Street protests, violence after Eid prayers in Kashmir

SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI - Massive protests and attacks on government offices were witnessed in Srinagar Saturday after the Eid prayers, prompting Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is in New Delhi for talks on the Kashmir package, to charge the separatist leaders with “betrayal” for provoking the people.

Soon after the prayers, moderate Hurriyat Conference faction chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik led processions to the city centre while a mob torched a police barrack outside the Hazratbal shrine. No one was seriously injured, police said.

In New Delhi, a senior home ministry official told IANS that the central government “was in constant touch with the state government” and had directed “utmost restraint in view of the Eid celebrations today (Saturday)”. “We will tackle the situation as it develops,” he added.

Omar Abdullah said the claim of separatists that the security forces were provoking the violence has been exposed by the “violent behaviour of the separatists who indulged in violence in Lal Chowk - the centre of Srinagar”.

In Srinagar and other towns of the Valley, authorities had not imposed curfew or restrictions to allow people to offer Eid prayers and celebrate the festival.

The Mirwaiz led a huge procession to Lal Chowk after offering prayers at the Eidgah grounds in the Old City area of Srinagar.

However, as per the original programme, devotees were to offer prayers at the Eidgah grounds and then disperse peacefully to celebrate the festival.

Hundreds of local youth on motorcycles also gathered at Lal Chowk, raising pro-independence slogans.

Police and paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were posted at various sensitive places and despite provocative slogans by the mobs, no force was used by the security forces anywhere in Srinagar, a police officer said.

“Instructions have been given to the deployed security forces to maintain restraint so that the designs of anti-social elements who are trying to incite people to violence are defeated,” he added.

Reports from other major towns of the valley also said people were taking out anti-India rallies, shouting pro-freedom slogans, after the Eid prayers.

Abdullah decried Saturday’s violence in Kashmir as “highly condemnable and unfortunate”.

“The separatists have betrayed us by provoking the mobs to violence,” he told media persons.

He said the separatists had triggered unprovoked violence on a day of “festivities and peace”.

The chief minister said Malik had contacted his office and sought approval for protests on Eid day.

“While we permitted peaceful demonstrations, you saw what happened,” Omar said, adding the “whole campaign of the separatists that the security forces have been provoking violence has been exposed”.

“While we allowed peaceful protests, the protesters set fire to two fire department offices and a police crime branch office,” he said.

The chief minister said he had to stay back in Delhi in view of the discussions by the Congress core committee on the Kashmir situation and the expected meeting of the Cabinet Committee meeting.

Meanwhile, a home ministry official said the central government is monitoring the “tense” situation in the Kashmir Valley.

“There are sufficient forces stationed in the Valley. We will respond as the situation develops,” he added.

A total of 69 people, mostly teenagers and youth, have been killed in the cycle of violence since June 11 in firing by security forces at stone-pelting street protesters.