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A group of Muslim protesters in Indian-administered Kashmir has defied a curfew to denounce Pakistani President Asif Zardari and burn his effigy. Mr Zardari has provoked outrage after being reported as saying that Islamic militants fighting Indian rule in Kashmir were “terrorists”. Leading Kashmir separatists have also denounced Mr Zardari.
Many Kashmiris and Pakistanis regard militant groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir as freedom fighters. Mr Zardari made his controversial reference to them as “terrorists” in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Protesters took to the streets of the town of Baramullah on Monday, close to the Line of Control that separates Indian and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, despite a curfew imposed by Indian security forces in Muslim-majority areas of the Kashmir Valley.
The BBC’s Altaf Hussain in Srinagar says it is the first time that a Pakistani leader’s effigy has been burnt in Indian-administered Kashmir where anti-India protests have often been marked by pro-Pakistan slogans. Prominent politicians fighting for an end to Indian rule in Kashmir joined in the condemnation of Mr Zardari. Syed Ali Shah Geelani told the BBC that “Zardari has made these remarks to please the Americans. Zardari fears India and would do anything to please that country even at the cost of Pakistan’s dignity,” Mr Geelani said. “Kashmiri youths have been fighting for a just cause. In reality,” Mr Gilani said, “the people of Kashmir have been victims of state terrorism.”
