Joint Hurriyat protests against civilian killings, arrest spree

Srinagar, June 27: Scores of activists who had gathered under the banner of Joint Hurriyat on Wednesday staged a protest at Lal Chowk in Srinagar against what they said growing civilian killings, intimidation and harassment of Kashmiris.
A statement issued by the Joint said that the leaders and activists gathered at Abi Guzar and marched towards the historic Lal Chowk.
It said the protesters raised slogans against “atrocities and oppression unleashed by Indian army, forces, police and the Special Operations Group across the valley, especially in southern districts.
The protesters, it added, protested against the repeated use of National Investigation Agency (NIA), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other agencies to “intimidate peaceful political leaders and activists.
The protesters, the statement said, staged a peaceful sit-in that was addressed by Joint Hurriyat leaders advocate Bashir Ahmad Butt, Ghulam Nabi Zaki and Hakim Abdul Rashid.
Meanwhile Joint Hurriyat leadership comprising of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Muhammad Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik in a joint statement issued today have strongly condemned the “ongoing oppression in Kashmir.”
Joint Hurriyat, as per the statement, termed the ongoing “bloodbath, spree of arrests, crackdowns, beating and humiliating common people, using NIA, ED and other agencies to intimidate and suppress peaceful political resistance as callous, undemocratic and worst oppression.”
Joint Hurriyat said that after mass uprising of 2016, Indian leadership with the active support of its local stooges and biased media launched a vicious maligning campaign against resistance leadership and used NIA and ED to suppress it but all their efforts failed to defeat the valor of Kashmiris who refused to surrender before might,” said the statement.