Kashmir shut to commemorate martyrs of 1931

Srinagar, Jul 13: Normal life was crippled as shops and business establishments were closed and traffic was off the roads in Kashmir valley to commemorate the martyrs of 1931 on their 87th death anniversary.

A police official said barring Kupwara in north Kashmir, there are no restrictions in any part of the valley.

However, all roads leading to Martyrs grave yard at Naqashband sahib shrine in the down town were sealed and only politicians and government officials were being allowed to pay tributes there.

But, the separatists had urged people to reach martyrs grave yard to pay tributes.

Even though there was no strike call given by separatists, shops and business establishments were closed and traffic was off the road in Srinagar, including Shehar-e-Khas (SeK), downtown, uptown and civil lines, though few private vehicles and cabs could be seen plying on some routes.

Business and other activities remained crippled in main business hubs of the city, including historic Lal Chowk, the nerve-centre of summer capital, Budshah Chowk, Regal Chowk, Maisuma, Hari Singh High Street (HSHS), Batmaloo, Moulana Azad Road, Residency Road and Dalgate.

Additional security forces, wearing bullet proof jackets and holding weapons and lathis in their hands, were seen patrolling the streets in the city to prevent any untoward incident.

Banks, government offices and schools were closed on Friday in view of a gazetted holiday on Martyrs Day.

Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), comprising of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq and Mohammad Yaseen Malik, had called for ‘Naqshband Sahib Challo’ on Friday to commemorate the death anniversary of 1931 Martyrs. However, the separatists had not called for any strike.

A report from Anantnag said life was crippled in this and other south Kashmir towns and tehsil headquarters, where shops were closed and traffic was off the road. Additional security forces have been deployed in entire south Kashmir, including Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian, to prevent any law and order problem. Security has also been stepped up along the Srinagar-Jammu national highway to prevent any protests.

Hundreds of security forces and state police personnel were deployed in major towns and tehsil headquarters to stop protests, said a report from north Kashmir, where business and other activities were crippled and traffic was off the roads in support of the strike.

Meanwhile, restrictions continued for the second day on Friday in parts of frontier district of Kupwara, where a youth was killed when Army opened fire to disperse demonstrators on July 11 evening. The District Magistrate (DM) has ordered a Magisterial inquiry into the firing and subsequent killing of a youth while police has also registered a case in this regard.