Masarat Alam arrest: PDP denies acting under pressure

Srinagar, April 17 (ANI): The People's Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday said separatist leader Masarat Alam had been arrested under procedure and not due to the pressure reportedly brought on it by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh or Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. PDP spokesperson Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra described the hoisting of the Pakistani flag as unjustifiable and added that Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed went on record to say that this is not allowed. Earlier in the day, as a preventive measure to maintain law and order, Alam and another separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani were placed under house arrest by the Jammu and Kashmir Police. The state government also denied permission for today's proposed congregation in Tral, with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed reportedly instructing the police to refuse permission for the rally. The rally was scheduled to begin from Srinagar to Tral where a youth was killed allegedly by the a