 Authorities put several separatist leaders under house arrest on Friday even as a complete shutdown crippled life here. Senior separatist leaders, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Shabir Ahmad Shah were put under house arrest by the authorities to prevent their proposed march to the headquarters of the United Nations Military Observers Group (UNMOG) in this summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The separatist leaders had announced their march to the headquarters of UNMOG to present a memorandum against the alleged economic blockade of the Kashmir valley and the harassment of the minority Muslim community in the Jammu region.
| You may now look bemused at the thought of the Moslems of Kashmir being oppressed by the Pandits they've been bumping off or chasing out of town at every opportunity since 1947. |
Another senior separatist leader and chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation front (JKLF) Muhammad Yasin Malik is in the intensive care unit of Soura Medical Institute here after his condition deteriorated Thursday morning. Doctors attending on him said his condition was now stable.
| Right. Yasin Malik's on a hunger strike. Since Tuesday. This is Saturday. |
All markets, educational institutions, banks and public transport remained closed here on Friday. Attendance in government offices was thin because of the non-availability of public transport in the city. |