Crisis to Crisis: Masarat Alam Re-arrested, Police-Protesters Clash in Srinagar

SRINAGAR: From crisis to crisis. Srinagar erupted in violence with direct clashes between protesters and the police after hardliner Masarat Alam was arrested.

At least 14 persons were injured, with the protesters trying to march towards Tral in South Kashmir in response to an earlier call given by Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Alam to protest against the death of a youth in Army firing. Both Alam and Geelani had been placed under house arrest since Thursday after a massive rally in which Pakistani flags and pro-Pakistan slogans were raised. However, this has not been unusual in Kashmir although it has not been as visible for the past few years following a certain disillusionment in the Valley with Islamabad’s policies. Alam had convened the rally to welcome Geelani on his return to Srinagar after medical treatment in Delhi.

Alam told reporters while being arrested, "Arrest is nothing new for us... this is not happening for the first time. This detention will not deter us." Wednesday’s rally had raised the hackles of the central government that brought pressure to bear on Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. He was compelled to take action and re-arrest Alam who he had released shortly after coming to power. This had led to tensions between the Peoples Democratic Party and its coalition partner in government, the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Mufti now said, "Democracy is a battle of ideas, they are free to have their own way, speak their mind. But something which is not acceptable, is not, will not be tolerated.” The reference was to the Pakistan flags. The BJP staged protests in Jammu against the Hurriyat meeting with RSS/BJP functionary Ram Madhav maintaining, "we are not part of the government to give space to those shouting pro-Pakistan slogans there."

The Kashmir Valley has been tense and agitated ever since the PDP-BJP government came to power. The brownie points that Mufti had tried to obtain with the release of Masarat Alam have dissipated now with his re-arrest and the large scale crackdown on protesters in Srinagar. The anger is spilling out again on to the social media, with protests breaking out in different parts of the Valley.