The authorities on Wednesday foiled Kashmiri separatists’ call to march towards south Kashmir’s Shopian district to protest against recent killing of four civilians and two terrorists in a shootout on Sunday. Thousands of police and paramilitary troopers were deployed across the Valley to stop protest marches. Senior separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was taken into temporary custody when he attempted to defy restrictions at his Nageen residence on Srinagar outskirts.
Another senior Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Geelani also attempted to defy restrictions but concertina wire coils were put in his way and he was forced to return to his house where he has been put under confinement for past several years. The authorities announced to close all educational institutions for two more days apparently to prevent student protests. The schools were scheduled to re-open on Monday after prolonged winter vacations but the protests triggered by Shopian killings compelled the government to keep them shut.
Before the Shopian killings took place, the separatists had announced Wednesday shutdown against the shifting of prisoners from Kashmir to Jammu jails. The authorities began the process of shifting jailed separatist leaders in the backdrop of dramatic escape of a Pakistani militant Naveed Jatt from a hospital in Srinagar where he was brought for a check-up. Two policemen were killed by Naveed’s accomplices in the shootout.
The authorities imposed restrictions in parts of Srinagar, Shopian and other areas in south Kashmir districts to prevent protests. The Joint Resistance leadership (JRl) a separatist conglomerate headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yasin Malik had called for the march to Shopian to”express solidarity with the families of slain militants and civilians.
The restrictions on assembly and movement of people under Section 144 of the CrPC were been imposed in the old city areas under five police stations and some uptown areas to maintain law and order.
Schools, colleges and universities have been closed for the 3rd consecutive day today. All examinations scheduled for today have also been postponed.
Train services between Banihal in Jammu and Baramulla in North Kashmir have also been suspended for the third consecutive day.
Internet services in south Kashmir areas also continued to remain suspended for the third consecutive day. The speed of internet 3G and 4G services have been slowed down in Srinagar and other areas in central and northern Kashmir.
Markets, public transport and other business establishments remained closed in Srinagar city and other district headquarters of the valley, while scanty private transport moved in areas not placed under restrictions. The attendance in govt, semi govt and private offices is also affected due to non availability of public transport.
The general patient attendance in various govt hospitals and health centres is also affected.
Before his arrest, Mirwaiz addressed media persons outside his residence and said that as long as New Delhi pursues a hardline military solution to the Kashmir dispute and for that purpose provides its Armed forces a legal cover of immunity from accountability and prosecution by draconian laws like the AFSPA, bloodshed of Kashmiris will continue unabated.
Mirwaiz said that under the draconian law the entire Valley has been witnessing repeated mayhem and massacres in which people including teenaged children and women become targets as streets are turned red with blood.
Calling the pro-India political parties as collaborators Mirwaiz said that it was time that the collaborators in this policy of repression and terror unleashed upon Kashmiris should stop lying to the people through their glib talk of so-called inquiries, commissions, courts, justice, logical conclusions.”There is no hope of any such thing for Kashmiris in the system they represent,” he said.