Several separatist leaders in Kashmir, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq and Yasin Malik, were detained on Thursday to avoid their Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) from holding a protest march and observing a general strike against the killing of journalist Shujaat Bukhari.
The detentions come amid concerns in several quarters that the Union government was preparing the State administration to carry out an aggressive crackdown in the Valley.
While Mr. Malik was detained from his Maisuma residence after the Fajr prayers and taken to a police station, Mr. Geelani, the Mirwaiz and Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai were put under house arrest.
“This is nothing but political vendetta. The Hurriyat strongly protests the re-starting of cordon and search operations,” said the Mirwaiz.
Governor N.N. Vohra called a meeting of the leaders of all political parties, including the State units of the national parties, on Friday evening “to discuss the situation in the State.”
BJP national vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna called on Mr. Vohra and discussed “steps required for promoting the welfare of the people in all the three regions.”
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Many political appointees in the previous PDP-BJP dispensation, including Advocate General Jehangeer Ganai, resigned from their posts on Thursday.
A day after the Central government appointed two key officials involved in anti-naxal operations — Chhattisgarh Additional Chief Secretary (Home) BVR Subrahmanyam and retired IPS officer K. Vijay Kumar who was until recently adviser in the Home Ministry — Mr. Vohra said his priority would be to restore peace and tranquillity on the streets of Kashmir, admitting that the youth of Kashmir are annoyed.
However, many within the security establishment believe that the new appointments to steer the Governor’s rule are clear indications of a tougher, more security-oriented approach. They warn that the present localised militancy could produce an unexpected backlash.
“We have a seen a significant change in the local responses. We have had families celebrating killed militants, including a mother firing in the air to celebrate her son’s death. To me the mood is quite like that of the early 90s,” warned a veteran Kashmir observer within the system. He pointed out that for each local youth killed more would join the militant ranks.
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