Two dozen arrested Hurriyat activists flown from IHK to

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AgraBy NewsdeskISLAMABAD/SRINAGAR: Two dozen Hurriyat activists were arrested from Srinagar and quickly airlifted to Agra to prevent demonstrations in Indian-held Kashmir over the ending of the disputed region’s autonomy.According to the Kashmir Media Service (KMS), the arrested leaders were taken in a special Indian Air Force plane to Uttar Pradesh and lodged in Agra Central Jail. The detainees have been shifted outside the occupied territory after they were labelled as “potential stone pelters”. The Indian government had put occupied Kashmir under a military lockdown ahead of the announcement on Monday (August 05) to repeal the Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which granted Jammu and Kashmir a special status. Meanwhile, Indian National Congress member of parliament and former chief minister of occupied Kashmir, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Kashmir Congress chief, Ghulam Ahmed Mir, were detained at the Srinagar airport and sent back to Delhi. The two Congress leaders were stopped from entering the occupied territory.Furthermore, Indian forces remained on high alert across Kashmir to head off protests after Friday prayers in mosques as tensions remained high, residents and reports said.A five-day-old lockdown with no internet or phone communications appeared tighter than ever though the region’s police chief told AFP the curfew would be eased so the Muslim-majority population could pray. Dilbag Singh, Kashmir director general of police, said people could go to mosques “within their neighbourhood” but added: “They should not venture out of their local area.”The giant Jama Masjid mosque in Srinagar — a longtime focus for pro-freedom protests — remained closed as the occupation government sought to keep a lid on unrest after it cancelled the constitutionally guaranteed privileges of the former Himalayan kingdom, residents told AFP.Protests against Indian rule have frequently broken out in Srinagar’s old quarter after weekly prayers at the mosque, which can hold more than 30,000 worshippers. “It’s tense,” one resident said after going near the mosque. “There are troops everywhere.”Tens of thousands of extra Indian troops were sent to enforce the clampdown imposed ahead of Monday’s presidential decree to tighten central control on the disputed region.The reinforcements and the 500,000 troops already in held Kashmir were put on “high alert” for trouble around Friday prayers, the Press Trust of India news agency reported from Srinagar, quoting a security official. “There is apprehension of mass protests and accordingly necessary steps were taken,” the official added.Despite the huge security presence, sporadic protests have been reported in recent days in Srinagar and the Ladakh region which the government has split away from Jammu and Kashmir under the new measures.Police have chased groups of pro-freedom demonstrators in Srinagar, many of whom gather at night, residents said. One youth died this week after jumping in a river to escape chasing security forces, according to police.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/com/cwEr/~4/opgGLRclHXg

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