Officials said that Sunday was the first day without any civilian casualty since the violence engulfed the Valley on July 9, following the killing of Hizbul Commander Burhan Wani in a gunfight with the security forces on July 8. The schools and the colleges in the valley were scheduled to reopen tomorrow after the 17 days of summer vacation. No dailies – English, Urdu and Kashmiri – were available as the newspaper- owners decided not to publish them after authorities yesterday allegedly raided some media houses and seized their printed copies.
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While mobile telephony, except BSNL mobiles, is suspended across Kashmir for the past eight days, the broadband internet services have been curtailed across the Valley. Earlier during the week, about 4,000 personnel were flown into Srinagar from Delhi and other parts of the country to supplement the effort put in by J&K police and CRPF men already stationed in the Valley to control the situation.
Train services between north Kashmir Baramulla and Bannihal town in the Jammu region also remained suspended. However, government sources said the step has been taken to contain the violent protests.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the curfew and restrictions across Kashmir continued today in view of prevailing law and order situation.
Meanwhile, former MEA minister and Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Sunday said that security forces are resorting to “disproportionate use of force” while dealing with the protestors in the Valley and that the “set rules for forces” seem to have disappeared.
Some of these additional forces will also be used as road opening parties (ROPs) in order to secure and facilitate the movement of security forces convoys which have been specifically targeted by the agitating protesters. The call for showing solidarity with the victims of violence had been issued by local clergy and was endorsed by various political and social organizations.
Calling it an “attack” on the freedom of the press, Indian Journalists Union (IJU) has protested the alleged clampdown on the media in Kashmir Valley and demanded that it be allowed to function unhindered.
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On the 16th day of Amarnath Yatra, over 1.72 lakh pilgrims had darshan of ice lingam at the Holy Cave till Sunday evening.
