Authorities relax curfew in Kashmir city; protests persist

Stone pelting, clashes and protests rocked city of Srinagar after Mehbooba Mufti government lifted 18-day long curfew from most of the places in the Valley on Tuesday, even as authorities have made a decision to restore the post-paid mobile phones from Tuesday night.

Following the withdrawal of government forces, hundreds of angry residents took to roads in old parts of Srinagar city shouting pro-freedom and anti-India slogans. Reports of minor clashes came in few areas in south Kashmir’s Kulgam and Shopian besides Khanyar area of downtown Srinagar in late evening hours.

Hurriyet leaders and organizations in their separate statements in Srinagar called upon the global community especially the United Nations to stop genocide of the innocent Kashmiris being perpetrated by Indian occupation forces in the territory. A break Tuesday was meant to let people stock up food and other essential supplies.

The unrest was triggered by the killing on July 8 of popular young rebel leader Burhan Wani in a gunfight with soldiers.

Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel fired tear gas shells and crowd control weapons to break the rallies, resulting in injuries to eight people, the official said.

The army today said it had caught a Pakistani militant and killed four of his accomplices who had sneaked in from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir recently.

“We have got one of them alive and expect some vital information from him”, he said. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

Kashmir, a predominantly Muslim region, is divided between India and Pakistan, but both claim it in its entirety.

Since 1989, Kashmiri resistance groups in Indian-held Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.