The Hindu : Lone laid to rest

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 23, 2002

National

National

Lone laid to rest

By Luv Puri

Srinagar May 22. Thousands of people from all over Kashmir today paid glowing tributes to one of the most articulate leaders of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference in recent times, Abdul Gani Lone. The funeral passed off peacefully amid tight security and Lone's body was laid to rest at the Mazar-e-Shohada (Idgah grounds) late this evening. This was the same place where Lone was killed on Tuesday by unidentified gunmen.

The funeral procession started from Lone's house at Santnagar around 2.30 p.m. The body was carried in a truck and was followed by a procession of vehicles stretching to 3 km. Independence slogans rent the air throughout. Pro-Pakistan slogans were also raised and security was tight at all places.

The sensitive points through which the procession passed like Jehangir Chowk, Batmaloo, Safakadal were all taken over by police. The Governor had given strict instructions to police to make sure that there was no firing at the procession. District officials were deployed as magistrates to keep an eye.

Twelve years ago, the same day one of the tallest Kashmiri leaders was buried here in whose procession 67 persons were killed. Elders gathered at the occasion say that this was the third time when such a large gathering had come to pay tributes to any political leader of the region. The earlier occasions were the deaths of Sheikh Abdullah and then Mirwaiz Moulvi Farooq.

Reports say 2,000 people from Handwara, ancestral place of Lone, could not join the procession which reached the Idgah grounds at 5 p.m.

The Hurriyat Conference Chairman, Abdul Ghani Bhat, who addressed the gathering, said the Hurriyat was united at this juncture and that Lone was the crown of the Hurriyat. ``I want to make it very clear that APHC is a political force to reckon with.''

Taking a dig at some media channels, he said they were distorting the events. Tempers ran high when some youth raised slogans against these channels and accused them of misreporting. Reports said the youth threw stones at some vehicles of the media channels.

The Nimaz-e-Jenaza was read by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq who along with Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Prof. Bhat and Javed Bhat carried the body to the grave.

Sajjad blames Govt.

Lone's son, Sajjad Lone, blamed the State Government for the killing of his father. According to him, the State Government withdrew security to him, paving the way for his assassination. Earlier, in the morning, the Hurriyat gathered at Lone's residence. Mr. Geelani was also present.

Hurriyat seeks probe

The Hurriyat in a statement after its meeting asked for an inquiry into the killing. Talking to The Hindu, the senior separatist leader, Shabir Shah, said that the main motive of the killers was to sabotage the Kashmir movement and dubbed them ``enemies of Kashmir''. He described Lone as an institution and said his death was a ``big blow'' to the State.

In response to the Hurriyat's call, the region observed a strike to protest the killing of Lone. The party had call for a strike against the visit of the Prime Minister.

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