Late on Monday, protesters blocked a road and threw stones at an army convoy.
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“Extremely unfortunate that it has taken nearly two weeks for the Chief Minister to call a meeting (on the unrest in Kashmir) of all political parties”, an National Conference spokesperson said in a statement. “For, it has now become a question of our integrity being questioned”, said Rashid Maqdoomi, printer and publisher of Greater Kashmir, the Valley’s largest-circulating daily.
However, the leaders of the National Conference have boycotted the meeting stating that it would be “meaningless” to hold such discussions unless a credible, effective and humane leadership is re-established in the state. They aksed mainstream parties, including the National Conference, to join the separatist camp. “In the meanwhile, it has already submitted a detailed memorandum to the Governor wherein steps to ease the tension have been mentioned”.
The Chief Minister said the State Government is committed to independence of media at all costs and complaints of highhandedness against the press, if any, amid prevailing situation will be looked into.
Hailing from Khumriyal village, the deceased was critically injured in the firing which also left a youth dead. First they said the CM was aware of [militant commander] Burhan Wani’s encounter and now they are saying she didn’t know.
“Similarly, an assertion by one of the PDP MPs crediting the Prime Minister with reducing excessive use of force further weakened the image of the chief minister who is seen as a mute spectator, immune to the bloodshed and suffering”, Sagar said.
Indian government’s curfew in some areas of occupied Kashmir continued as Kashmiris continued to observe strike twelve days after Burhan Wani’s killing.
According to official sources, Naidu spoke to Mehbooba Mufti on Monday night on the issue of ban on newspapers in the state.
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Army Chief General Dalbir Singh, who is on a day-long visit to the Valley, reviewed the security situation in Kashmir and appealed to the people to maintain peace while calling for strict vigil along the Line of Control (LoC). Mufti’s political adviser Amitabh Mattoo had earlier said there was no ban on the press and that it was a result of “miscommunication”. “We are happy not only from the business point of view, but because it will also spread factual information in the Valley where rumour mills are always buzzing”, a newspaper distributor in Srinagar said.
