Hurriyat leaders Geelani, Masarat Alam put under house arrest

SRINAGAR (Web Desk) – Hurriyat Conference chief Syed Ali Shah Geelani and separatist leader Masarat Alam were put under house arrest on Thursday on the eve of their rally in Tral town of Pulwama district in Indian-held Kashmir.

Geelani had called for a march tomorrow in south Kashmir where two youths were killed in an anti-militancy operation on Monday.

"Geelani has been placed under house arrest. A group of policemen has been deployed outside his house at Hyderpora as a preventive measure to maintain law and order," said a police officer.

He further said that similar curbs are in place for Alam.

Police had on Thursday filed a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against Geelani and Alam for allegedly raising anti-national slogans in a rally in Srinagar.

The Jammu and Kashmir BJP, which is a part of the PDP-BJP coalition government in the state, had demanded the immediate arrest of both Geelani and Masarat, saying registration of an FIR against them was 'not enough'.

"We have conveyed to our coalition partner especially to the chief minister who holds the home ministry that we are not satisfied with mere registration of the FIR against Masarat Alam and Syed Ali Shah Geelani for their anti-national activities, we want their immediate arrest," J-K BJP chief spokesman Sunil Sethi said.

He said the party was of the opinion that activities of Masarat Alam pose a threat to the national security. However, the hardline wing of the Hurriyat Conference on Thursday had condemned registration of cases against its chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Masarat Alam Bhat, saying the outfit will not be "cowed down" by such actions.

"We condemn the registration of an FIR against Hurriyat leaders in strongest terms. We will not be cowed down by such actions. "If seeking the right to freedom is a crime, then we will continue doing such things and no power on the earth can prevent us.

The registration of a case exposes the assertion of (Chief Minister) Mufti Mohammad Sayeed that it is the battle of ideas. "His government could not bear even a single peaceful rally organised by Hurriyat," the amalgam said in a statement in Srinagar. The statement was released after a meeting of Hurriyat's Majlis-e-Shoura (advisory board) chaired by Geelani at his Hyderpora residence.

Separatist leader Masarat Alam Bhat had on Thursday denied waving Pakistani flag at a rally organised to welcome his senior Syed Ali Shah Geelani in Srinagar, but said it was a representation of the feelings, aspirations and sentiments of the people across Kashmir.

A day after being slapped with Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for anti-national activities, the hardline Hurriyat leader had come out with clarification saying he did not wave the Pakistani flag and should not be held responsible for that.

"There was a welcome programme for Geelani. Some youth had (Pakistani) flags there. Why should I be held responsible for it?" Bhat, who was released last month after being detained under Public Safety Act for more than four years, said.

"This is a general trend in the state and not one man's doing. To hold one person responsible for it, I do not think is the right thing," he said.

Asked about the FIR against him in connection with yesterday's rally, he said it was nothing new for him. On Geelani's call for march to Tral on Friday where two youth were killed in an army operation earlier this week, Bhat said "we will see who all turn up".

"It is not only Indian administration (officials) who have a right to live in Jammu and Kashmir. We are sons of the soil and we have a right to live here. This is our land ...," he added.

After a gap of five years, Jammu and Kashmir Government on Wednesday allowed hardline separatist leader Geelani to hold a public rally on the outskirts of Srinagar city where his supporters including Alam raised pro-Pakistan slogans and others waved Pakistani flags.