Jammu and Kashmir: Qazi Yasir detained along with his supporters

Srinagar: Ummat-e-Islami chairman and Mirwaiz south Kashmir Qazi Yasir was on Saturday detained along with nearly a dozen of his supporters as police foiled their attempt to sit on a token hunger strike here to demand the immediate release of "political prisoners".

Yasir, accompanied by his supporters, was joined by separatists from various groups at Press Enclave in the heart of the city this afternoon and sat on a token hunger strike to press for release of those arrested during the unrest last year and other "political prisoners".

However, police immediately reached the spot and took Yasir and 10 others into preventive custody, officials said, adding they were lodged at Kothibagh Police Station.

A spokesman of Ummat-e-Islami said the group had planned the hunger strike to draw attention towards the plight of political prisoners languishing in various jails in the state.

"The condition of prisoners is miserable and many of them need immediate medical attention," he said and demanded immediate release of all "political prisoners".

Meanwhile, Pulwama town of south Kashmir observed a strike against the arrest of a 26-year-old youth allegedly involved in stone-pelting incidents.

All shops and business establishments in the town, 32 kms from here, remained shut while public and private transport remained off the roads after the news of the youth's arrest spread, officials said.

They said minor incidents of stone-pelting were also reported in the morning but the situation by and large remained peaceful.