SRINAGAR – In occupied Kashmir, the Joint Resistance Leadership has calledfor a complete shutdown across the territory on Saturday against the firstphase of sham panchayat elections.

The leadership comprising Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and MuhammadYasin Malik in a statement issued in Srinagar, today, urged people toreject the election drama in the same way they rejected the local bodies’elections by staying indoors. The leaders also called for the strike in thepoll-bound areas on their scheduled dates.

Meanwhile, Indian police arrested a woman and her two brothers duringsearch operations in Srinagar. The woman was arrested at Lawayporacheckpoint on Srinagar-Baramulla highway, while her two brothers weredetained during a raid on their house in Khunmoh area of Srinagar. Indiantroops launched a cordon and search operation in Tral area of Pulwamadistrict, today (Wednesday).

A media report citing the concerned authorities revealed that, at present,more than 1900 innocent children are facing fake cases, mostly pertainingto stone pelting, across the occupied territory.

The illegally detained senior Hurriyat leader and Chairman of JammuKashmir Muslim League, Masarrat Alam Butt was slapped with the 37thdraconian law, Public Safety Act, and was shifted to Hira Nagar jail inJammu, today.

The fresh Public Safety Act, which is 37th in the series, was invoked bythe Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla, today. Such detention is termed by thehuman rights organizations as the revolving-door-detention where a personis booked under new detention order after the earlier order is quashed bythe court of the occupied territory.

Masarrat Aalam Butt who spearheaded the 2010 uprising was arrested inOctober, the same year.