Hurriyat chairman, leaders under house arrest

Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and several other leaders of the amalgam were placed under house arrest late on Wednesday night, ahead of a rally in old city on the third death anniversary of a slain separatist leader.

Peoples League Chairman Mukhtar Ahmad Waza was also detained from a house in Wazirbagh area of the city in the wee hours of Thursday and lodged at police station Rajbagh, said police officials.

Another separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah was detained outside his Rawalpora residence and lodged at police station Saddar, as he tried to march towards the venue of the rally, they said.

The separatist amalgam had planned a rally at Edigah graveyard to pay homage to Shiekh Abdul Aziz, who was shot dead on August 11 in 2008 while leading a march towards Line of Control at the height of Amarnath land row agitation.