The Jammu and Kashmir government clamped curfew in Sopore and several areas of Srinagar on Friday to stop the ‘people’s march to Sopore’ called by the Valley’s separatist leaders to protest against the recent civilian killings.
A senior police official told The Hindu that restrictions had been imposed in several areas of Srinagar — Nowhatta, M.R. Gunj, Safakadal, Zainakadal, Parimpora and in Sopore — since early morning.
House arrest
Senior separatist leaders Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Yasin Malik, Shabir Shah, Nayeem Khan and several others were put under house arrest on Thursday night.
Octogenarian Tehreek-e-Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was detained at the Humhama police station when he tried to break the cordon outside his house and march toward Sopore.
Earlier this week, the separatists had jointly called for a people’s march to Sopore to protest against the targeted killing of six civilians in the apple town in the past three weeks.
On the first day of Ramzan, the government did not allow Friday prayers to be held at several mosques, including the historic Jamia Masjid.
“They had kept the Jamia Masjid out of bounds for people and on the first Friday of Ramzan, we were not allowed to offer prayers there. This is state brutality at its worst,” Mr. Farooq, chairman of Hurriyat (M) and chief of the Jamia Masjid, told The Hindu .
