Separatists to meet 'stakeholders' on future course of protest

Senior Kashmiri separatist leaders Sunday decided to hold a meeting of all "stakeholders" on Tuesday to decide the future course of the ongoing protest shutdown in the Valley.

After a marathon three-hour long meeting at senior separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani's uptown Hyderpora residence, Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik decided to convene a meeting of all stakeholders on Tuesday to decide the future course of the nearly four-month long protest shutdown.

"It was decided that all stakeholders including educationists, traders, transporters and civil society representatives will be invited to meet the separatist leaders on Tuesday to decide issues related to holding of examinations, functioning of public transport and trade activities in the Valley," a source in the separatist camp said here.

Authorities had allowed a meeting of Mirwaiz, who heads the moderate Hurriyat and Malik, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman, with Geelani, who heads his own Hurriyat faction as informed sources said they may decide to give relief to education, transport and trade in their next protest calendar.

Authorities had on November 2 foiled a similar meeting between the leaders by not allowing Mirwaiz Farooq out of his residence.

Separatist sources told IANS that the three leaders discussed the strategy regarding the ongoing protest shutdown called by them that has paralysed life in the Kashmir Valley for nearly four months.

Separatists have been issuing weekly protest calendars and asking people to continue the shutdown.

--IANS

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