The authorities on Thursday detained two senior separatist leaders in Kashmir to thwart their attempt to launch a protest march even as clashes, shutdown and sporadic incidents of stone-pelted left the normal life paralyzed in most parts of Kashmir reeling under similar circumstances for the past 34 days. Clashes erupted in Bemina pocket of capital Srinagar when an elderly woman died allegedly during intense clashes between security forces and protesters in the area.
The police claimed that the situation remained normal across the valley barring a few incidents of stone-pelting. The police have issued advisory to the parents and preachers to be cautious on Friday after the midday prayers. The past four Fridays have been toughest for the authorities to handle as tens of thousands of people marched on the streets leading to violence. last Friday, 3 persons were killed and more than 300 were wounded when people defied curfew in most parts of the valley to take part in anti-India protests.
The authorities had sealed off all entry and exit points leading to 'Martys Graveyard' in Old City's Eidgah area where separatists had announced to gather to commemorate the anniversary of a Hurriyat leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz who was killed by security forces while leading a march towards Muzaffarabad during Amarnath land row in August 2008.
Separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq were not allowed to move towards the Eidgah and were detained. The security forces lobbed teargas shells to disperse a rally led by Shia Hurriyat leader Masroor Abbas Ansari towards Eidgah. Ansari was alter taken to a local police station and detained.
The curfew continued in Anantnag and Pampore towns in South Kashmir and areas under five old city police stations and Batmaloo police station in uptown Srinagar. The curfew like restrictions continued in Kupwara, Handwara, langate, Trehgam, lalpora, Kralpora and adjacent areas in north Kashmir's Kupwara district. The restrictions under Sec 144 CrPc (Criminal Procedure Code) continued in south Kashmir's Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian districts. Similar prohibitory restrictions continued in Budgam, Ganderbal, Sopore, Bandipora and Baramulla.
A police statement said, "the situation in the valley remained by and large normal barring few incidents of stone pelting by the miscreants. Miscreants pelted stones on security force deployments in Goriwan area of Bijbehara, Anantnag. In Srinagar a group of miscreants pelted stones on security force deployments near Kakasarai in the jurisdiction of Police Station Karan Nagar, Srinagar," the statement added.
Protests erupted in Bemina locality of Srinagar when a woman died of cardiac arrest when stone-pelting erupted in the area. The deceased woman jameela's husband Abdur Rashid Khan told a local newspaper that she collapsed when she saw CRPF personnel pelting stones on her house. SSP Srinagar Amit Kumar denied the charge saying there was no CRPF deployment in the area.
The locals placed the body of the deceased woman on the roadside till late in the evening blocking movement of traffic.
Sources said that thousands of people attended "pro-freedom" rallies at Talangam, Pulwama and Imam Sahib Shopian in south Kashmir.
The semblance of normal life was witnessed in several uptown areas of Srinagar including Rajbagh, Jawahirnagar and Sanat Nagar areas where markets were open for most of the day and banks functioned normally. The shops also opened in the evening hours in lal Chowk area according to the schedule announced by the separatists.
The separatists in their new protest programme have asked people to march towards lal Chowk on 13th and 14th Augustfor holding "referendum rallies". The separatists have extended the fresh protest programmes till Aug 19.
"All Kashmiri people will exhibit their desire to hold plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir during the referendum march," Mirwaiz Umar Farooq told reporters outside his residence before he was taken into custody. He said Kashmir resolution is inevitable and it must be resolved through negotiations between India, Pakistan and the representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir who are the principal party to the dispute.