The state government in Indian held Kashmir on Monday defended repeated house arrest orders imposed on a top Kashmiri leader, saying he was responsible for inciting violence. Syed Ali Geelani, who favours Indian held Kashmir's accession to Pakistan, has been placed under house arrest on numerous occasions over the past year.
"Whenever Mr Geelani is allowed to address gathering at any place, it is followed by large-scale stone-pelting and attacks on police and paramilitary forces, leading to serious law and order problems," the government said in a statement. "In future, if any restrictions are put on the movement of Geelani, he and his actions alone would be responsible for this," it said.
Geelani was a prime mover behind a series of large anti-India demonstrations last summer that saw 110 protesters killed in clashes with Indian occupation troops. Geelani said allegations he incited violence was a "mere excuse" to restrict his movement. "The reality is that they don't want me to meet my people and now they have come up with such excuses to restrict my movement completely," the ailing leader told reporters. Geelani said: "I have never encouraged stone-pelting. I condemn even anti-India slogans during my rallies. "They (police) create such an atmosphere where it becomes a compulsion for the youth to react. My speeches are never provocative. This is a ploy to stop me permanently from meeting my people."
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