04-27-2005, 09:23 AM
<b>For these Kashmiris, visiting Muzaffarabad was a nightmare</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->When they reached Muzaffarabad with the expectation of meeting up with their long-separated relatives, they found that the latter had been put in jail.
This triggered off protests and demonstrations, with people like Mohammad Yousuf Bhatt, a resident of Srinagar, alleging that the authorities in Pakistan were out to gag people in Muzaffarabad, lest they reveal information that could show the situation in Pakistan-Controlled Kashmir in bad light.
"Our innocent friends and relatives have been arrested. Of them, 26 are in prison and more than a hundred are missing. We are demanding to know why they were taken into custody. They've been in prison and we aren't allowed to meet them.
"They were arrested because they wanted to welcome the people on the bus from Srinagar. But, before they could, they were taken into custody at the dead of night," Bhatt said.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->When they reached Muzaffarabad with the expectation of meeting up with their long-separated relatives, they found that the latter had been put in jail.
This triggered off protests and demonstrations, with people like Mohammad Yousuf Bhatt, a resident of Srinagar, alleging that the authorities in Pakistan were out to gag people in Muzaffarabad, lest they reveal information that could show the situation in Pakistan-Controlled Kashmir in bad light.
"Our innocent friends and relatives have been arrested. Of them, 26 are in prison and more than a hundred are missing. We are demanding to know why they were taken into custody. They've been in prison and we aren't allowed to meet them.
"They were arrested because they wanted to welcome the people on the bus from Srinagar. But, before they could, they were taken into custody at the dead of night," Bhatt said.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->