Curfew continued to be imposed in parts of Srinagar city and south Kashmir while strict restrictions were imposed in force in others parts of the Valley to thwart protests by the people.Curfew continued on Sunday in the areas falling under six police stations in downtown and Batamaloo area of Srinagar and in towns of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam, a police official said. Restrictions were placed in Baramulla town, Bandipora, and in Handwara areas and in Imamsahib area of Shopian district The shutdown called by the separatists also continued today, with both curfew and shutdown paralyzing life in the Valley.Schools, shops, and business units continue to be closed down due to curfew and shutdown. Only medical shops are allowed to open across the valley. However, there was no major clash reported today in any part of the Valley when this report was filed.“People are pouring out on streets to protest in these places. During protests, youth start pelting stones and security forces retaliate by firing teargas shells and pellets, due to which injuries take place which further intensify protest,” said the police official, posted in south Kashmir.
He wished not to be named.“In order to prevent injuries and protests, we have imposed curfew and strict restrictions in these areas,” he said.In south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, a rally was organized by the youth in Kareemabad village, the native place of slain HM militant Naseer Ahmad Pandit, a cop-turned-militant, who had fled with three AK-47 service rifles while on duty with former PDP minister, Syed Altaf Bukhari.Witnesses told KNS that thousands of youth had gathered in a ground, adjacent to ‘Martyrs Graveyard’, in Kareemabad to pay tributes to the slain militants. The youth had come from different villages of the district including Rajpora, Pinglena, Kakapora, Gudoora, Pahoo, Lelhar, Panzgam, Lajoora, Puchal and several other villages to attend the gathering.The ‘Kareemabad chalo’ was a spontaneous call given by the youth in Kareemabad village. The separatist leaders too had appealed people to visit the ‘Martyrs Graveyards’ to offer fateh Khawani there.Locals had arranged food and drinking water for the people who had gathered there.
However, Superintendent of Police, Pulwama, Muhammad Rayees Bhat told KNS that curfew has been imposed in Pulwama, and there has been no large gathering of people in Kareemabad.Meanwhile, amid curfew and the ongoing unrest, more than 18,000 aspirants appeared in the common entrance test conducted by the J&K State Board of Professional Courses Entrance Examination (BOPEE) for entrance to MBBS and BDS courses.The government officials said that 17 centres were established for the test. The administration had made special arrangements to provide transport to candidates for reaching the venue of the test. All the centers were fixed in safer areas of the city to ensure smooth conduct of the test.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Education Minister visited Government Women’s College here, but they faced a hostile situation as the parents of the aspirants shouted slogans against the chief minister and her government.The protesting parents said that the presence of the chief minister and her security will disturb the candidates. Soon, the chief minister left the venue.Meanwhile, the separatists, including both factions of the Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, respectively, and the JKLF led by Mohammad Yasin Malik, have extended the ongoing protest up to Friday. They have also called for a march to Hazratbal (shrine) on Friday.The ongoing agitation erupted on July 8 when Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in a brief gunfight in Kokernag, in Anantnag district. (KNS)