We Wellcome our Indian Brothers and Sisters, especially Yatrries: Hurriyat: APHC

Srinagar, July 02: : The General Secretary of Hurriyat Conference , Masarat Alam Bhat, on Thursday said the ongoing resistance movement in Jammu Kashmir had nothing to do with Amarnath Yarta.

“Our struggle is not aimed at sabotaging Amarnath Yatra but for liberating Jammu and Kashmir,” Alam said in a statement.

“The ongoing Quit Kashmir movement is gaining momentum with every passing day and it has unnerved the government and it is now vainly trying to give it a communal colour to mislead the people in India,” he said, adding that the “The local agents are a party to this propaganda.”

Masarat made it clear that the ongoing freedom struggle is not against Yatra. “We are fighting for freedom,” he said.

Reacting to the union home minister P Chidambaram’s statement, Masarat termed it as childish, saying that “We will not be overawed by such statements.”

Masarat condemned the deployment of heavy contingents of troopers in and around the Pathar Masjid to prevent the women from assembling there as part of the “Quit Kashmir” movement. “Despite curfew and other restrictions, thousands of women led by Dukhtaran-i-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi assembled at Mughal Masjid, Chattabal, here and made the programme successful,” said Masarat, adding that special prayers were offered on the occasion for the success of ongoing freedom struggle.

Masarat strongly condemned the arrest of youth and attack on the residential houses of civilians by the police and CRPF troopers at various places in the Srinagar city yesterday evening, smashing window panes and beating inmates.

He also condemned the continued detention of pro-freedom leaders and activists including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, Dr Muhammad Qasim, Muhammad Yousuf Mir, Muhammad Yousuf Nadeem, Firdous Ahmad Shah, Gen Musa and Ghulam Qadir Bhat.(Writer-South Asia)