Curfew Re-Imposed In India-Controlled Kashmir To Prevent Protest

SRINAGAR, Curfew was re-imposed on Monday in Muslim dominated areas of India-controlled Kashmir including Srinagar to prevent a separatist rally to Anantnag town, Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted officials and locals as saying.

The call “Anantnag Chalo” was given by region’s hardline separatist alliance Hurriyat Conference head by jailed leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani to protest the killing of three youth last week in Anantnag district, around 62 km south of Srinagar.

“We have imposed restrictions to maintain law and order,” said a government official posted in Srinagar.

The severe restrictions were re-imposed following a break on Sunday. The authorities Sunday morning lifted restrictions from almost all the areas except Anantnag town where tension is still palpable.

“The relaxation on Sunday witnessed a heavy rush in markets of Srinagar and elsewhere. People swarmed on roads to purchase essentials. Kashmir came back to life after nine days of protests and curfew. But today again life has come to a halt,” said Bilal Ahmad, a local resident of Srinagar.

Thousands of policemen and India’s paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in riot gear have been deployed across all the major towns including Srinagar city, the summer capital of India-controlled Kashmir to enforce restrictions in wake of the separatist call.

These men have laid barricades and concertina on the roads and streets to restrict movement of people. Similar restrictions have been laid on the roads leading to Anantnag town.

Officials fear relaxation of restrictions would bolster anti- Indian demonstrations.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the psyche of majority of Kashmiris.

Last month witnessed massive protest demonstrations in the region following the killing of 11 youth in separate police and paramilitary shooting on protesters.

The volatile situation in the region mounted pressure on Omar Abdullah government, which imposed curfew like restrictions to break the cycle of violence and prevent further civilian deaths.

Businesses, shops, banks, financial institutions schools and government offices remained closed in Srinagar city and other districts in wake of severe restrictions. Traffic is also off the roads.

Troops spreading reign of terror in IHK: Mirwaiz

Kashmir Media Service

Srinagar, In occupied Kashmir, the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has demanded stern punishment to the police men and paramilitary troopers who have killed three young boys in Islamabad town on June 29. “Our youth are being killed by Indian troops and police with impunity. Eleven youths have been killed since June 11. This is a dangerous trend. We feel that Jammu and Kashmir has been converted into a police state, where there is complete lawlessness,” he said.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, while taking to media men in Srinagar, said the Hurriyet Conference supports the demands of people of Islamabad town for bringing the accused to book. “Hurriyet will leave no stone unturned to press for punishment to the killers of the innocent youth,” Mirwaiz vowed. The Mirwaiz said the ongoing protests in the disputed state against the killing of civilians in indiscriminate firing by Indian troops and police on peaceful protests were justified. “Peaceful protests will continue till Indian troops pull out from civilian areas,” he said.

“The troopers and policemen have spread reign of terror in the entire valley and the Islamabad district has been turned into a garrison and people are being harassed without any provocation,” he said. “No election, administrative changes or economic packages can be a substitute for the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people,” the Mirwaiz told a news conference in Srinagar, according to the Kashmir Media Service.

The Mirwaiz pointed out that execution of innocent Kashmiris was going on according to a conspiracy hatched by New Delhi to crush their peaceful movement. “Through brutal use of force, India will not succeed to suppress Kashmiris’ liberation struggle which is based on the principles of justice and international law,” he added.

He said Kashmiris were not averse to talks with India but before starting the dialogue process it should release Kashmiri political prisoners, withdraw its troops and revoke black laws in the disputed state. The APHC Chairman said that the government and people of India should accept the realities and the time had come that the Kashmir dispute should be resolved in proper manner, adding that the Kashmir dispute should be the focus of the upcoming talks between India and Pakistan. “New Delhi should understand the fact that it can’t hold Kashmir by force for long. It will be in India’s national interest to resolve the dispute once and for all,” he said.