Geelani put under house arrest

Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the hardline leader of a faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, was Friday placed under house arrest as he was planning to lead an anti-US protest.

A police posse was deployed at Geelani's Hyderpora residence on the Srinagar airport road Friday morning and asked not to allow the separatist leader to venture out, official sources said.

The Geelani-led faction of the Hurriyat had called for peaceful protests against what it called "nefarious designs of America and to express solidarity with the people of holy cities of Mecca, Madinah (Saudi Arabia) and Pakistan."

Expressing serious concern over US intentions in Mecca, Madinah and Pakistan, the Hurriyat spokesman alleged that "America had virtually declared a war against the ummah (Muslim world)."

Geelani was supposed to address the Friday congregation at Machoo area on the outskirts of Srinagar before leading protestors.

Meanwhile, a group of Hurriyat activists assembled at Badshah chowk in the heart of the city and staged a peaceful protest.

The nearly two dozen slogan-shouting protestors dispersed peacefully when police arrived on the scene, the sources said.