[Dawn] A senior Kashmiri separatist known for his hardline anti-India stance has been charged with being a threat to public order following a string of public protests, police said Thursday.Syed Ali Geelani, 80, was arrested on Sunday after making a speech against India's rule in the flashpoint Himalayan region, which is jointly administered by India and Pakistan.
"We have booked him under the PSA (Public Safety Act)," said Mehraj Kakroo, district magistrate of Srinagar, referring to the tough public order law that could see Geelani jailed without trial for two years.
Muslim-majority Kashmir valley has been hit by regular protests over the past two weeks after the deaths of three Kashmiri protesters allegedly at the hands of Indian security forces.
In response to the killings, Geelani and other separatists have been calling for demonstrations and general strikes that have crippled Srinagar and other areas in the Muslim-majority region.
Other separatists were also detained in overnight raids.
"We have taken these measures to stem protests," a senior police officer said, asking not to be named.
Geelani has been in and out of jail since Muslim militants launched an insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir in 1989.