Srinagar: Calling for release of all resistance leaders, political activists and hundreds of youth under illegal detention, Huriyat Conference (M) Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Friday said by virtue of these measures and the heavy presence of police and military forces on ground, Kashmir has in reality been converted into a massive prison.

Addressing the Friday congregational prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar after his release after 10 days of being under house arrest, Mirwaiz, according to a statement issued to KNS, said muzzling the just voice of the people of Kashmir and suppressing them with military might and excessive use of force was the state policy, adopted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) government,being   implemented in letter and spirit.

He paid glowing tributes to the martyred Mustafabad, Zainakote youth, Gowhar Nazir Dar amid pro-freedom and Islamic slogans and offered fateha for the deceased.

Mirwaiz said thousands of Kashmiri youth like Gowhar had offered great sacrifices for the greater Kashmir cause and said that these sacrifices would never go to waste and the Hurriyat leadership would continue to strive to take the movement  to its logical conclusion and inshallah justice will prevail.

He said during the past year, Shehar-e-Khas had witnessed curfew and restrictions for more than 40 days while  congregational friday prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid, Srinagar had been disallowed 11 times during this year.

Hurriyat (M) Chairman said previously congregational friday  prayers were not allowed at Jamia Masjid Srinagar  during the Sikh era, and since then all governments including the present dispensation have followed suit.

He said any so called untoward situation in Kashmir is a pretext  to disallow Friday congregational prayers at Jamia Masjid Srinagar and for imposing decleared and undeclared  curfew in Shehar-e-Khas.

Mirwaiz said Kashmir had been converted into a massive jail and the simple people of Kashmir were  exposed to  bullets, pepper gas, tear smoke canisters, pellet guns and other deadly chemical and lethal munitions to cow them down.

He said Shehar-e-Khas was particularly targeted  and for breaking the will of the resistance loving and pro-freedom people of the Old City, the authorities were punishing them for their political ideologies.

Commending and applauding  the role of   the people of Kashmir in general and the people of Shehar-e-Khas in particular for their unflinching resolve to continue the resistance movement, he said the Old City and its residents were not just being been targeted since 1947 but for the past 200 years ,but they  continue to fight and stand up for their right to self-determination.

He said in view of this situation he  had called a meeting of various resistance groups, religious organizations, Ulemas, Imams, trade bodies, lawyers, civil society, intelluctuals student unions and respected citizens to  discuss and deliberate as to  how to counter the state aggression and devise a joint strategy to take the freedom movement forward.

Meanwhile, a spokesman of the Hurriyat (M) condemned the arrest of senoir hurriyat leader Mukhtar Ahmad Waza at Sher Bagh in south Kashmir’s Islamabad region on Friday and said for past several months, he was being detained on a regular basis on one pretext or the other.

The Hurriyat (M) spokesman said the Hurriyat leader, Parvez Ahmad Dar in his address at Boshwara in south Kashmir’s Shopian region condemned the arrests and house arrests of Hurriyat leaders and activists but added that all these repressive tactics would be futile and serve no purpose. (KNS)