Restrictions continues for second day today in Srinagar
Curfew-like restrictions continued for the second day on Saturday in the downtown and Shehar-e-Khas (SeK) besides parts of the civil lines in Srinagar to prevent any violence following strike called by separatists against braid chopping incidents in the Kashmir valley. The main gates of historic Jamia Masjid, stronghold of moderate Hurriyat Conference (HC) chairman Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq, were closed again on Saturday morning and a large number of security forces have been deployed to prevent people from entering the worship place.
No Friday prayers could be offered during the last three weeks due restrictions. Police said restrictions under Section 144 CrPC continued since Friday morning as a precautionary measure in the areas falling under the jurisdiction of police station MR Gunj, Nowhatta, Khanyar, Safa Kadal and Rainawari in the SeK and down. Similar restrictions remained also imposed since Friday morning in Kralkhud in the old city and Maisuma, stronghold of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) in the civil lines.
Both the factions of the HC and JKLF, spearheading the agitation, demanding right to self determination, have called for a general strike and civil curfew today against braid chopping incidents in the valley, where over 100 such incidents were reported for the past about two months. Yesterday the separatists had called for protests after Friday prayers against braid chopping. All main roads besides bylanes remained closed with barbed wire and large number of security forces and state police personnel have been deployed to strictly implement the restrictions.