J&K: Strike disrupts normal life on Burhan Wani death anniversary; Amarnath Yatra suspended

It was the second death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and normal life came to a standstill on the call for a strike by separatists in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.

The authorities, on the other hand, imposed restrictions in five police station areas of Srinagar in order to maintain law and order and avoid any kind of untoward incidents in the valley.

The areas, restrictions were imposed on, include Nowhatta, Khanyar, Rainawari, Safakadal and Maharajgunj. These were all in the old city areas of the summer capital.

Meanwhile, mobile Internet services were also suspended throughout Kashmir as a precautionary measure, while security forces were deployed in strength at sensitive places across the valley.

In view of the strike, shops, fuel stations and other business establishments were shut across Srinagar, while the Amarnath Yatra from Jammu was suspended for a day following the shutdown call. Pilgrims already in Baltal and Pahalgam will be allowed only to move towards the holy cave shrine of Amarnath.

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Public transport was off the roads, while few private cars and auto-rickshaws were operational in some areas of the city. The strike also affected the weekly flea market.

The strike was called in order to mark Wani's second death anniversary on Sunday. Wani, the commander of terror group Hizbul Mujahideen, was a resident of Tral and the poster boy of militancy in Kashmir, He was killed in an encounter with security forces in Kokernag area of Anantnag district on July 8, 2016.

His killing triggered massive protests and prolonged period of curfews and shutdowns across the valley. As many as 85 persons were killed and thousands of others were injured in daily clashes between security forces and protestors for a period of over four months.

The separatists under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) appealed people to observe a complete shutdown and had also announced that they would hold a general public meeting in Tral on Sunday.

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In the wake of the killing of three youth, including a girl, in alleged firing by security forces at Kulgam on Saturday, the JRL asked people to observe Sunday as a black day.

Separatists Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq are under house arrest, while Yasin Malik was detained from his residence on Friday and remains in custody.

(With inputs from agencies)