- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
SECURITY was beefed up across Kashmir on Friday (3) after the death of separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani sparked clashes between protesters and law-keepers.
The 92-year-old died at his residence in Hyderpora in Kashmir on Wednesday (1) and his death has heightened tensions after the authorities refused to allow a public funeral in his honour.
The authorities also said that suspension of internet and mobile services that was ordered after Geelani’s demise would continue and tight security measures were expected to remain in place in the capital city of Srinagar on Friday, which is a day for the prayers.
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Several mosques in the Muslim-majority region said they would hold special prayers for Geelani.
The security personnel deployed in the region patrolled streets to keep people indoors following clashes between residents and government forces in Srinagar on Thursday (2).
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The law-keepers fired tear gas to disperse the protesters who pelted stones at them. No injuries were reported, AFP said.
Meanwhile, Geelani’s family said the police took his body away for burial in the middle of the night, hours after he died, and no relatives were allowed at the burial site. The police rejected the allegations.
Geelani, a former chief of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference which is an alliance that raises the cause of Kashmiri separatism, had spent much of his life in either jail or under house arrest. He had angered successive Indian governments with his pro-Pakistan stance and demand for a self-determination polling.
The neighbouring Pakistan observed a day of official mourning over Geelani’s death.
