Hakeem Irfan Rashid    

The joint Hurriyat leadership on Monday said the deferment of hearing on petition challenging Article 35A in the SC was no solution and protests would continue, reiterating that this law was directly linked with the disputed status of the entire state and cannot be abrogated.

The pro-elections parties like National Conference and People’s Democratic Party said the deferment was a temporary relief while anxiety and apprehensions over the special status of the state continues.

The joint Hurriyat leadership of Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik said that deferment of case by a few weeks is an indication about the intentions of the court, which entertained these mischievous petitions backed by the RSS, as part of RSS’s well known agenda on J&K.

“The mischievous move to remove Article 35A is clearly aimed at undoing possibility of holding Right to Self Determination by changing the demographic nature of the state and settling nonresidents here and hence undermining the conflict and its resolution. People of J&K in unison have send a clear message to New Delhi that they will never allow these designs against them to succeed,” the Hurriyat leaders said in a statement issued here. On Monday, the Kashmir and Chenab valleys and some parts of Jammu observed complete strike for a second consecutive day against what some called an assault on the special status of the state. Additional companies of armed forces were deployed in several areas to avoid any protest gathering and all Hurriyat leaders were either arrested or put under house detention.

Business establishments and educational institutes remained closed, while government offices saw extremely thin attendance. Public transport remained off the roads as well. The government closed train services across valley for two days and the Amarnath Yatra also remained suspended for a second consecutive day.

A group of trade bodies that supported the Hurriyat leadership’s two day strike call also organized a protest in city center Lal Chowk and marched towards UN Military Observers Group Office for India and Pakistan in Sonawar to submit a memorandum.

However, nobody was allowed to move towards UNMOGIP office. The protests were reported from several areas in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.

“Even though the deferment of hearing on Article 35 A is not a solution, it has brought interim relief to the people of JK. But with uncertainty looming over its status, it has unleashed a wave of anxiety and panic amongst the people of J&K,” former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said.

Omar Abdullah, Ex-CM, J&K- Protecting Article35A is a tacit acceptance that J&K’s future lies within the Constitution of India, otherwise how would it matter if it were struck down or diluted

HakeemIrfan.Rashid@timesgroup.com

Courtesy: Economic Times: Aug, 07, 2018