NEWS

Kashmir: Thousands take part in Hurriyat rally

By Mukhtar Ahmad & Krishnakumar P in Srinagar
August 18, 2008

Separatist leaders on Monday submitted a memorandum at the United Nations office in Srinagar, asking the world body to 'actively engage' itself in Jammu and Kashmir, even as thousands of people from across the valley participated in the rally organised by the Hurriyat Conference and other outfits.

The memorandum was submitted to the local office of the United Nations Military Observers Group, by Hurriyat Conference leaders Javid Ahmad Mir and Zaffar Abar Bhat.

The Amarnath Row

Mir and Bhat, accompanied by about 100 supporters, said the police had tried to prevent them from reaching the UN office in Sonawar, about a kilometre from the venue of the rally at the Tourist Reception Centre ground.

Official sources said that people broke police barricades to move towards the rally venue in buses, cars and motorcycles.

Amarnath fallout may engulf India

The security forces, which were maintaining a vigil on the crowd, have pulled back.

The memorandum, drafted by the Separatist Coordination Committee, urged UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to intervene in Jammu and Kashmir and said that India should take effective measures in giving the people of the state the right to self determination and desist from using 'brute force'.

Omar Abdullah threatens to quit over JK violence

Meanwhile, in an overnight operation, security forces sealed intersections and roads leading to the United Nations Military Observers Group headquarters in the sensitive uptown Sonwar locality, where the UN office is located.

Jammu's Hindu uprising

Mukhtar Ahmad & Krishnakumar P in Srinagar

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