Kashmir's ruling party chief deplores imposing of curfews, arrest of separatists

The president of ruling pro-India Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti Saturday said it hurts her deeply to see authorities imposing curfew and detaining separatist leaders like Syed Ali Geelani under house arrest in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Keeping Geelani Sahib under house arrest and imposing curfew on Fridays in down town (Srinagar) deeply hurts me," Mufti said while speaking at a function organized by a private news channel in New Delhi.

Mufti told the audience that during her recent visit to the old city along with her father, a group of women told them that it was becoming difficult for people to live there in wake of continuous stone pelting and subsequent tear smoke and pepper gas shelling.

"Earlier, we used to fight gun with gun. Now for past several years stone pelting has crept in, for which we are to blame ," Muft said. "Unfortunately, the peace process which was started from 2002 to 2005 was completely derailed."

Her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is the chief minister of Indian-controlled Kashmir and heading the coalition government with right wing Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP).

The region's government has imposed curbs on the free movement of separatist leaders, especially Geelani. It puts almost all the separatist leaders under detention ahead of their proposed rallies and imposes curfew like restrictions whenever separatist call for a protest march.

Authorities fear allowing separatists to move freely would intensify anti-India protests in the region.

A separatist movement and guerrilla war challenging New Delhi's rule is going on in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989.

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir. Endit