Top Hizb chief arrested from Srinagar hospital

Srinagar: A top commander of Kashmir’s Hibz-ul-Mujahedeen was on Thursday night arrested by plainclothesmen from a Srinagar hospital.

Amir Nabi Wagay, the Hizb’s district commander for southern Anantnag, was arrested by the officials of J&K police’s CID wing in an operation executed on the basis of “planned surveillance” on his movement, reported Kashmir Life news portal.

The police sources added that Wagay, who figured in the list of the security forces’ “most wanted”, was involved in a number of militancy-related incidents across south Kashmir and had closely worked with senior commander of the Hizb, the indigenous militant outfit which has attracted Kashmir’s new breed of militants following the killing of Burhan Muzaffar Wani by troops during in July last year.

The sources further said that Wagay had secretly relocated to the government-run Sri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital for treatment as he is suffering from acute kidney ailment.

Meanwhile, several parts of Kashmir Valley witnessed intense clashes between stone-pelting mobs of youth and security forces after Friday congregations, leaving scores injured. Reports received here said that normal life was again disrupted in different areas of Srinagar, Pulwama, Baramulla, Budgam, Anantnag and some other districts of the Valley following the clashes whereas a complete spontaneous shutdown was observed in Chadoora in Budgam and Yaripora in Kulgam districts on the fourth consecutive day to mourn and protest the killing of three local youth and a Lashkar-e-Tayyaba militant during an encounter in Chadoora’s Durbug village earlier this week.

An alliance of key separatist leaders — Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik — had called for protests after Friday prayers against the Chadoora killings.

The fresh stone-pelting incidents took place on a day when home minister Rajnath Singh accused Pakistan of destabilising India and said “cross-border militant groups in Jammu and Kashmir egged youths to stone security forces”.

He said in the Lok Sabha, “Not only the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the militants are trying to destabilize the whole country through their coward acts” adding “The whole country is aware of this act of Pakistan. Our security forces are responding to them the way it is needed.” Mr. Singh also said, “Such stone-pelters are being misled by Pakistan-sponsored forces... Groups operating from Pakistan use Facebook and social media platforms to arrange these crowds.”

The separatist leaders’ alliance called ‘Joint Resistance Leadership’ termed his charge as “ridiculous” and said that instead of accepting ground reality of Kashmir India is trying to drag Pakistan in every issue it is faced with in Jammu and Kashmir.

The alliance has called for shutdown also during Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s, daylong visit to the State on Sunday. Mr. Modi is scheduled to inaugurate India’s longest road tunnel at Chenani along the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Udhampur district where he will also address a public rally on April 2. A multi-tier security setup has been put in place ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit and an alert sounded along both the Line of Control and International Border with Pakistan and a high degree of vigilance at vital installations in the hinterland, the official sources said.