Protests held across Kashmir against killing of Rohingya Muslims

Srinagar, Sep 8: Protests were held across Kashmir valley, including summer capital Srinagar, after Friday prayers against ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state of Myanmar.  Barring Anantnag, where intense clashes erupted between security forces and protestors, the protests were by and large peaceful in rest of the valley with minor incidents of stone pelting.

      Moderate Hurriyat Conference (HC) chairman Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq, who also heads “Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU)”, joined by several other religious leaders had urged people to hold peaceful protests after Friday prayers in solidarity with the Rohingya Muslims. However, Mirwaiz was put under house arrest to prevent him from leading the protest march.
      Hundreds of protestors took to streets outside the shrine of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani, popularly known as Dastgeer Sahab, after Friday prayers were over against the killing of the Rohingya Muslims.
      Shouting slogans in favour of Rohingya Muslims and against Myanmar government, the demonstrators urged the international community, including Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and United Nations, to break their silence over the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims and ensure their safety. The protestors later dispersed peacefully.
      Scores of students staged a peaceful protest outside United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) officer in Sonwar, Srinagar. Holding banners, which read ‘Kill prejudice not people’, ‘Where is UNO’, Speak up tomorrow it could be you, besides others, the students demanded that this ethnic cleansing be stopped at once. The students later dispersed peacefully.
      Meanwhile, scores of Tibetan vendors staged a protest against the killings of Rohingya Muslims.
      Similar protests were held in other parts of the valley, including Tral, Pampore, Kulgam in south and Sopore, Bandipora in north Kashmir.
      However, intense clashes erupted in south Kashmir district of Anantnag between security forces and protestors. Six policemen, including two officers, were injured and a police vehicle was torched by miscreants during the clashes. UNI