, 2013, police said.
Soon after the Friday prayers at the old city Srinagar, a group of youth, shouting pro-freedom slogans, tried to take out a march towards Nowhatta Chowk, police said.
Police sources said a masked youth was seen carrying a flag of Pakistan and the ISIS.
The protesters later clashed with police and security forces in Nowhatta area of Old Srinagar. The protesters were throwing stones at police while as police retaliated by firing tear smoke shells.
“Sad that recent events and their handling have created a situation where #JNU now features alongside Pakistn and ISIS flags,” former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted.
Meanwhile, separatist Hurriyat Conference Friday termed silence of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over arrest of Prof Sayed Abdul Rehman (SAR) Geelani by Delhi police and alleged crackdown of the Delhi police on Kashmiri students as distasteful.
Hurriyat Conference faction led by Syed Ali Geelani said at a time when Kashmiri students were facing onslaught, the PDP president Mehbooba Mufti was busy in having consultations with the BJP general secretary Ram Madhav over her coronation. The Hurriyat said that PDP was trying to create an aura around Agenda of Alliance but everyone in Kashmir knows that the PDP would not get anything from the rightwing party BJP.
The Hurriyat Conference said the PDP and National Conference will be equally responsible if any anything happens to Professor Geelani and other Kashmiri students in Delhi. He alleged that both the mainstream parties played “a criminal role at the time of hanging of Afzal Guru and this time too they are engaging in the power politics”.
Moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who continues to be under house arrest for past 15 days, said it was heartening to see many among youth of India have risen up challenging narrow and unrealistic outlook of rightwing parties.
“They understand that there are many issues such as Kashmir which have to be dealt with on the basis of principles of justice, which is not possible unless the whole perspective of the issue or issues is understood and there is a positive engagement and dialogue,” Mirwaiz said.
Mirwaiz said arrest and charge of sedition against JNUSU President Kanihya Kumar and SAR Geelani is highly condemnable.
