SRINAGAR: Life was paralyzed in the Kashmir Valley on Sept. 9th in response to a strike call given by the All-party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), in protest against a militant attack on three journalists last week. The BBC stringer in Srinagar, Yousuf Jameel, the Asian News International TY correspondent Mushtaq Ali and Hazibullah Nagash, a United News of India photojournalist, were injured when a parcel bomb exploded at Jameel’s off cecum residence at Pratap park in Srinagar last week.
Government and semi Government offices, educational institutions, businesses, banks, post offices and courts remained closed and transport was off the roads in response to the strike call.
Several trade union organizations, including Kashmir University Teachers Association, the Jammu and Kashmir Bank Employees Association and several militant, organizations condemned the attack.
Mushtaq Ali is battling for life at Soura Medical Institute, Naqash is recovering satisfactorily in SMHS hospital and Yousef Jameel was discharged from the hospital.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, but the APHC blamed the guerrilla outfit, Iqwanul Muslimeen, which it said was sympathetic to the Indian Government.
Iqwanul Muslimoon denied the charge and said it was the first organization in the Valley to condemn the blast.
Hurriyat leader Omer Farooq, reportedly quoting one of the injured journalists Habibulla Nagash, said one of the five men who visited the latter’s office after a woman in veils handed over a parcel, was a messenger of Iqwanul Muslimoon.
The parcel, addressed to Yusuf Jameel, a journalist working for the BBC, news agency and an Indian newspaper, exploded when cameraman Mushtaq Ali opened it.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 15, 1995
