30,000 demand freedom at funeral of Kashmiri leader

More than 30,000 people have demanded independence for Kashmir at the funeral of a separatist leader shot dead yesterday.

Abdul Ghani Lone, a peace advocate and one of the leaders of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference, was killed during a memorial rally for another independence leader who was assassinated 12 years ago.

The mourners at his funeral today chanted “We want freedom” as they slowly walked from Lone’s home to the Martyrs’ Cemetery in Srinigar.

Schools and shops throughout the city were closed today as part of a protest called by the All-Party Hurriyat, an umbrella organisation of religious and political groups seeking Kashmir’s independence from Hindu-dominated India.