Protest march: Restrictions imposed in Srinagar

Section 144 has been imposed in Khanyar, Rainawari, Nowhatta, M.R. Gunj, Safa Kadal, Parimpora and Maisuma areas of Srinagar, a senior police officer said.

Shops, public transport, other businesses and educational institutions remained closed in the city.

Roads remained deserted except for some private transport and three wheelers movement in outskirts and uptown areas here.

Government offices, banks and post offices functioned normally but with reduced attendance due to non-availability of public transport in the city.

While in Sopore, where separatist leaders appealed people to reach in the town for protest, district administration deployed large number of security forces on roads to not allow any body to enter the town.

“All entry points leading to the town have been sealed off and section 144 CrPc have been imposed in the town to prevent any assembly of people”, senior Police official told IBNS in Sopore.

Call for the march has been given by senior hurriyat  leader Syed Ali Gilani, All Parties Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Muhammad Yasin Malik and Shabbir Ahmad Shah after a joint statement was  issued by the amalgam on Tuesday.

The leaders in their statements appealed people to make the march a success.

Since May 25, Sopore Town and its peripheries have seen a surge in target killings when a Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) franchise was attacked by Lashkar-e-Islam militants after they directed all telecom operators and people associated with them to wind up the business.

The attack left an employee of franchise dead.

While on May 26, unknown gunmen shot dead mobile tower owner at Duroo Sopore area in north Kashmir.

Militants issued threats to all cellular companies to wind up  their operations and to close down mobile towers when reportedly one of telecom company removed a high frequency transmitter operated by militants from one of their towers in town.

Shopkeeper Khurshid Ahmad was killed at his shop in Bomai area of Sopore while a Tehreek-e-Hurriyat activist Sheikh Altaf-ur-Rehman was shot dead on  June 9.

Police claimed Hizbul Mujahideen is involved in spate of killings under the guidance of Local Hizb Commander “Qayoom Najar", a resident of Batpora in Sopore.

Police official further said that Qayoom and his associates are involved in the killings under the lesser known militant organization “Lashkar-i-Islam”. 

Pertinently, police claimed identification of two militants of breakaway group Lashkar- e- Islam of Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit for the civilian and police killings in Sopore and have announced cash reward of Rs 20 lacs to track militant duo down.

(Reporting by Saleem Iqbal Qadri )