Date:23/01/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/01/23/stories/2007012306111200.htm

National

Hurriyat, Hizb call for strike on Republic Day

Unless Kashmir issue is not solved ground situation will not change: Geelani

Srinagar: Both factions of Hurriyat Conference and Hizb-ul Mujahideen have called for a general strike on Republic Day.

"People on both sides of the Line of Control should observe a complete shutdown on January 26 to impress upon the world community that unless India fulfills the promises made to the people of Kashmir, they will continue their struggle," the moderate faction of the Hurriyat said in a statement here. The statement, issued after a meeting chaired by acting chairman Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari, also called for maintaining sectarian harmony between Shias and Sunnis during the ongoing month of Muharram in order to foil the nefarious designs of vested interests.

The hardline faction, led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, while calling for a strike, said unless the Kashmir issue was resolved the ground situation in the State would not change.

He said the Hurriyat was not inimical to the people of India or against their Republic Day celebrations. — PTI