|
Woman Group Banned on Kashmir Bloody Day
 |
| Kashmiri
women demonstrating against the killing of Masoud
|
By
IOL
South Asia
Correspondent
NEW DELHI
, June 28 (IslamOnline) - Kashmiri women's secessionist group,
Dukhtaran-e Millat (DEM - Daughters of the Ummah), was banned with
immediate effect Thursday, June 27 June, by
India
under the widely condemned ‘Prevention of Terrorism Act’.
A notification issued by the Home Ministry in
New Delhi
accused the organization of being "involved in terrorist
activities and banned under POTA with immediate effect".
DEM
chief Aasiya Andrabi is wanted in cases related to illegal funding of
terrorist groups and is absconding. With this, 29 organizations have
so far been declared unlawful under the anti-terrorism law (POTA).
Though
Aasiya Andrabi and her organization support secessionism and provide
political cover to separatist organizations, there has been no
accusation so far that DEM actually takes part in violent acts.
Pakistan
promptly condemned the Indian ban on DEM. A
Pakistan
foreign ministry statement said it was "greatly" concerned
over the attempts by Indian forces to arrest the group's leader
Andarabi. The statement also asked
New Delhi
to release Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Yasin Malik and
Abdul Aziz Sheikh.
A
college graduate with a degree in bio-chemistry and bacteriology,
Andrabi set up her separatist outfit in 1981, eight years before the
launch of an armed insurgency against Indian rule in
Kashmir
. She is married to a former resistance leader, Qasim Paktoo, who has
spent many years behind bars.
The
ban came on one of the bloodiest days in recent memory in
Kashmir
. Twenty-two people, including two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
personnel, were injured when some unidentified militants triggered a
grenade blast in Anantnag [
Islamabad
] district of south
Kashmir
. The grenade was lobbed at the crowded Lal Chowk area of the town
around
11 am
.
Condition
of five of the injured was stated to be serious.
In
another strike, militants Thursday blew up an army vehicle at Frislan
en route to the 3,880-metre high holy cave Hindu shrine in south
Kashmir
, killing three soldiers.
In
yet another incident, eight people, including five militants and two
security men were killed, as militants attacked a police picket set up
for the protection of minority community and abducted its head along
with some others at Kakran in Kulgam area of Anantnag district in
south
Kashmir
late Wednesday night, June 26, using sophisticated weapons. The
militants kidnapped the head of the picket, head constable Bashir
Ahmad, and looted arms and ammunition at the picket.
Three
militants of Harkat-ul-Jehad Islami were killed in an encounter with
Border Security Force (BSF) at Gadole forest in Kokernag area of
Anantnag district in south
Kashmir
early Thursday, a Border Security Force spokesman said.
 |
| Kashmiri
woman holding Qur'an copy rescued from her burning house
|
In
a fifth violent incident, a special police officer was killed and two
personnel injured when militants attacked a police camp in Banihal
area of Doda in
Jammu
Thursday night.
In
a sixth incident, militants shot dead five shepherds at a remote
village in
South Kashmir
. Five members of Bakerwal community, who were living in the forest
area of Gurwathan near Shopian in the Peer Panjal range, were gunned
down by militants Thursday afternoon.
In
a seventh incident, a police officer and a constable were killed and
three persons were injured when militants opened fire on a police
party at Soura on the outskirts of
Srinagar
Thursday evening. Militants showered bullets on the police party at
Sabzee Mandi, killing assistant sub-inspector Abdul Khaliq and
constable Fayyaz Ahmad on the spot, sources said.
Another
constable, Mohammad Maqbool, and two civilians were injured in the
shootout, which triggered panic in the area, they said. Maqbool's
condition is stated to be critical. However, hospital sources said
that the number of injured was five, including two civilians.
Meanwhile,
India
's Defense Minister George Fernandes ruled out Thursday de-escalation
on the border till legislative assembly elections are held in
Jammu and Kashmir
next October.
"We
cannot withdraw the forces till elections in
Jammu and Kashmir
are over and after that it depends on the situation," he told
reporters in Ahmedabad.
|
