Daily life in the Valley took another hit on Monday as authorities imposed restrictions on activities and placed Hurriyat Conference leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq under preventive house arrest. The developments follow the leaders’ call for a march to Lal Chowk on Monday to protest against civilian deaths during the unrest that followed the killing of Burhan Wani on July 9.
Security personnel cordoned areas in Lal Chowk off to prevent separatists from protesting. Officials said shops and other business establishments remained closed but public and private transport services were operational. Schools and government offices remained shut owing to a public holiday in honour of former chief minister and founder of Opposition National Conference Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s birth anniversary. The situation was relatively peaceful, officials said.
More than 90 people have been killed in unrest in the Valley since Wani’s killing, and hundreds have sustained grievous injuries during protests in the past four months.
The unrest in the state has also contributed to the worsening ties between India and Pakistan, with Islamabad criticising the Centre’s management of the clashes in Kashmir and calling for a plebiscite in the region several times. Relations between both countries soured further after a militant attack on an Army camp in Kashmir’s Uri sector and the Indian Army’s “surgical strikes” on terror camps along the Line of Control with Pakistan.
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