Separatist leader Yasin Malik detained, Hurriyat chairman placed under house arrest

Srinagar: Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik was on Thursday detained while moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was placed under house arrest to prevent the separatists from leading protests, police said.

Malik was taken into custody from his Maisuma residence Thursday morning, a police official said. He said Malik has been lodged in police station Kothibagh.

The official also said Mirwaiz was placed under house arrest at his Nigeen residence. Hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani continued to remain under house detention.

The separatists, under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), on Tuesday called for a protest strike on Thursday against the killing of civilians allegedly in security forces firing recently and the killing of veteran journalist Shujaat Bukhari.

Bukhari was shot dead, along with his two personal guards, outside his office in Press Enclave in Srinagar on 14 June by unknown gunmen.