Sporadic protests broke out in parts of the Kashmir Valley on Friday over the eight-hour are dominance exercise in Shopian by security forces and the treatment of students by the police during a raid last month on a college in Pulwama.
Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who was allowed to lead Friday prayers at historic Jamia Masjid, held a demonstration after the prayers.
“Kashmir virtually has been turned into a police state. All spaces have been choked. Even students are not allowed to put forth their point peacefully,” said the Mirwaiz. Later, protesters clashed with security forces.
In north Kashmir’s Sopore, students and local youth resorted to stone throwing and took out a procession. The demonstration took place despite the authorities suspending classes at three volatile educational institutions in the district.
In south Kashmir’s Shopian district a complete shutdown was observed against the killing of Nazir Sheikh by militants while he was ferrying soldiers in his private vehicle on Thursday evening.
The district saw an eight-hour crackdown against militants on Thursday, fuelling protests.
National Conference (NC) described the Shopian operation as a “clear indication of an unofficial military rule being invoked in the Valley”.
“Return of such operations after nearly 15 years is another low for the PDP-led government,” said NC spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu. The party demanded a “transparent and thorough probe” into the circumstances leading to the driver’s killing.
“The use of military and operational tactics in dealing with an inherently political problem has proved to be a counter-productive exercise. New Delhi’s continued stand of viewing the problem in Kashmir through a law-and-order and nationalism prism will further compound the already alarming level of alienation in Kashmir,” said Mr. Mattu.
CPI (M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said the Shopian crackdown “was not a proper response to the emerging situation”.
“Our experience says crackdowns launched earlier have not succeeded in addressing the real source of the unrest. The real problem is deep-rooted alienation and government of India seems to be reluctant to acknowledge that,” said Mr. Tarigami.
