Kashmiri leaders claim house arrest after separatist leader Abdul Gani Bhat’s death

This comes hours after Hurriyat chairman and Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Peoples Conference president Sajad Lone said that they had been put under house detention.

“The decision to place the political leadership under house arrest today, simply to stop us from visiting Sopore to offer condolences on the demise of Professor Abdul Gani Bhat, lays bare the harsh and undemocratic reality in Jammu and Kashmir,” Mufti said.

She went on to say: “What unfolded at Hazratbal Dargah, the eruption of spontaneous, raw public anger was not just an isolated incident. It was a loud, unmistakable message from a people pushed to the edge. The BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] however remains wilfully blind to this truth refusing to learn anything from the deep anguish and suppressed emotions that have been building for years now”.

Targeting the BJP, Mufti said that it has “no interest” in peace and healing in Jamiu and Kashmir. “They (BJP) seem determined to keep the region in a constant state of turmoil weaponising pain and unrest for political mileage across the rest of the country,” Mufti said. “This cynical approach is not just irresponsible; it is dangerous and utterly reprehensible”.

Lone said that he too has been put under house arrest at his residence. “I have been put under house arrest in order to prevent me from visiting Botingoo, the ancestral village of Professor Ghani sahib,” Lone posted on X. “I fail to understand what is the need for this. Professor sahib was a pacifist and literally long retired. A final good bye is something which we all deserved”.

A strong supporter of dialogue and reconciliation, Bhat, a controversial but candid former chairman of Hurriyat Conference, passed away on Wednesday evening at his residence at Botengo village of North Kashmir’s Sopore. He was 90.
On Wednesday night, Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz said that he has been put under house arrest immediately after Bhat’s death. Mirwaiz alleged that the administration “compelled” Bhat’s family for a hurried burial. “It pains me beyond words that the authorities compelled the family of Prof. Sb to conclude his janazah hurriedly. I have been locked inside my home, and being denied the right to walk with him, in his final journey,” Mirwaiz said. “My association with him spanned 35 years of friendship and guidance. So many others, too, longed to pay their last respects. To be deprived of even the solace of participating in his janazah (funeral prayer) and bid him a final goodbye is an unbearable cruelty”.

National Conference leader and Srinagar parliament member Aga Ruhullah Mehdi too condemned the “acts that obstruct the conduct of last rites”.

“Saddened at the passing away of Professor Abdul Gani Bhat Sahab. He was an intellectual voice who contributed to public life and academic thought in Jammu & Kashmir,” Ruhuallh said. “Acts that obstruct the conduct of last rites according to one’s faith are condemnable and against our shared values of respect and humanity. My heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and admirers. May he rest in peace”.

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