Mirwaiz faces criticism from women’s group

Senior National Conference leaders and party activists today took to the streets in a protest demonstration against continuous human rights ...

Senior National Conference leaders and party activists today took to the streets in a protest demonstration against continuous human rights violations in the state and to mark International Human Rights Day.

In the morning, NC workers converged at the party headquarters in Nawai-I-Subh complex and marched towards the posh Residency road. Led by party leaders — Abdul Rahim Rather and Ali Mohammad Sager — the workers also held a demonstration outside Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s official residence on Maulana Azad road.

Workers raised slogans and carried placards against the violations and killings of innocents in Kashmir. The senior NC leaders blamed the coalition government for remaining silent on the human rights issue. ‘‘Since the present government took the reins of power in the state, the graph of human rights violation has increased. With today’s protest our party wants to convey that it is very concerned about the cases of human rights violation in the Kashmir,’’ said Rather, a former minister.

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The interim chairman of the moderate Hurriyat Conference, meanwhile, came under attack from a frontline women’s separatist organisation.

Syeda Aasiya Andrabi, the chief of Dukhtaran-e-Millat, slammed Mirwaiz Umer Farooq saying he has no right to stake the claim for leadership. Speaking at a seminar on International Human Rights day organised by the Kashmir Bar Association, Andrabi said Mirwaiz has no right to represent himself as a leader of the suppressed Kashmiri people as he enjoys Z plus security cover.

‘‘Actual leaders of Kashmiri people are those separatist leaders who are without security cover. Mirwaiz Umer should never claim or consider himself a leader of the Kashmiri people,’’ she said.