Following the protest call given by the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), the lawyers at three districts of Kashmir including Srinagar, Anantnag and Kupwara on Friday staged protest against what they termed as the ‘conspiracy’ to change the demography of Jammu and Kashmir.

Scores of lawyers assembled outside District Court Complex Mominabad Batamaloo and registered their protest against the attempts to abrogate Article 35-A.

The protesting lawyers including men and women were holding placards and banners reading ‘Save Article 35-A, Article 35-A is our identity.’

The lawyers were also chanting slogans and were demanding protection of state subject law.

Saying that the people of Kashmir won’t allow the Central government to fiddle with the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, the lawyers said that the state government must play its role to ensure protection of the Article 35-A, that provides special privileges to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir.

The lawyers said that conspiracy hatched to infringe the special status of JK will be opposed tooth and nail.

“Kashmiris won’t leave any stone unturned to oppose the central government’s move,” they said, adding that they will continue to hit the streets until the state subject law will be protected.

Meanwhile, similar lawyers protest was also reported in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district and north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.

Amid anti-government sloganeering, the lawyer’s body in Anantnag, led by its president Fayaz Saudagar, marched towards Lal Chowk from District Court complex.

The lawyers were holding banners while marching towards Lal Chowk.

Appealing the state government to protect Article 35-A, the lawyers said that any move against the aspirations of Kashmiris will have serious consequences.

They said that the Valley has already witnessed unrest in the year 2016 and in case the state subject law will be fiddled, the situation would once again turn ugly for which the central as well as the state government will be held responsible.

Similarly, the lawyers in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district also stated protest against the attempts of abrogating Article 35-A.

They also demanded complete protection of the law that guarantees special privileges to the citizens of the state.

Pertinently, JRL including Syed Ali Geelnai, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik had appealed lawyers to peacefully protest against scrapping of Article 35-A.

Guest