Hurriyat calls Kashmir bandh in solidarity with JNU students

The Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani has called for a bandh in Kashmir, the Chenab Valley and the Pir Panjal region on 27 February, in solidarity with the students of JNU, reports The Economic Times.

The Hurriyat Conference said that the crackdown on JNU students, the harassment of Kashmiri students and the sedition charges against SAR Geelani was "fascism and the worst kind of state terrorism".

Hurriyat Conference general secretary Shabir Shah said: "India is ruled by Brahmin elite and they are trying to muzzle the voice of every minority and suppress lower caste people."

The protest will begin after the Friday prayer on 26 February. "Many Kashmiri students are coming back due to fear and harassment. We express our solidarity with Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and many others who have exposed the fascist media, who tried to frame them," said Shah.

He said that the students of JNU have sided with the "truth and reality" regarding Kashmir. "And government of India wants to silence them all with force," said Shah. "If SAR Geelani and other students are not released soon, it would have strong reaction in Kashmir. Booking students for sedition has no moral justification."