Mirwaiz's strike against wine shop enters 3rd day

Srinagar, Apr 21: The indefinite hunger strike by South Kashmir Mirwaiz Ahmed Yasir against the opening of a liquor shop in Anantnag town continued for the third consecutive day today.

The authorities have recently granted permission to open liquor shop - the first in south Kashmir in 18 years - at Khannabal in the district on Srinagar-Jammu national highway.

The 24-year-old Mirwaiz Yasir said he will continue his hunger strike till the wine shop, which would increase criminal activities and gambling in Anantnag, is shut down.

Almost all wine shops and cinema halls across the Kashmir valley were closed in early nineties following the outbreak of militancy.

However, two cinema halls in high security zones reopened after the government provided them financial help in 1996-97.

Two wine shops also were doing business in the Dal Lake area while two more shops at Alochibagh and high security Sonawar were closed after massive protests by the local residents.

Another half a dozen supporters of Mirwaiz also joined the hunger strike in the town.

Mirwaiz is the son of one Qazi Nisar, who was killed by unidentified gunmen in 1994, and had launched a campaign against obscenity, cinema halls, beauty parlours and wine shops in south Kashmir during the early 1990s when the separatist violence erupted. Mirwaiz Yasir said it was a deliberate attempt to pollute our society.

On one hand government was setting up de-addiction camps but it is actually encouraging people to take drugs on the other hand, he said.

UNI