Shutdown in IOK against Zubin Mehta’s concert

Srinagar, September 07, 2013 (PPI-OT): In occupied Kashmir, crippling strike was observed, today, to protest against the holding of Zubin Mehta’s concert in Srinagar by the German envoy to India, Michael Steiner.Call for the strike was given by veteran Shopian (5)Hurriyet leader, Syed Ali Gilani, and supported by other Hurriyet leaders and organizations to convey to the world that Jammu and Kashmir was a disputed territory and such events could affect its disputed character.

Meanwhile, the occupation authorities had converted Srinagar into a fortress by deploying around 25 companies of Indian Central Reserve Police Force in addition to the police for the smooth conducting of the concert. Stringent restrictions were put in place in the city to prevent people from holding anti-India demonstrations.

Hurriyet leaders including Syed Ali Gilani, Shabbir Ahmed Shah and Zafar Akbar Butt were put under house arrest while Muhammad Yousuf Naqash and Javed Ahmed Mir remained lodged in police stations.

All roads leading to Shalimar Garden, the venue of the concert, had been sealed. The Indian forces had occupied 61 residential houses while sharpshooters were posted at vantage positions around the garden. Indian troops patrolled the famed Dal Lake in speed boats. CCTV cameras were used to monitor the movement of the people.

13Hundreds of people including the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and other Hurriyet leaders and activists participated in a parallel concert organized by the civil society of the territory at Municipal Park in Srinagar to depict the real situation of the occupied territory.

The event included poetry, paintings, photographs, art, songs and other cultural programmes. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, talking to reporters said that no one was against the Germany-sponsored concert itself but India was encouraging such events to give an impression as if everything was normal and peaceful in Kashmir.

Syed Ali Gilani interacting with the international media including the correspondents of BBC, New York Times and Washington Post at his residence in Srinagar said that India had unleashed a propaganda campaign to mislead the international community about the realities of Kashmir. Other Hurriyet leaders including Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Yasmeen Raja, Zafar Akbar Butt, Syed Bashir Andrabi and Mir Shahid Saleem castigated India for holding Zubin Mehta’s concert in Srinagar.

On the other hand, massive protests erupted in Shopian district after the killing of four youth by Indian troops in unprovoked firing in Gargan area of the district. Pitched battles were witnessed between the protesters and Indian forces. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Gilani condemning the Shopian incident have called for complete shutdown in the territory, tomorrow, against the killings.

Senior APHC leader, Professor Abdul Ghani Butt, in his meeting with the visiting Amnesty team in Srinagar said that unresolved Kashmir dispute had endangered the peace of entire South Asia.

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