[Reader-list] Not so peaceful message from Hazratbal

[S. Jabbar]

Hurriyat Seizes Hazratbal Stage

Srinagar, July 04, KONS: Brushing aside the Waqf Board¹s resistance,
Hurriyat leaders today took hold of the politically potent Hazratbal stage
in a bid to make an unmistakable display of their public clout in Kashmir.
The shrine has been a centre of public movements for decades, successively
and artfully used by major political figures, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah
included, to retain their hold on the masses.
After falling into the militant lap during the early nineties, the current
rulers of the state tried to de-politicize it by overhauling its management
system by replacing the NC-backed Muslim Auqaf Trust with the seemingly
neutral Waqf Board.
Both Mufti Muhammad Sayeed and Ghulam Nabi Azad have scrupulously avoided
turning the shrine into a platform for themselves, perhaps out of the
conviction that it was a double-edged sword which their opponents, both
mainstream and separatist, could turn against them.
But the tide seemed to have turned today, despite the Waqf Board¹s warning
the other day that Hazratbal would not be allowed to be used for political
activities.
Filling in for their respective chairmen, senior Hurriyat leaders, Shabir
Ahmad Shah and Muhammad Ashraf Sahrai, addressed the congregation at
Hazratbal in defiance of the government-controlled Waqf Board¹s ban on
political activity at the holy shrine.
Shah said that the people of the state were united and ready to counter any
conspiracy. 
Calling for a total boycott of the forthcoming assembly elections, Shahsaid
that polls were not a solution to the Kashmir issue and ³we cannot benefit
India by taking part in the polls in a betrayal of the sacrifices of
martyrs.² 
³Boycott is a powerful and peaceful weapon in the hands of the people by
which they can counter Indian propaganda on Kashmir,² he said.
Referring to the land transfer issue, Shah said that it was not a matter of
land alone but a question of the national identity of Kashmiris for which
the entire state had marched with steeled breasts.
³We are not against the yatra, nor do we want to harm the yatris, and the
Kashmiris have proved it in the recent days,² he said.
³It is unfortunate that Muslims are being targeted with violence in Jammu,
and the police is a mute spectator, even though no yatri or tourist suffered
as much as a scratch in the nine days of agitation in the valley,² he said.
Attacking pro-India parties, Shah said that they had been exposed and that
the people had realized that they were out to barter away Kashmiri land.
³In the present circumstances, people should take timely and correct
decisions, as even a minor mistake can prove to be a heavy burden on coming
generations,² he said.
Condemning the aggressive designs of the extremist Hindu parties, he said
that they had begun to serve their ends by giving communal colour to even
peaceful issues. 
³They are spawning hatred in the name of religion. The people of Jammu and
Kashmir will have to defeat their plots,² he said.
 Geelani¹s right hand man, Muhammad Ashraf Sahrai, said that Kashmiris would
complete the mission of the martyrs as they had offered immense sacrifices
during the ongoing struggle and there would be no compromise on these
sacrifices. 
The congregation also offered thanksgiving prayers over the success of the
public agitation against the transfer of land to the Shrine Board.

>From the Kashmir Observer