Hurriyat headquarters’ board dismantled in Valley amid protests over KP’s killing
For the first time since its creation in 1993, the signboard of the separatist Hurriyat Conference at its Srinagar headquarters has been dismantled by the local civil society activists amid widespread protests over the assassination of a Kashmiri Pandit on Monday. Permanent resident PuranKrishen Bhat was shot dead by unidentified terrorists at his home in ChoudhriGund village of Shopian in southern Kashmir on last Saturday.
With the condemnation states and tweets pouring in from a number of political parties and leaders, scores of youths on the campaign ‘AakhirKabTak’ gathered at the Hurriyat Conference headquarters in Rajbagh. In their vociferous protest against Bhat’s killing, they shouted slogans against Pakistan and the valley’s separatist leaders, holding them responsible for all innocent civilian killings.
Some of the youths climbed on the Hurriyat Headquarters main gate and dismantled the separatist conglomerate’s board. Later, they painted ‘India, India’ on the gate. The unmasked protesters, known for their anti-Pakistan and anti-terrorist demonstrations called themselves as peace and social activists. They claimed that they were not associated with any political party.
As the unprecedented drama unfolded at the Hurriyat headquarters, the people around continued their business as usual. There was no resistance to the demonstration or the protestors’ act of bringing down the separatist amalgam’s signboard. Nobody showed any sign of displeasure.
Even as on one occasion around 20 years back, clashes occurred between two factions of the Hurriyat, it was for the first time in the last 29 years of the conglomerate that the local youths shouted slogans and brought down its signboard in broad daylight. The Hurriyat offices have remained closed after the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir in August 2019. Some of the separatist organisations like JKLF and Jamaat-e-Islami, which existed as Hurriyat’s constituents, have been declared as outlawed after the killing of 40 CRPF men in February 2019. However, neither the conglomerate nor its other constituents have been banned by the Government.
Widespread protests over PuranKrishen Bhat’s killing were reported from almost all the ten district headquarters in the Kashmir valley on Sunday. The first candle light demonstrations were staged in Bhat’s home district of Shopian where the militants’ writ is still running large. Reports of the similar protests also poured in from Bandipora, Baramulla, Ganderbal, Kupwara, Kulgam, Anantnag and Srinagar.
The demonstrators expressed solidarity with the family of the deceased. This is for the second time when protests were held against the killing of the members of the minority community in Kashmir. On 16 August, the civil society members held a candlelight protest against the killing of a resident Pandit, Suni Kumar who was also gunned down at his home in Chotigam, Shopian.
Various civil society groups of Srinagar lodged their protest at Lal Chowk against the killing of the Kashmiri Pandit member in Shopian on Saturday. People from all walks of life participated in the peaceful candlelight march and expressed solidarity with the family of the deceased.
