Sectarian clashes: Hurriyat appeals for maintaining peace

"We appeal to the people to maintain peace and brotherhood and remain cautious against the evil designs of those bent upon to weaken our ummah (people of faith)," Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani told reporters at his Hyderpora residence here.

Welcoming the return of normalcy in the violence-hit areas, he asked the people "to live in accordance with the Islamic teachings and avoid fighting each other on the basis of sects."

"You have to live in accordance with the teachings of Islam and there should be no tension among the sects. You should not fight against each other. Every sect can work individually but should not issue religious edicts against each other," he said.

He condemned police action of not allowing him to hold a peace rally in the interior city yesterday and said "the concerns of the government and its agencies about maintaining peace are hollow."

"The government is raising the slogan of peace to befool the people and the world. Had they been sincere they should not have stopped me from holding the peace rally," Geelani said.

Geelani criticised the government for allegedly putting restrictions on his movement.

"There is no formal order from either the court or the government for my house arrest, but still police does not allow me to move out of my house. The claim that the policemen outside my residence are for my security is a lie as big as Himalayas. I have never sought security from the government," he alleged.