Simply relaxing AFSPA wont do,settle Kashmir issue: Mirwaiz,Yasin to Delhi

Stepping into the forefront of protests in the Valley,separatist leaders Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yasin Malik...

Stepping into the forefront of protests in the Valley,separatist leaders Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yasin Malik today told a Srinagar rally that they will not just settle for partial withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act or release of those detained during the protests. New Delhi,they said,will have to take concrete steps to resolve the issue of Kashmir.

Crowds packed the 12-km stretch between Hazratbal and Eidgah and then spilled on to the commercial hub of Lal Chowk where there were fiery addresses by the Mirwaiz and Malik. As they dispersed,mobs attacked government buildings,setting on fire the Crime Branch headquarters. In Hazratbal,a police post,a security check stop and a Gypsy vehicle were set ablaze. Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani,detained on Wednesday as a preventive measure,was released this afternoon.

The Mirwaiz announced the march to Lal Chowk midway through his sermon at the Eidgah where people had collected for Eid prayers. Malik led another procession from the TRC Ground to Lal Chowk where the two leaders teamed up to address the crowd.

It is hardly the time to satisfy Kashmiris with a partial review of the AFSPA. New Delhi will need to look at the larger issue of Kashmir and take concrete steps to resolve it. It is better to take the bull by the horns on Kashmir than beat around the bush which has yielded nothing in the last six decades, the Mirwaiz said.

He reminded the Centre of the promise by Jawaharlal Nehru. It was Jawaharlal Nehru who took the Kashmir issue to the United Nations and promised the right to self-determination to the people of Kashmir to decide their future. India cannot renege on this promise now, he said.

His new ally Malik said their goal was freedom. No compromise now. The ongoing agitation is for complete Azaadi. We did not lose 69 teenagers for a few petty concessions, Malik told the crowd. The youth are the leaders of this movement. And they alone will take it to its logical end. For this to happen,they will have to ensure peace and discipline.

But discipline seemed the last thing on mind of those who had gathered there. The crowd split into groups Hurriyat hardliners,Hurriyat moderates,Malik supporters. Earlier,each competed with the other to hoist flags atop the red-brick clock tower at Lal Chowk. A group of young men broke the latticework to go up the tower and waved a Pakistani flag. Soon a dozen flags went up on the tower,including one with maroon,yellow,black and white stripes on a green background which some said was the flag of an organisation of stone-throwers. One Imran Ahmad Bhat fell down while hoisting a flag and had to be admitted to hospital.

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DGP Kuldeep Khuda said no restrictions were in place today in the city. We allowed the separatists to gather. But look at what they call a peaceful protest. They burnt down government buildings,destroyed whatever came in their way on the roads and attacked our posts.

The Mirwaiz disowned those who set government buildings on fire and demanded a probe. Why did such an act of arson take place only after our rally ended? I led the procession from Eidgah to Lal Chowk. There were bunkers and government offices along the way. None was attacked,nor any stone pelted. Once we dispersed peacefully,there was this attack. We want action against the culprits because they are not part of us, he said.