Omar cracks down on J&K separatists, stone-pelters

SRINAGAR: Omar Abdullah-led coalition government has launched a crackdown against the hawkish separatists led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, his supporters and the youth who resort to stone pelting. Though Geelani was bailed out on Tuesday night, he and many of his aides were rearrested in another case.

Sources said police have launched a crackdown against supporters of Geelani and all other hawks in the separatist camp. Prior to his arrest, Geelani was seeking suggestions from the intellectuals for replacing strikes by some other mode of strike.

Chief minister has taken a stand that the state government will not permit anybody to exploit the youth while dealing sternly with the allegations of human rights violations levelled against the security forces. He has said that some of the stone-throwers arrested by the police will be released only after the elders from the respective localities assure the government that they will not again resort to creating disorder.

The government has already announced a probe into the alleged killings by the police recently. But state’s principal opposition PDP has accused the chief minister of influencing the investigations.

Mr Abdullah, taking strong view of civilian killings, had shifted the city police chief and got a new face who apart from heading various districts is a counterinsurgency specialist.

While Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and most of his colleagues are under house arrest, some of them like Naeem Khan have gone underground to evade arrest. JKLF leader Yasin Malik is still in custody after he started his jail bharo last Friday.

Mirwaiz is busy arranging an all-party separatist conference to devise the strategy for countering the “frequent killings” by Kashmir’s counter-insurgency grid. He has sent invitations to the entire separatist camp including trade unions and the meeting is slated to take place on Thursday. It is not immediately known if the police will permit this meeting.