The BJP government’s statement at the Centre that the “battle in Kashmir” is between the country and the separatists, and that violence fomented from across the border will not be tolerated, has been termed as “ridiculous” by the Kashmiri separatists.
They asserted that the ongoing turbulence in the Valley that has claimed the lives of more than 40 people in the firing by security forces and other actions against protesters and stone-hurling mobs is the “direct consequence of India’s occupational and military approach towards the problem of Kashmir”.
One policeman has died whereas about 2,000 civilians and over 1,550 security personnel have been injured in the days of violence. The violence also caused damage to police stations and posts and other infrastructure.
Key separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik, who recently formed an issue-based loose alliance and are currently under house arrest or taken into prevention custody by the police, said in a joint statement that Union finance minister Arun Jaitley’s statement in Rajya Sabha on the situation in Kashmir is bereft of truth and ground realities. Mr Jaitley, while participating in a short duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the situation in Kashmir earlier during the day had asserted, “The battle in Jammu and Kashmir is between the separatists and the country. In the fight against separatism, people of Kashmir are with the country.”
Rejecting and ridiculing it, the separatist leaders said that India’s “internalised propaganda” with regard to the current situation in particular and the Kashmir dispute in general “has blinded them to the extent that they are unable to understand and accept the genuineness of peoples’ anger and self-drive for freedom and justice”.
The statement seeks to praise what it said as the courage and steadfastness of people in these most trying times. It said, “The people of Kashmir have been caught in a most difficult situation, wherein all forms of expressing resentment and protest against the unabated killings and injuring of innocent civilians have been curbed, right to assemble and mourn snatched, shoot to kill ordered, strict restrictions enforced, leadership cag-ed, media censored and ga-gged, any and every hum-an and civil right violated. The option to protest and resist this extreme oppression and assault on people is extremely limited.”
“As such, in continuation with the protest programme on July 19 and 20, there will be a complete shutdown and July 20 will be observed as black day. On July 21, shutdown will continue till 2 pm,” It adds.
“There will again be a complete shutdown on Friday (July 22) and post Friday (congregational) prayers peaceful protests will be held in all mosques across the state.”
The separatists have also asked the people to continue holding their “peaceful” protests in mosques after Namaz-e-Magrib (evening prayers) on all days. Meanwhile, Srinagar and all other cities and towns of the Valley continued to reel under curfew and other security restrictions on the tenth consecutive day on Monday.
Thousands of J&K policemen, CRPF jawans and personnel from other Central forces including about those 4,800 who were requisitioned during last week are enforcing restrictions in all the ten districts of the valley.
There have been sporadic stone-pelting incidents at places but the intensity of this pastime which had overwhelmed the entire valley following the killing of Burhan Muzaffar Wani, the new-age poster boy of militancy in Kashmir on July 8, has plummeted greatly and yet the anger remains at its height.
On Sunday night, ruling PDP’s MLA Muhammad Khalil Bandh was injured when his car turned upside down with a group of protestors reportedly targeting it with rocks in the southern district of Pulwama. He was on his way to Srinagar in the dead of night around 1 am, the time chosen for travel by him apparently to escape being caught in any protests or untoward situation en-route.
Police sources said that Mr Bandh’s driver tried to speed away but the vehicle flipped over, leaving the politician seriously injured. Some residents came to his rescue and he was later taken to Srinagar’s 92-base (army) hospital where he was visited by chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and other senior government functionaries. However, Muneer-ul-Islam, the deputy commissioner of Pulwama, told the local news agency, KNS, that the MLA’s car met with an accident due to blockade on the road in Pulwama town and that it was not attacked by anyone. Doctors have said Mr Bandh’s condition is ‘stable.’
Meanwhile, local newspapers failed to hit the stands for the third consecutive day on Monday. On Saturday, the police had confiscated the copies of all leading Srinagar newspapers during pre-dawn raids at their press offices in an undeclared information gag which has also shut down the internet and cellular phone services partially.
Earlier on Friday night, the cable TV operators were also asked to suspend services. However, after remaining shut for about 20 hours, they were allowed to resume work but asked to block Pakistani and other “illegal” channels. No formal gag order has been issued but the authorities have privately justified the curbs saying these were unavoidable in order to discourage ‘rumour-mongering’ which, they insisted, was “adding fuel to fire.”
A senior minister in the PDP-BJP government, who was approached by media representatives following the raid on newspapers, told them, “Better you stay at home for some time.” They were also told that in view of apprehension of serious trouble and attempts likely to be made to subvert peace, strict curfew will be enforced during the next few days and that in such situation, movement of newspaper staff and distribution of newspapers will not be possible.
The editors, publishers and owners of Kashmiri newspapers and other media persons have strongly condemned the gag which, they said “is not only reprehensible but also against the norms of a democratic set up.”
Only BSNL mobile services are presently connecting the valley areas within and to the rest of the country. While all private mobile phone service providers were asked to suspend the services earlier during last week, the BSNL was exempted from proscribe apparently because these are also used by most government functionaries like ministers, bureaucrats and police higher-ups.
