Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 10: Separatists have called for shut down on Saturday in Kashmir valley to protest against the High Court order asking police to implement beef ban in the State.
The shutdown has been called by Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Geelani and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Yasin Malik while the former appealed people to protest after Friday prayers tomorrow.
The court order has been widely criticised in Kashmir valley by separatists, mainstream politicians, socio-religious groups, civil society members and common people.
The critics of the ban have termed the decision as politically motivated aimed at igniting communal tensions in the sensitive State.
A spokesperson of Geelani-led Hurriyat said that that the High Court order on beef ban is “politically motivated and aimed at creating communal tension.” Quoting Geelani, the chief of the amalgam, he appealed people to hold protests against the court verdict after Friday prayers.
The JKLF chairman Yasin Malik said that the ban imposed on beef by High Court is direct interference in religious affairs of Muslims.
The ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) spokesperson, Dr Mehboob Beigh, said that nobody has a right to dictate people what they should eat and what they should not. “The ban on the sale of beef in Kashmir was in vogue during Maharaja’s time. It is irony that despite being the Muslim majority state, this ban was in place. The current court order is not new but only reiteration and it is debatable,” Beigh said.
People’s Democratic Front Chairman, Hakim Muhammad Yasin, termed the court order as direct intervention into religious affairs. “We enjoy religious freedom and our religion has been permitting us to consume beef. It will have serious ramifications if ban is imposed and it will also divide the society on communal lines,” he said.
Amir, Jamat-e-Islami, Ghulam Muhammad Bhat said that it is the responsibility of the State Government to know the views about the majority community.
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