Kashmir on edge after activist killed
AUTHORITIES SUSPEND MOBILE SERVICES, INTRODUCE RESTRICTIONS TO KEEP THE PEACE
Authorities suspend mobile services, introduce restrictions to keep the peace |
Hundreds of sloganchanting residents yesterday attended the funeral of a 21-year-old man who died after a paramilitary vehicle ran over protesters on Friday, injuring two others, in the already volatile old city of Srinagar.
The city remained on edge as authorities imposed restrictions and suspended mobile services in an effort to keep the peace.
The incident and subsequent protests occurred just days before Home Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to visit the valley visit next week to review the security situation after the centre’s decision on May 16 to call a ceasefire during the month of fasting.
Kaiser Ahmad succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Srinagar, after being run over by a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) vehicle that rammed into protesters in city’s neighbourhood of Nowhatta — a hotbed of anti-government sentiment in the valley.
Hundreds gathered near a graveyard in Eidgah to offer funeral prayers. Security forces used tear-gas to disperse angry mourners shouting anti-India and pro-freedom slogans.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of one faction of the Hurriyat Conference, was placed under house arrest to prevent his participation in the funeral procession. Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Yasin Malek was also arrested in Srinagar.
The speed of broadband internet connections was also reduced to prevent the uploading of provocative posts and pictures.
Ahmad’s death drew a sharp response from former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who tweeted that if the government’s “ceasefire means no guns, so use jeeps”.
“Earlier they tied people to the fronts of jeeps and paraded them around villages to deter protesters. Now they just drive their jeeps right over protesters. Is this your new SOP,” Abdullah said in his tweet, in which he tagged Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
Government hits back
Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh said the National Conference leader’s tweet smacked of “the double standards of Kashmircentric politicians”.
“Security forces are soft targets for these politicians but they can’t speak against the militants as they can strike back,” the BJP lawmaker from Udhampur said.
He said the criticism of security forces who risk their lives protecting the country was “unfortunate”.