Farooq Abdullah's sister, daughter arrested during protest

Suraya Mattoo (second left), sister of former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah and his daughter Safiya (right) take part in the protest. Pic/AFP

Srinagar: The police on Tuesday arrested half a dozen women activists including the sister and daughter of former chief minister Farooq Abdullah during a march to protest abrogation of provisions of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, officials said.

Abdullah's sister Suraiya and his daughter Safiya, who were leading a group of women activists, were first detained and later arrested by the police. Wearing black armbands and holding placards, the women protestors were not allowed by the police personnel to assemble and were asked to disperse peacefully.

However, the protesters refused to disperse and tried to stage a sit-in. The women CRPF personnel rounded the protestors into police vehicles. Earlier, the police also tried to stop the protesting women from distributing a statement to the media.

"We the women of Kashmir disapprove the unilateral decision taken by the government of India to revoke Article 370, 35A and downgrade and split the state of Jammu and Kashmir," the statement said.

Demanding restoration of civil liberties and fundamental rights of the citizens, the women said they feel "betrayed, humiliated and violated as people". They also demanded immediate release of detainees and demilitarisation of rural and urban areas.

SMS services blocked in Kashmir

SMS services were withdrawn as a "precautionary measure" hours after the government restored post-paid mobile connections in Kashmir, officials said on Tuesday.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates