Srinagar: After a gap of five years, the Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday allowed hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani to hold a public rally in the outskirts of Srinagar where his supporters including Massarat Aalam, released from jail last month, raised pro-Pakistan slogans and others waved Pakistani flags.
Following this, the J&K police has registered an FIR against Geelani, Massarat Aalam, Bashir Ahmed Bhat alias Peer Saifullah and others for “provocative activities” and “hoisting Pakistani flag” during the rally.
“Some miscreants who were part of the crowd pelted stones on CRPF vehicles. However, security forces maintained restraint to safeguard the lives of people,” a statement issued by police said.
Geelani, who returned here after spending the winter in Delhi, was taken to his residence from the airport in a procession led by Alam
The BJP, alliance partner of PDP in J&K, reacted sharply to this with minister of state for home Kiran Rijiju saying that the state government had been asked to act against those who had broken law.
“Broadcast of Geelani’s speech has been done with arrangement with a semi-government organisation in PoK,” Hurriyat Conference spokesman Ayaz Akbar said.
There were some anxious moments when Geelani said, “No status quo on Kashmir is acceptable to its people. The ongoing freedom struggle has to go on, come what may.”
This was Geelani’s first public rally after the 2010 summer agitation in Srinagar in which over 100 youths were killed. Alam was a key player in the entire agitation.
