JKLF caravan bound for Chakothi stopped by containers

MUZAFFARABAD: Participants of the people’s freedom march under the aegis of pro-independence Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) have reached near Jiskool, a spot where the administration and police have blocked Muzaffarabad-Srinagar highway by placing containers, barbed wires, electricity poles and mounds of earth.

Hum le ke rahengay Azadi (We will get freedom by all means) they were heard chanting constantly while waving flags of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and their party (JKLF).

Central spokesperson for the JKLF Muhammad Rafiq Dar said that the march was a peaceful programme aimed at expressing solidarity with the besieged Kashmiris and drawing the attention of the international community towards the urgent need of an immediate and peaceful settlement to the long pending Kashmir issue. He said that his group did not want to engage in any kind of confrontation with the local law enforcement personnel. “We are not for any kind of confrontation or violence because that will serve the Indian purpose,” he told a private TV channel.

Dar urged the AJK administration to remove the containers so that the marchers could reach Chakothi a village which is 3 kilometres before the Line of Control (LoC) but is overlooked by Indian gun positions atop lofty mountains across the divide. “I hope they will allow us carry on our peaceful march to the town of Chakothi” he said.

Earlier the marchers had started their journey from Garhi Dupatta located some 20 kilometres south of Muzaffarabad at 10:30 am but on vehicles and motorcycles. The caravan reached Hattian Bala, 40km from Muzaffarabad at about 12:15 pm where they were warmly welcomed by local residents. It was really a rousing welcome said Saleem Haroon, one of the JKLF leaders.

A little before Hattian Bala the caravan was joined by another rally that had started from Bagh via the famous hill resorts of Sudhan Galli and Chikar. From Hattian Bala the marchers once again started walking on foot and reached Chinari by 3:15 pm. Chinari is located around 50km from Muzaffarabad and some 11 kilometres before the LoC. There the participants had taken a break for refreshments and Zuhr prayers.

Jiskool, where the caravan has currently stopped, is located around two kilometres ahead of Chinari.

Video clips shared by the participants on social media showed exemplary response of locals who offered food fresh fruits juices and water to the marchers apart from showering rose petals on them.

While in Chinari the JKLF central spokesperson had told that they would hold consultations for their next course of action. “We know the road ahead is blocked. And the place where the containers have been laid is narrow with steep mountains and river Jhelum on the right and left respectively. We don’t want even a single participant to suffer any harm there,” he said. “We have to save our energies for confrontation with India.”

Dar had anticipated that by sunset the crowd would thin out and the rest of the participants would stage a sit-in half a kilometre before the containers until the next move.

On the other side of the containers in Jiskool Divisional Commissioner Chaudhry Imtiaz, Deputy Inspector General Police Sardar Ilyas Khan, Jhelum Valley Deputy Commissioner Imran Shaheen and Superintendent Police Arshad Naqvi were also present. Leaders of the march had been invited by the administration for talks. “We have already humbly informed the organisers that there is a serious threat of Indian shelling. The Indians would not only target the marchers but also the entire civilian population in this area something they have never hesitated from in the past,” Divisional Commissioner Chaudhry Imtiaz told a private TV channel by telephone. When asked if the marchers could be allowed up to Chakothi for a sit-in there, he said, “It is our primary responsibility to protect the lives of the marchers. The last point where we could allow them to reach is this Jiskool. Beyond this point is the firing range therefore there is no question of allowing them,” he said. The rally billed as People’s Freedom March is protesting New Delhi’s move to scrap the special status of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) and the imposition of curfew in the territory since August 05. The march was started from Bhimber on October 4.