SRINAGAR: Kashmir’s octogenarian separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who addressed a huge rally in Sopore town, 50 kms north of Srinagar, has asked people to stay away from the forthcoming assembly and parliament polls.
Mr Geelani’s nine month-long house arrest ended earlier this week. There were speculations if the authorities would allow him to leave home.
The separatist leader reached Sopore just before Friday prayers and offered Nimaz at the Jamia Masjid. He then moved to Iqbal Market locality, along with protestors chanting “Go India Go Back”, and addressed a rally there.
A journalist in the area told FreePress that people were seen listening to Mr Geelani from atop roofs and upper storeys of homes.
Estimates about the number of people present vary; some put the number between 10 to 30 thousand.
Mr Geelani said the International Community had failed to show its support to Kashmir issue and said people of the state would strive for their right to self determination without accepting dictations from India or Pakistan.
Estimates about the number of people present vary; some put the number between 10 to 30 thousand.
“We believe that United Nations has miserably fail to address the core International issues. People of Kashmir have lost faith in this Organization and don’t expect much from this world Body,” he said.
But the main focus of his speech was the boycott of state and national polls in 2014. He said voting in elections shall be deemed as “betrayal with the sacrifices made by the people in the ongoing resistance movement.”
Immediately after the separatist leader left the venue, violent clashes erupted between protestors and the police and paramilitaries. Young men threw stones at the security forces who fired tear smoke shells and fired overhead to disperse them.
Mr Geelani, who had by then reached Doabgah where he met the family of Muhammad Afzal Guru, parliament attack-convict who was hanged at Delhi’s Tihar jail in February this year.
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When informed about the violence at the spot where had addressed people minutes ago, Mr Geelani was quick to condemn it, saying “stone-pelters can’t be pro-freedom people.”
“These are men from different security agencies who want to disturb my rallies and defame me. I appeal people to identify them and keep them at bay during our (poll boycott) rallies.”
