Date:24/06/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/06/24/stories/2008062450260100.htm

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Yasin Malik threatens fast over land issue

Special Correspondent

Yasin Malik

SRINAGAR: The issue of land “transfer” to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has snowballed into a major controversy as Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik on Monday threatened to go on a fast-unto-death if the government did not revoke the order.

After his 25-day-long visit to Pakistan, Mr. Malik told a news conference that transferring land to the SASB was a big threat to ecology and it should be withdrawn forthwith. “If it is not done, I will not hesitate to end my life by going on a fast unto death.” He accused the SASB of endangering communal harmony in Jammu and Kashmir and trying to “create a Hindu society in Baltal.”

The JKLF chief said that the cave shrine was discovered by a Muslim family and 30 per cent of the offerings used to go to them. But this practice was stopped. “There was no Shrine Board when the Malik family was the custodian of the cave. Controversies started erupting from the day the Shrine Board was formed.”