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SRINAGAR: Hundreds of protesters shouted anti-America and anti-Israel slogans as largely peaceful, dozens of demonstrations were taken out in parts of Kashmir, including the capital Srinagar, against the US declaration on Jerusalem.
US President Donald Trump’s decision recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the first country to do so, has evoked sharp criticism from people in Kashmir with demos taken out post Friday prayers against the “divisive and dangerous” move.
Police sources said protests and demonstrations were reported from across the Valley, including in Srinagar where curfew like restrictions were imposed in parts of old City to foil the Hurriyat sponsored protests.
Authorities had placed senior Hurriyat leadership under detention with curfew-like restrictions imposed in parts of the Valley today to foil protests called by separatists against the US decision.
Officials said veteran Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani and moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq have been placed under house-arrest after they issued a call for protests while Jamia Masjid, the iconic mosque in Srinagar, was locked by authorities.
"Once again the authoritarian regime has resorted to its SOP #ShamefulOperatingProcedure of imposing restrictions and disallowing Muslims by force from offerings Friday prayers at #JamaMasjd and peacefully expressing their resentment against the US decision on #AQudsAlSharief," Mirwaiz wrote in Twitter.
The separatists as well as the opposition National Conference in Kashmir have condemned the US move, warning that “political bankruptcy of the fascist regime in US” will further aggravate the situation in Palestine and it has hurt the sentiments of “one billion Muslims across the globe”.
“Jerusalem is our Qibl-e-Awwal and no Muslim can ever accept it as the capital of the Zionist state of Israel. By taking this irrational decision, the US president Donald Trump is actually showing his imprudent politics, fascist behavior and enmity against Muslims,” the powerful Hurriyat trio of Geelani, Mirwaiz and JKLF chief Yasin Malik said in a statement.
Meanwhile, former chief minister and NC working president, Omar Abdullah took to Twitter and criticized the BJP led Centre for it’s silence on the issue, “There was a time when the Trump Administration move to over turn decades of US policy WRT #Jersualem would have provoked a strong condemnation from India,” he tweeted.
The move has also been condemned by people from all sections of society on social media with many of them comparing the development with a “declaration of war” against the people of Palestine.
“Jerusalem it will be taken back. Even if it taken next thousand years. Time always changes once it was with Muslims khilafate the world first superpower and then came Crusaders both were indestructible in their time but had fallen. It's you who are now proclaiming #Jerusalem to be yours but like always the time will change coz with out the victory of Jerusalem there is no end to this world and the world which you are owning is set to be distructed (sic),” Mudasir Khan, a banker wrote on Facebook.
“#Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine, every Muslim shouting and protesting across globe. But the issue is where does Muslims stand , politically and theocratically? Arabs cordial with Israel and treat them as friendly ally. On the other hand Turk and Persian peninsula refuse and show reluctance to recognise Israel as a state. Muslims across globe are politically fragile or they don't possess any political agenda that can influence the whole world,” Majid Tali, a lawyer said on Facebook.
(PHOTOS BY BASIT ZARGAR)
