South Kashmir’s towns of Anantnag and Bijbehara and capital Srinagar’s uptown areas were placed under curfew on Thursday. The move was made to contain rising violent protests in south Kashmir and to stop Shia mourners’ procession in the city.
Tension was prevalent in various parts of south Kashmir for the fourth consecutive day today. Huge deployments of security personnel manned the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway and imposed strict curfew on the highway towns of Anantnag and Bijbehara.
The death of Zahid Rasool Bhat, a trucker from south Kashmir’s Botengo village who was attacked with a petrol bomb in Udhampur on October 9, has sparked a wave of protests in the valley. The attack came amidst the beef ban controversy. Bhat died in a Delhi hospital on October 18.
With violent protest showing no signs of let up, the authorities imposed curfew in twin town of Anantnag and Bijbehara. Train services to south Kashmir were also stopped.
The police also detained Syed Ali Geelani on Thursday morning when he tried to visit the victim family in south Kashmir. JKLF chief Yasin Malik has already been taken into preventive custody and Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is placed under house arrest.
Srinagar sealed to stop Muharram procession
In Srinagar, the life came to a standstill in the commercial hub Lal Chowk as the police set up concertina wires to block all main roads. The move came as the Shia community was planning to carry out a Muharram procession from the city centre’s Barbarshah area.
“We won’t allow the Muharram procession taking the security situation into view,” said Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani.
Jammu-Kashmir Itehadul Muslimeen Patron Moulana Abbas Ansari, also a separatist leader, was scheduled to lead the traditional procession, which was banned since eruption of militancy in 1990.
The authorities fear the procession could turn into anti-India protests.
As per the Islamic month of Muharram, Shias across the world mourn the death of the Prophet Mohammad’s grandson Imam Hussein, who died in year 680.
Scores of Shia mourners were detained at Batamaloo area. They were trying to defy the security forces’ restrictions.
The strict security restrictions disrupted the normal life in the city with commuters failing to cross the city or reach their offices and business establishments.
