Masarat sent to 5-day police remand

Geelani backs Alam; accuses New Delhi of ‘double speak’

SYED ALI SAFVI

SRINAGAR, Oct 19: A day after his arrest, acting general secretary Hurriyat Conference (G) and vice-president, Muslim League, Masarat Alam, was today produced before forest magistrate Srinagar amid tight security bandobast. After hearing the arguments, the magistrate sent Alam to five-day police remand.

Alam was produced before the court of forest magistrate Srinagar, Masarat Shaheen. Lawyers of Kashmir Bar Association (KBA) including former KBA president, Nazir Ahmad Ronga, Mir Shafqat Hussain, Rafique Ahmad Joo, Mushtaq Ahmad Makhdoom, Mohammad Amin Malik, and Nasir Qadri pleaded Alam’s case.

Presenting arguments in support of the firebrand leader, the lawyers requested the court to direct the state police to present complete details about Alam’s case before the court so that their client could defend himself.

The lawyers said that according to the police Alam was found involved in 13 illegal activities and there were cases registered against him in various police stations across the valley.

The police advocate informed the court that the police was interrogating Alam on various charges, hence they be allowed to take Alam in police remand. The KBA lawyers objected, saying that if police wanted to interrogate Alam then there was no justification in taking him to interrogation centre of Cargo Special Operation Group (SOG).

The lawyers urged the court to issue orders that Alam should not be taken to the Cargo SOG interrogation centre and instead he should be detained in police station.

After hearing the arguments on both sides, the court sent Alam to five-day police remand and directed the police that the senior separatist leader should in no case be taken to SOG interrogation centre.

The court also directed the police to seek permission of the court in case they wanted to shift Alam to some other location.

Meanwhile, condemning the arrest of Masarat Alam, chairman of the amalgam, Syed Ali Geelani, today castigated New Delhi for “double speak”.

“On one hand there is a talk about dialogue and release of detenues and on the other hand arrest of political leaders continues unabated,” he said.

Stating that Alam's arrest had indeed created a void in the separatist political landscape, Geelani, however, said that arrests were inalienable part of their struggle.

“We will not be cowed down by such gestures,” he maintained.

The septuagenarian separatist leader, who left for New Delhi this afternoon, said that almost all the Hurriyat (G) stalwarts including general secretary Tehreek-e Hurriyat, Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai, and the conglomerate’s general secretary, Ghulam Nabi Sumji, besides tens of other leaders were languishing in different jails across the state.

“Over 1500 Hurriyat activists have been thrown behind bars,” he said. “Most of them have been shifted either to Jammu or outside the state.”

Commending the contribution of Alam towards strengthening the ongoing agitation, Geelani said the government was trying to project Alam’s arrest as if he was a militant of an armed group who had gone undercover to carry out attacks.

“He is one of the most respected separatist leaders who had been evading arrest only to lend strength to the struggle,” he said, adding that the state police should treat him as a political leader.

Geelani said that the raison d'être behind the ongoing agitation, spearheaded by his Hurriyat faction, was to fight for the liberation of Kashmir.

“My Kashmiri brethren must be well aware of the fact that only India is responsible for the present turmoil in Kashmir,” he said. “We don’t want our people to face any kind of hardships, but when the future and lives of our brothers are at stake we should not be concerned about short-term sufferings and losses.”

He accused New Delhi of sticking to the “worn out” policies “which have proved complete failure”.

He said that future generation of Kashmir would never accept or give legitimacy to “Indian’s military occupation”.

Geelani said it was unfortunate that the policy makers at New Delhi had failed to to read writing on the wall.

“Occupational forces won’t achieve anything by resorting to killings, arrests, torture,” he said.

The Hurriyat (G) chairman said that unless New Delhi addresses the internal dimension of the issue and gives right to self determination to the people of Kashmir, the struggle for freedom would continue in Kashmir.