Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik and over two dozen separatists, mostly JKLF leaders, were taken into preventive custody for violating prohibitory orders by taking out a procession here on Friday.
Mr. Malik, who led the rally from the party headquarters at Maisuma shortly after Friday prayers, were intercepted by the police at nearby Budshah Chowk in the heart of the city. As they offered resistance, Mr. Malik and other leaders were detained, officials said.
Earlier, Mr. Malik said his party organised the rally to ask India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people of the State. “It will be a historic blunder if the Kashmir issue is ignored in the Foreign Secretary-level talks scheduled in Islamabad.” The issue “needs immediate resolution for everlasting peace in the region,” he said.
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The JKLF had announced a plan to organise the rally coinciding with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna’s visit to Pakistan.