Separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani on Tuesday threatened to intensify the ongoing agitation if political prisoners were not released before Eid-ul-Fitr. He also reiterated his five conditions for initiating a dialogue.
At a news conference here, Mr. Geelani said his immediate demand was that all political prisoners should be released before Eid. “Otherwise, the agitation will intensify,” he declared. He released a list of 44 political prisoners and demanded their immediate release.
He said the Government of India had shown willingness to talk. “But, as usual with New Delhi, the Indian leadership comes with such soft talk whenever the streets of Jammu Kashmir are filled with innocent killings. They talk of political engagement when their soldiers have literally gone berserk in Jammu Kashmir, killing, arresting, torturing, injuring, humiliating and destroying us,” he said. Mr. Geelani said the Union Government must announce and begin the process of complete demilitarisation to be monitored by some credible agency. The Prime Minister must commit publicly and ensure practically that henceforth no killings and no arrests took place.
