Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference, led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, hit out at the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Friday for arresting a youngster in the old city here, saying suppression is no guarantee to peace.
“Authorities in downtown Srinagar are conducting nocturnal raids, arresting young boys and booking them under the PSA (Public Safety Act) to create fear. Such moves are highly regrettable and authoritarian to say the least. Forced suppression is no guarantee to peace,” it said in a statement.
The Hurriyat said its chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is under house arrest since August 2019, was again not allowed to offer Friday prayers at the Jamia Masjid here by the authorities.
“After the authorities (last week) went back on their decision to release the Hurriyat chairman last Friday and people at the Jamia Masjid protested against it, the restrictions on the Mirwaiz have been further tightened and even his personal staff is not allowed to go inside his premises,” the separatist amalgam said.
It said the authorities should release the Mirwaiz and all political prisoners and youngsters languishing in detention centres and jails and engage in a constructive dialogue with all the stakeholders for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue and peace in the subcontinent. PTI

Press Trust of India