Scores of separatist leaders and their supporters were detained in Srinagar on Sunday in a police raid, which was aimed at “disallowing revival of the separatist Hurriyat and the J&K Liberation Front (JKLF)“.
A J&K Police spokesman said it carried out a search on the basis of credible information about the meeting of some “ex-terrorists” of the JKLF and “erstwhile separatists” in a hotel in Srinagar.
“They were brought to the Kothibagh Police Station for verification. An inquiry has started. Prima facie it came out that they were planning to revive the JKLF and the Hurriyat,” the spokesman said.
The meeting was held at a hotel located in the city centre. Sources said over 30 separatist leaders and their supporters had assembled for a meeting.
Those who attended the meeting also included late Hurriyat chairman Moulana Abbas Ansari’s son Masoor Ansari, who heads the Itehad-ul-Muslimeen. His supporters have demanded his immediate release.
“We request the office of Lieutenant Governor, J&K, to release Mr. Ansari sahib who is a religious leader,” a supporter of Mr. Ansari said.
The leaders and supporters of the Hurriyat, headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, including a close aide of the Mirwaiz, were also arrested by the police for “questioning”.
Several members of the banned JKLF were also reportedly attending the meeting when they were arrested during the search, sources said.
The visibility of separatist Hurriyat declined after the Centre ended J&K’s special constitutional position in 2019. The Hurriyat, which is an amalgam of several political parties, faced a major crackdown in the run up to August 5, 2019 when the Centre abrogated provisions of Article 370. The authorities have disallowed any Hurriyat meeting or activity since 2019.
Sunday’s bid is also the first such bid by the Hurriyat or the JKLF to re-engage and organise a meeting since 2019. Though the complete details of the meeting are not known immediately.
