Srinagar: The last Friday of the month of Ramazan (Juma-tul-Wida,) was observed as the “Youm-ul-Quds and Kashmir” to impress upon the international community to come forward in a big way to help the people of Palestine and Jammu and Kashmir secure their “inalienable” right to self-determination.
Call for the observance of the Day was given by Joint Resistance Camp Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mauhammad Yasin Malik. Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front led a mammoth demonstration in Central Kashmir’s Charar-e-Sharif but Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq were not allowed to move out of their residential houses.
In wake of protest call forwarded by Resistance Camp, authorities imposed strict restrictions in old Srinagar city and disallowed congregational Friday prayers at historic Jamia Masjid.
Pertinently, a police officer was lynched to death outside the Jamia Masjid after he fired upon a group of people who questioned his presence in the premises of the mosque.
Reports said that all gates of the Jamia Masjid were locked by police and paramilitary forces, while the movement of the people was restricted as well.
Reports added that all roads leading to the historic mosque were blocked and that no one was being allowed to enter the mosque.
Meanwhile, peaceful protests were staged in different parts of Valley. Clashes erupted in Kakapora area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district that witnessed the four killings on Thursday including three militants.
Resolutions supporting the right to self-determination of the people of Kashmir and Palestine were passed in many mosques.
The resolutions urged the international community to address the issue in the interest of peace in the world.
The JKLF Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik, addressed a huge gathering at Charar-e-Sharief and called upon the world community “to break its silence over lingering Kashmir dispute and come forth for its settlement.” A party spokesperson said that Malik
had gone underground a day before and managed to give police a slip. “Malik Sahab reached Charar-e-Sharif during night hours and addressed a mammoth gathering there,” he said and added that police already have arrested JKLF vice chairman Showkat Ahmad Bakhshi and shifted him to police station Parimpora.
“Kashmir has been turned into a killing field where Indian occupational forces are killing humans at will and no one among human community seems to bother or feel pain. Tyrants and their stooges should remember that according to the law of retribution they are bound to taste the fruits of their crimes against humanity. Peace and stability are subservient to the resolution of disputes and issue as peace cannot be established in vacuum. United Nations as a responsible forum has to rise above its lip servicing and play its role in resolving long pending disputes like Jammu Kashmir and Palestine,” Muhammad Yasin Malik said.
He said that today is Jumat-ul-vida and Muslims are duty bound to reach Jamia Masjid and other bigger places of worship and participate in Friday prayers but PDP led regime implementing RSS agenda has chosen to ban even Friday congregations and has imposed curfew in most parts of Kashmir including Jamia masjid Srinagar. This is enough evidence of PDP led ruling regime being anti-Muslim and anti-Kashmir, he added.
Senior separatist leader, Shabir Ahmad Shah, was under house arrest and was not allowed to offer Friday prayers.
Anti-Israel and anti-India protest marches were taken out in scores of areas of Kashmir Valley including Srinagar city.
