Valley remains tense, army calls for peace

Separatists call for march towards cantonment, army advises not to fall prey to ‘anti-national forces’

SRINAGAR: The army on Sunday advised people against marching towards Srinagar’s Badami Bagh cantonment a day later in response to a separatist call for it to protest against the killing of seven civilians in South Kashmir in security forces’ firing on Saturday.

The civilians were killed in the firing when residents gathered at the scene of a fire-fight and threw stones at security forces battling militants in an orchard in Pulwama district’s Sirnoo village.

The Kashmiri separatists called for a three-day strike and asked people to march towards the cantonment on Monday in protest against the killings. “We will all march towards Badami Bagh on Monday and ask the Army that instead of killing us daily, it should kill us all,” separatist Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said.

The Army called the march call an attempt to sabotage peace at Pakistan’s behest. “We advise the people not to fall prey

The objective of [the security] forces is to bring peace and normalcy in the Valley with the people’s support

ARMY STATEMENT

to such designs of anti-national forces. The Indian Army is always with the people of Kashmir and would foil all such evil attempts of terrorist-separatistpakistan nexus to pit the civilian population against the security forces,” the army said in a statement.

“The objective of [the security] forces is to bring peace and normalcy in the Valley with the people’s support.”

The statement said the security forces make “every attempt to avoid any loss of civilian lives in cross-fire and minimise collateral damage to property”.

Restrictions imposed on the people’s movement in Srinagar would continue on Monday while the roads leading to the cantonment would be sealed to prevent the march, according to officials aware of the developments.

They said the Mirwaiz will be placed under house arrest to prevent him from leading the march.

Separately, a shutdown was observed across the Kashmir Valley in protest against the civilian killings on Sunday. Restrictions were imposed on the people’s movements in Pulwama and adjoining areas.

In Pulwama, the people were asked to stay indoors while additional forces were deployed across the district and other sensitive places in Kashmir to prevent protests.

“The situation is tense and the people have been asked to remain inside their homes. It is just like an unannounced curfew,” said Abdul Qayoom, a Pulwama resident.

Train services between Baramulla in North Kashmir and Banihal in Jammu region were also suspended as shops and businesses remained shuttered and the traffic was off the roads across the Valley.