JKLF, Hurriyat Conference call for strike in Valley on Feb 9, 11

SRINAGAR: Banned outfit Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and the Hurriyat Conference on Thursday called for shutdowns in Kashmir on February 9 and 11 to mark the death anniversaries of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and its founder Mohammad Maqbool Bhat.

This is the first strike call given by a separatist organisation since the abrogation of Article 370 provisions in August last year.

The JKLF has also asked people to observe protests during the month demanding the release of party chairman Yasin Malik.

“Father of Kashmiri Nation (Baba-e-Qoam) martyr Muhammad Maqbool Butt is the corner stone of our resistance against illegal occupation and symbol of freedom and liberty. Martyr Muhammad Afzal Guru also treaded his path and sacrificed his life for the righteous cause,” said acting chairman of JKLF Abdul Hamid Butt in a statement.

JKLF founder Maqbool Bhat was hanged and buried inside Delhi’s Tihar Jail on February 11 in 1984 in a murder case. Guru was also hanged and buried in Tihar on February 9, 2013 after being convicted of conspiracy to attack the Parliament in 2001.

“JKLF supreme council in a recently held meeting has decided to dedicate and attribute all such protest programmes and activities, held in and outside Jammu and Kashmir, with the ‘Release Yasin Malik Campaign’,” Butt said.

Malik was detained in February last year and then arrested by the National Investigation Agency in connection with a terror-funding case.

The Hurriyat said, “The best way to pay tributes to the martyrs of Kashmir, including Shaheed Bhat and Shaheed Guru is that we remain steadfast in pursuance of our demand for resolution of Kashmir issue in accordance with the people’s will.”

It also urged the international community to take note of the happenings in the Valley and the clampdown unleashed by the Government of India.