The Hindu : National : Hurriyat factions condemn attack on Geelani

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 11, 2005

National

National

Hurriyat factions condemn attack on Geelani

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR, FEB. 10. While the family of the Delhi University lecturer, S.A.R. Geelani, is shocked, various organisations have demanded an impartial probe into the attack on him.

"This is an attack on the judiciary, which has exonerated him," Mr. Geelani's brother, Abdur Raheem Geelani, who lives in Baramulla, said. He said he had full faith in the judiciary and that the "law will surely bring the culprits to the book."

The attack came as a shock, he said. Though the Srinagar-Jammu highway was closed, two family members managed to reach Delhi by air. A number of organisations have condemned the attack. The Hurriyat Conference faction led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that "the Government of India has been carrying such attacks on Kashmiris time and again."

A Hurriyat spokesman said that the Mirwaiz had also demanded a probe into the attack "so that the truth comes out."

The Muslim Conference general secretary, Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, said in a statement that "it was the handiwork of government agencies. The attack speaks volumes about the situation Kashmiris are facing everywhere."

The Chairman of the Hurriyat Conference (G), Syed Ali Shah Geelani, expressed grief and said that the attack was part of a conspiracy. In a statement from Delhi, he termed the attack as part of the "government-sponsored repression." Such incidents were routine in the Kashmir Valley and had now spread to Delhi as well, he alleged.

Such attacks could have serious repercussions. "The attack may have been carried out by those unhappy after Mr. Geelani was acquitted by the Delhi High Court in the Parliament attack case."

A spokesman of the Awami Action Committee also condemned the attack.

The Jamaat-e-Islami said that attacks on innocent Kashmiris were being carried out on a regular basis.

The National Front chairman, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, said that even the Capital was not safe now. In a statement, he said that Mr. Geelani had been attacked in an attempt to silence him.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National