Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR:A strong pro-Pakistan demonstration, followed by clashes between the separatists and the Police, marked Friday afternoon congregational prayers at Jamia Masjid—Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s religious seat in Srinagar.
With Mirwaiz being under “house arrest” at his Nageen residence since Wednesday, Imam of Jamia Masjid led the prayers at the mosque in downtown Srinagar smoothly. On every Friday, Mirwaiz delivers a sermon at the gathering before the prayers conducted by the Imam. He speaks on religious and political issues.
When the prayers concluded and the participants were returning to their homes and working places, a group of the people carrying green Islamic flags began shouting pro-Pakistan and pro-Azadi slogans. Soon the Pakistani national flags appeared in the rally with the addition of one flag of the jihadist guerrilla group Lashkar-e-Tayyiba.
Three men, one of them bespectacled and wearing white colour Khan dress and waist-coat, raised pro-Pakistan slogans. The gathering responded with enthusiasm. Thereafter, the bespectacled man, whose identity could not be ascertained, made a brief speech. He said that the Kashmiris would en masse favour accession to Pakistan whenever they would get an opportunity of referendum. “We will all go with Pakistan”, he said amid high-pitch slogans in favour of Pakistan and “freedom”.
Suddenly, a number of the participants began pelting stones towards the thick deployment of Police and CRPF. As the attack intensified and some youths struck batons on the Police vehicles, forces repulsed the offensive with tearsmoke and baton charge.
Possibly for the first time since the PDP patron took over as Chief Minister on March 1st, Police and CRPF used pepper gas guns to disperse the unruly gathering. They chased away the stone-throwers in lanes and narrow by-lanes in close vicinity of Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area. The clashes continued for half-an-hour.
Waving of Pakistani flags and shouting of pro-Pakistan slogans returned to the strife-torn Kashmir valley after the year 2010, days after the PDP-BJP alliance assumed power. It was first on April 15 that Pakistan supporters waved dozens of Pakistani national flags in front of J&K Police headquarters at Peerbagh and raised pro-Pakistan and pro-jihadist slogans at a reception rally organised for the separatist hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani. With pressure mounting on BJP from its cadre and media across the country, Mufti was forced to re-arrest Muslim League leader Massarat Alam. Alam, Geelani and others were booked for sedition and unlawful activities.
Later, another strong pro-Pakistan demonstration was witnessed in Tral on occasion of Geelani’s visit to the family of a top wanted Hizbul Mujahideen commander whose brother had died at a militant hideout in one of Army’s controversial operations.
