May 02 , 2015
News
Pakistani flags waved at rally in IHK
Reuters
SRINAGAR: Numerous Pakistani flags were waved during Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s rally in Indian-held Kashmir on Friday. Visuals showed crowds waving Pakistani flags at the rally held in Tral.
Hardline Hurriyat Conference leader, Geelani, objected to Prime Minister Narendra Modi government plans to set up new Hindu settlements in Occupied Kashmir. “It is being said that our Pandit brothers, who left, have to be resettled. We have never opposed their settling in Kashmir. We have been saying for years that they should be brought back, but they should be allowed to live amongst us.
The creation of separate neighbourhoods for them is not acceptable to us,” Geelani told a huge rally. Geelani’s statement came a day after Pakistan voiced concern over India’s plans to set up new Hindu settlements in Occupied Kashmir. Geelani also demanded that duration of the Hindu pilgrimage ‘Amarnath Yatra’ be restricted to one month. The presence of Pakistani flags at Geelani’s rally comes a fortnight after fellow separatist Masarat Alam was arrested for ‘provocative actions’ for the same reason. This is the second such incident in a month. Pakistani flags were raised at a rally organised in Srinagar by Geelani in April. Meanwhile, reacting sharply over the incident, India’s Junior Minority Affairs Minister, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, stated that waving Pakistani flags or raising anti-India slogans will not be allowed under any circumstances in the country. Masarat Alam was arrested last month after his supporters waved Pakistani flags and raised pro-Pakistan slogans at a rally in capital Srinagar that he had organised to welcome back Geelani, who is his ideological mentor, from New Delhi where he was hospitalised.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk