Separatists protest against Pak refugees, one detained
SRINAGAR: Separatist leader Yasin Malik was detained on Friday in a protest march against the Jammu and Kashmir government’s alleged move to give domicile certificates to refugees from Pakistan even as the authorities have denied making any such a decision.
The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief was detained at Lal Chowk after the Friday prayers when he was leading the march along with dozens of his supporters.
Separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, have been protesting the move that would give refugees from Pakistan state-subject rights allowing them to apply for jobs and vote in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections.
These refugees have settled in Jammu since the India-Pakistan wars of 1947, 1965 and 1971. Three generations of these refugees have been living in the state. They cannot apply for state government jobs. But they can vote in the Lok Sabha elections. The state government has clarified that these refugees have been issued only identity cards to facilitate them to apply for jobs in central government departments. Meanwhile, normal life was affected in the Valley on Friday due to a strike called by separatists, who have restricted the band-call to two days every week.
Most of the shops, fuel stations and other business establishments in Srinagar were shut, while public transport was minimal, officials said. They said there were very less street vendors visible in the city due to the strike. Reports of shutdown were also received from most of the other district headquarters of the Valley, the officials said.
Normalcy has returned after the separatists scaled down their agitation in the Valley, which had been hit by unrest since the the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir on July 8.