life returned to normal on Sunday after authorities lifted curfew from all pockets of the Valley and separatists issued no shutdown calls. The normalcy is likely to resume in Kashmir as the separatists have sought to shift the protest schedule to New Delhi, for a change, on Saturday next.
The Mutahida Majlis-e-Mushawarat (MMM) or the joint advisory council formed by several separatist groups to press for return of mortal remains of Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhat from Delhi’s Tihar jail on Sunday asked the Indian Civil Society to hold protest demonstrations at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on March 23 to express solidarity with Kashmiri people.
This is the first time the separatists have asked the rights groups and activists of India to protest in support of return of Afzal Guru’s body. Several writers, jurists and activists have favoured Guru family’s plea and even questioned the manner in which he was hanged and secretly buried in Tihar jail. They also held that the parliament attack convict was not given a fair trial.
Interestingly, the MMM has asked the rights groups to hold demonstrations in New Delhi on “Pakistan Day” when most of the Hurriyat leaders have been invited by the Pakistan High Commission to attend a feast thrown every year. The grouping had earlier scheduled a shutdown on March 23 but revised it in the wake of Pakistan Day as instead asked the rights groups to hold demonstrations in Delhi while observing a normal day in Kashmir.
The MMM consists of both factions of Hurriyat Conference, JKlF, High Court Bar Association and Dukhtaran-e-Millat. No rights group has so far endorsed MMM’s programme. The right wing Hindu groups have resisted protest demonstrations at Jantar Mantar when Kashmiri students in Delhi attempted to show up soon after Guru was hanged on February 9.
However, the government is unlikely to allow separatist leaders to visit Delhi to attend Pakistan High Commission’s feast. The relationship with Pakistan is hitting new lows after Pakistan National Assembly passed a resolution condemning Afzal Guru’s hanging. A counter resolution was passed in the Parliament that held that Guru was a terrorist and maintained Jammu and Kashmir’s permanent accession with the Union of India. Sensing the situation at the present juncture, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who heads a faction of Hurriyat Conference has decided not to proceed to New Delhi on March 23. He told a local news agency that he has received invitation from Pakistan High Commission but would be rather sending a delegation to attend the dinner. Mirwaiz and most of other separatist leaders including Syed Ali Geelani have been put under house arrest while others like Shabir Shah and Nayeem Khan have been jailed.
Meanwhile, life returned to normal in Kashmir valley on Sunday after the authorities lifted curfew and restrictions from all parts of valley. The curfew was imposed on Wednesday after security forces allegedly shot dead Altaf Ahmad Wani, a worker of ruling National Conference in old Srinagar hours after fidayeen attackers killed five Central Reserve Police Force personnel in a suicide attack. Wani’s relatives alleged that he was killed “in revenge” but the government insisted that he was shot when miscreants pelted a party of the CRPF with stones. An inquiry is being carried out to find out the truth. Shops and business establishes returned to normal functioning and even some government offices remained open. Despite holiday, several private schools remained open to compensate for the loss to academics due to persistent shutdowns.