Govt Reaches Out to Separatists as Kashmir Enters Day 7 of Curfew

In the seven days of violence after Wani’s death, 38 people were killed and hundreds were injured.

Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq at Tehreek-e-Hurriyat office, in Srinagar, on 12 June 2016. (Photo: IANS)

The Jammu and Kashmir government led by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti made a failed attempt to contact separatist leaders in the Valley as the ongoing turmoil refused to simmer down, reports IANS citing sources.

The protest caused after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander and youth icon Burhan Wani has claimed 38 lives and left hundreds injured. Of the deceased, one is a police officer who drowned after a mob upturned a police van into the Jhelum river.

The increased use of weapons that are termed as “non-lethal” by the government have led to a number of people injured; some have been rendered blind.

People attend funeral procession of militant Burhan Wani at his village in Tral of Jammu and Kashmir`s Pulwama district on 9 July 2016. (Photo: IANS)

Separatists Refuse to Engage With Mufti Govt

However, none in the separatist leadership has agreed to engage with the government of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti amid the current volatile situation, reports IANS citing sources.

They (separatists) have expressed their helplessness, saying they are not in control of what is going on in the Valley.

IANS Sources

They said emissaries were sent to Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq - chairmen of the respective hardline and moderate factions of the divided separatist conglomerate Hurriyat Conference.

The government also tried to establish contact with Yaseen Malik – head of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) – lodged in a Srinagar lockup.

Separatists’ Demand

The government cracked down upon the separatists after the protests in Kashmir turned violent. Geelani was caught by the police earlier in July, along with other separatist leaders.

So when the government went knocking on their door for help, they demanded that the government lift curbs on them, remove curfew and allow them to hold protest marches before they could “issue appeals for peace”.

Geelani and the Mirwaiz – both detained in their houses – have said that they have no control over the ongoing violence.

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However, the government has not agreed, fearing that if protest marches were allowed at this juncture, the situation may spin out of control.

Information Blackout as Press Services Raided, Suspended

The Kashmir Police on Saturday seized copies of major Urdu and English newspapers in the Kashmir Valley following midnight raids on the printing press, creating an information blackout as mobile services continue to remain suspended.

The only mobile service functional in the Valley is Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and the only internet connectivity is the BSNL broadband service.

Police arrested the Greater Kashmir Printing Press foreman Biju Chaudary and two other employees, the organisation claimed.

Policemen seized the plates of <i>Greater Kashmir</i> and more than 50,000 printed copies of <i>Kashmir Uzma</i> (Urdu daily) and closed down the GKC printing press.

Greater Kashmir Website &nbsp;

Another English daily, Kashmir Reader, said, “The posse of police seized the copies of Kashmir Reader.”

At 2 am, police raided KT printing press at Rangreth and detained eight people while seizing copies of Kashmir Reader.

Kashmirreader.com

KT press is one of major printing press in the Valley and prints dailies like Kashmir Reader, Tameel-e-Irshad, Kashmir Times, Kashmir Observer, The Kashmir Monitor, Kashmir Observer, Brighter Kashmir and Kashmir Age.

When we reached press enclave to collect the copies for distribution, the cops had already seized the lot. They also misbehaved with us when we asked why it was being done.

Newspaper Hawker

Meanwhile, Editor-in-Chief of Daily Kashmir Images, Bashir Manzar, said the police raided the newspaper’s printing press and seized printing material last night.

The authorities have also blocked cable TV network across Kashmir, a police official said.

(With inputs form Greater Kashmir, Kashmir Reader, IANS, PTI)