Mass arrests: JRL calls for shutdown on Sunday

Srinagar: Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) Saturday called for a complete shutdown on Sunday to protest in against ‘arbitrary’ mass arrests, nocturnal raids, insecurity among people due to ‘state repression’, killings and censorship and any tampering with 35A.
JRL comprising Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and incarcerated Muhammad Yasin Malik as per a statement issued here on Saturday, said that “the arbitrary arrest of JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik and the mass crackdown and illegal detention of more than 200 Jamat e Islami cadre and leadership including its Ameer Abdul Hamid Fayaz last night in nocturnal raids across the valley looks to be not only part of the continued policy of suppression of pro-self determination leadership and narrative, but in the case of hearing of 35A in Indian Supreme Court most likely on Monday, an indication of what may be expected.”
They strongly condemned this ‘dictatorial policy’ of cracking the whip and arbitrary arrests against Kashmiri’s by those calling the shots in J&K, saying that deployment of additional 12000 paramilitary forces on an urgent basis also indicates that something is cooking in this regard.
Leadership said that “challenge to heredity state subject law is an extremely important issue for the people as it is akin to our very existence as a people and directly linked to the Kashmir dispute.
The spontaneous shut down and protests across the valley against even the thought of tempering with the law should leave no doubt in the minds of those who have left no stone unturned to choke and muzzle the voice of Kashmir and are breaking records in repression , that the people of Kashmir will never allow it.”
They said entire people and pro-people leadership of J&K are one on this, adding that “arbitrarily arresting and jailing leadership activists and youth across the valley for their political beliefs has been an ongoing process for the last thirty years.”
“Under one pretext or other, government has been following this as a state policy against those associated with the people’s movement to suppress the movement,” they said, adding that thousands of Kashmiri political prisoners are languishing in jails in India, punished for their ideology, an ideology that finds echo in the heart and mind of each Kashmiri.
Leadership said that last 30 years have shown that jailing and intimidating activists and leadership will not deter them from their path nor will it stop people from demanding the resolution of the Kashmir dispute through self determination.
They said in protest of these arbitrary mass arrests, nocturnal raids, insecurity among people due to state repression, killings and censorship and any tampering with 35A a protest strike will be observed tomorrow Feb 24 ,2019.
JRL also denounced the pressure tactics being used by the authorities on certain media houses reporting in Kashmir. They said standard of factual reporting maintained by our journalist is highly commendable.