JKLF chief Yasin Malik arrested in Srinagar; separatists-led UN march foiled

Muhammad Yasin Malik, Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), was arrested in Srinagar on Friday when he tried to lead a protest march.

Police arrested Malik in Druggen area after the Friday prayers when Malik came out of a mosque to lead the march towards the headquarters of the UN Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) in Sonawar area.

Malik was whisked away by police along with some supporters.

Separatists had called for a protest sit-in outside the UNMOGIP in Srinagar on Friday to highlight the “repression and innocent killings in Kashmir”.

Normal life was disrupted in the rest of the Valley due to the strike called by separatists including chairmen of both factions of Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF chief Malik.

Most of the shops, fuel stations and other business establishments were shut while public transport was off the roads, the officials said.

Authorities had blocked all roads leading to the UNMOGIP Headquarters, preventing both pedestrian and vehicular movement in the area.

The officials said the restrictions on the movement of people were imposed as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order

With inputs from PTI