NIT row: Separatist group JKLF assures outstation students of safety

JKLF Chairman Yaseen Malik said that the separatists in Kashmir did not want to indulge in politics over the NIT issue

Amidst the unrest in the National Institute of Technology (NIT) here, separatist leader and JKLF Chairman Yaseen Malik on Saturday sought to assure outstation students about their safety, saying Kashmiris will uphold their values of secularism and brotherhood at any cost.

"Kashmir is famous for brotherhood between various communities and secularism and we will uphold them at any cost," Malik told reporters here.

The JKLF chairman said the separatists in Kashmir did not want to indulge in politics over the NIT issue and people from outside the state have never been put to any harm.

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"No pro-freedom leader has ever said anything on educational institutions as they are meant only for education. We have never said anything that could put non-locals in danger. We do not indulge in politics in the name of educational institutions," Malik said.

Tension gripped the NIT campus here last week after India lost to West Indies in semi-final in the T20 World Cup, prompting some local students to rejoice and burst crackers. This led to a protest by outstation students, resulting in clashes.

Malik claimed that many Kashmiri students studying outside the state were facing harassment and some of them have been beaten up for not chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' or 'Jai Hind'.

He called for a peaceful sit-in at Lal Chowk on Monday and a complete strike on Tuesday to protest the harassment of Kashmiri students.