Kashmir region Thursday observed a shutdown on the hanging anniversary of Parliament attack convict Muhammad Afzal Guru while authorities placed Old City and Maisuma under restrictions.Maqbool Bhat, a resident of Doabgah village of Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, was hanged and buried by government of India on February 9, 2013 in Tihar jail of New Delhi. The call for shutdown was given by all leading pro-freedom leaders including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik. The militant outfits and HCBA had also endorsed the call.According to GNS correspondent, hundreds of police and paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personal in riot gear and armed with assault rifles were deployed across the Old City areas falling under five police station including Khanyar, Safakadal, Maharaj Gunj, Nowhatta and Khanyar. Witnesses said the forces imposed curbs in the Old City to contain protests.
Similar restrictions were also imposed in Maisuma.In summer capital Srinagar, almost all the shops, commercial establishments and petrol pumps were closed in the Civil Lines areas of the City. The government offices and banks recorded low attendance while schools and colleges were already closed on the account of vacation holidays.Reports of shutdown were received from all the districts of valley on Guru’s hanging anniversary. Meanwhile, clashes erupted in several downtown areas including in Rajouri Kadal, Nawab Bazar, Bagh-e-Mehtaab, Saraf Kadal as well as Soura here after authorities lifted restrictions, residents said. The clashes also occurred at Sopore and Palhallan while condolence meeting and prayers were held at Guru’s ancestral home. A police official told GNS that the situation remained peaceful across the valley on Thursday. (GNS)