SRINAGAR: Demonstrators set fire to an Indian flag and hurled rocks at riot police here on Friday as protests over the arrest of a top leader turned violent.

Hundreds took to the streets in India-held Kashmir’s main city to vent their anger at Masarat Alam Bhat’s detention after he fronted a rally earlier in the week where followers waved Pakistani flags.

The violence erupted soon after worshippers emerged from the city’s mosques following Friday prayers, chanting pro-Pakistan slogans and “we want freedom”, according to a reporter on the scene.

The police tried to disperse the crowds by firing tear gas and then resorting to baton-charge. At least 16 people were injured during the clashes, including three policemen, an officer said.

Pro-Pakistan slogans raised, Indian flag torched

Mr Bhat, who was released in March after several years behind bars, was arrested early on Friday at his home, a day after police registered a case against him.

“He has been arrested after a case for unlawful activity was registered against him,” K. Rajendra, the state’s director general of police, said.

The case stems from a rally on Wednesday organised to welcome veteran leader Syed Ali Geelani on his return to Srinagar from New Delhi where he had spent the last three months receiving medical care.

Although that rally passed off peacefully, television images of Mr Bhat leading a chorus of his supporters chanting “jeeve jeeve Pakistan (long live Pakistan)” and other slogans against India’s rule of the disputed region triggered widespread condemnation from politicians and the media. Anti-India sentiment runs deep across Kashmir.

Mr Bhat rose to prominence in 2010 when he organised a series of mass protests before being detained without charge for four years under controversial public safety legislation.

The disputed region has been rocked by violent protests this week after the brother of a leader was killed by the army near the town of Tral in the south of the Kashmir valley.

Although several militant groups have been fighting Indian forces for independence or a merger of the territory with Pakistan, street protests have lately become the principle mode of opposition to Indian rule.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2015

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