Geelani calls for strike on Saturday

Srinagar: Alleging that Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai was a victim of Indian lobbyism, Chairman Hurriyat Conference (G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani Tuesday called for a complete shutdown on Saturday (April 7) against the two-year jail term for the Kashmir American Council head by a US court.

During a meeting of its advisory council, the Geelani-led Hurriyat described Fai as a “bold ambassador of the Kashmiris.”
It alleged that India had opened a wily diplomatic front against Fai, which resulted in the US court’s “unfortunate and extreme decision.”
The amalgam appealed all the transporters federations, employees unions and public to make the strike on April 07 a success to express solidarity with Dr Fai and show the world that “Dr Fai is not alone in his fight and but the entire Kashmiri nations stands with him shoulder to shoulder.”
The advisory council further claimed that the judgment against Fai was more political than legal and had caused damage to the image of American society regarding its claims of individual freedom and upholding of human rights.
“Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai was doing nothing wrong except for working in the capacity of Kashmir’s spokesman to attract attention of the international community on the human issue of Kashmir where lakhs of people are living in uncertainty. The advisory committee said that Kashmir is an International issue and putting this in abeyance not only threatens the lives of the people, but peace and prosperity of entire south Asia is under peril,” it said.
In his address to the meeting, Geelani said that India should shun its intransience and accept ground realities. “ Two of the three parties to the Kashmir dispute, India and Pakistan, are nuclear armed and spending the lion’s share of their budgets on defence expenditure which makes the resolution of Kashmir issue all the more important,” he said.