SRINAGAR: Kashmir’s octogenarian leader and Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani has called for a general strike on June 25 when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to arrive in Jammu and Kashmir.
The strike, Geelani said, is to press for the “right to self- determination” for Kashmiri people.
“I appeal to the people of the state to observe a complete general strike on the day the Prime Minister arrives here,” he told reporters at his residence, according to PTI.
Geelani said the shutdown will be observed to remind Government of India and the world that Kashmir is a dispute pending a resolution.
“Besides, we also want to press for our demand for return of mortal remains of (Parliament attack convict) Mohammad Afzal Guru and (JKLF founder) Mohammad Maqbool Bhat to their legal heirs for burial according to Islamic rites,” he said.
The Prime Minister is expected to visit the state on June 25 to inaugurate the Qazigund-Banihal link of the Kashmir rail project.
Another senior separatist leader and chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Muhammad Yasin Malik has also called for a shutdown on that day.
