Kashmiri separatist submit memorandum to UN office

Separatist leaders submitted a memorandum at the UN office in Srinagar asking it to 'actively engage' itself in the state.

Separatists leaders on Monday submitted a memorandum at the UN office in Srinagar asking the world body to 8220;actively engage8221; itself in Jammu and Kashmir even as people gathered there to take part in a rally organised by Hurriyat Conference and other outfits.

The memorandum was submitted to the local office of United Nations Military Observers Group by Hurriyat Conference leaders Javid Ahmad Mir and Zaffar Abar Bhat.

Mir and Bhat, accompanied by about 100 supporters, said police had tried to prevent them from reaching the UN office in Sonawar, about a kilometre from the venue of the rally at the Tourist Reception Centre ground.

Official sources said people broke police barricades to move towards the rally venue in buses, cars and motorcycles.

The memorandum, drafted by the Separatist Coordination Committee, asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to intervene forthwith in Jammu and Kashmir and said India should take effective measures in giving the people of the state the right to self determination and desist from using 8220;brute force8221;.

Although top leaders like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik did not submit memorandum, 27 groups and organisations each submitted a copy of the draft prepared by the committee.

The separatist leaders claimed that the administration told them that only 10 persons would be allowed to proceed to the UN office. The leaders refused the offer, saying either all of them will go or none will.

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The memorandum was submitted by Kashmir Bar Association, Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Traders8217; Federation, Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation and several mohala committees.

The rally later dispersed peacefully.

Earlier, Geelani claimed a majority of residents in Jammu and Kashmir want Indian troops to withdraw from the state. He said the ongoing agitation was based on principles and not targeted towards any community.

Separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah said the future course of action would be made public at Eidgah in the interior city on Friday.

Shah and other leaders including Ghulam Nabi Sumji, Nayeem Ahmad Khan and Qazi Yasir urged people to boycott the forthcoming assembly elections.

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Yasir, son of the slain mirwaiz of south Kashmir Qazi Nissar, asked PDP and National Conference MPs to resign from their posts and join the agitation.