No threat to yatris: Hurriyat leaders

Srinagar: Hurriyat leaders said on Sunday there is no threat to the upcoming Amarnath yatra and that pilgrims are safe as people in Kashmir will continue to nourish the tradition of brotherhood and communal amity.

In a joint statement, separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik said, “Kashmiri people never compromised on their tradition of hospitality, even in the toughest and trying times and always played a friendly host, whether to a tourist or an Amarnath pilgrim who came to the Valley.”

The statement came days after Central Reserve Police Force personnel were attacked in Anantnag in southern Kashmir, which is also a route for Amarnath yatra, triggering concerns in the security establishment.


Five CRPF personnel and a J&K police officer, Arshid Khan, who succumbed on Sunday, were killed.

The 46-day long annual yatra will commence on July 1 and conclude on August 15. Last year, as per, Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, 285,006 pilgrims visited the shrine from the two routes of Pahalgam in southern Kashmir and Sonmarg in northern Kashmir.

Pointing a finger at the media, the Hurriyat leaders said, “Some electronic channels are hell bent for their TRPs to spread hate and falsehoods on Kashmir. There is no threat to Amarnath Yatris from Kashmiris.”

The statement read, “Fake news, twisting of facts and projecting villainous picture of Kashmiris has been the modus operandi of these news channels and people of Kashmir and tourists have understood their ulterior motives. Nobody is paying heed to their false reporting anymore.”