SRINAGAR: Chairman of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has appealed to his fellow separatist leaders to refrain from calling for Kashmir shutdown on Fridays.
The Mirwaiz, who delivers the Friday sermon at the Jamia Masjid or Grand Mosque in downtown Srinagar on Fridays, said strikes on Fridays gave handle to the authorities to impose curbs on separatists.
“Already our activities have been curbed and government isn’t allowing us to reach out to the people. When we call for strikes on Fridays we lose an opportunity on that day also to reach out to people,” he told a local news agency, KNS.
The Mirwaiz has not named any separatist leader in particular, but yesterday chairman of the hardline faction of the Hurriyat, Syed Ali Shah Geelani called for a shutdown this Friday apart from Aug 15, when the country celebrates its Independence Day.
Meanwhile, welcoming the recent statement of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, where he has asked India and Pakistan to end hostility on the LOC, Mirwaiz said that various resolutions had been passed to solve the Kashmir issue in UN.
However, he said not a single resolution had been implemented.
