Author:
Publication: newkerala.com
Date: December 8, 2005
URL: http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=63471
Srinagar : Shops and establishments in most
parts of Kashmir Valley were closed Thursday to protest a Danish newspaper
publishing a caricature of the Prophet and the alleged desecration of the
Quran in Sopore town.
The strike call was given by the separatist
Hurriyat Conference group led by Syed Ali Geelani. The Kashmir bar association
and other groups supported the shutdown.
Authorities have made elaborate security arrangements
all over the valley to maintain law and order. Though shops in parts of Kashmir
capital Srinagar and other major towns were closed, traffic was plying.
Tension is still high in the north Kashmir
town of Sopore, famous for its apples, where three drunk youths had desecrated
the Quran and also tried to set ablaze the mosque earlier this week.
Though the three have been arrested by the
state police, locals are demanding stringent punishment.
The publication of a caricature of Prophet
Muhammad in a Danish newspaper has added to the tension here and authorities
have made elaborate security arrangements all over the valley to maintain
law and order.
National Conference president Omar Abdullah
has strongly condemned the Sopore incident and has asked the government to
punish the guilty.
The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)
has condemned the publication of the caricature and said in a statement: "By
resorting to such acts they have given enough evidence that they were against
Islam."
