Normal life was affected in Kashmir valley on Tuesday in response to a shutdown call by separatists to protest against the killing of three Hizbul Mujahideen militants in a brief encounter in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Thousands of people attended funeral of the slain militants in Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s ancestral Bijbehara town. Some angry protesters hurled stones on Mufti’s ancestral house and placed a green banner resembling Pakistan’s national flag on the old building before funeral prayers in a park in the vicinity of Mufti’s now-abandoned house.
Shops, business establishments, banks and courts remained largely closed in several areas and most of the public transport vehicles remained off the road.
However, private vehicles were plying normally as inter-district connectivity remained unaffected. Even as Northern Railways suspended train services for the day creating inconvenience to passengers, the traffic on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway continued as per routine.
However, clashes erupted in Bijbehara town after the funeral prayers for three slain Hizb militants — Sartaj Ahmad lone, Adil Ahmad Sheikh and Tanveer Ahamd Bhat. The trio was killed in an encounter at Tantraypora in Siligam pocket of Aishmuqam in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam belt on Monday afternoon.
One of the slain militants Tanveer Bhat was a native of Baba Mohalla, the birthplace of the Chief Minister.
The bodies of slain militants were brought to the park where thousands of people attended their funeral prayers amid pro-azaadi and anti-India sloganeering.
Senior separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani, who had called for the shutdown, addressed the gathering telephonically. His aide and former legislator Ghulam Nabi Sumjhi led the mourners in Bijbehara.
Mufti has left the town decades ago but continues to be registered as a voter at his native place.
Meanwhile, operation to flush out militants in north Kashmir’s Manigah forests continued for the second week. Commander of the Srinagar-based XV Corps lt Gen SK Dua told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Handwara that Army is taking time to avoid collateral damage. He said the officers were leading from the front in the best traditions of the Army.
He said that at least 60 militants were active in north Kashmir.