Srinagar : Normal life in Kashmir was affected on Wednesday due to strike call by separatists against the killing of civilians in Sopore town of Baramulla district. Shops, business establishments and schools remained closed due to the strike called jointly by JKLF, Hurriyat Conference factions led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani; and supported by almost all separatist groups in the Valley.
Public transport was off the roads in most parts of the Valley but private vehicles could be seen plying in some parts of the summer capital of the state, officials said. The attendance in government offices was thin due to the non-availability of transport services, they added. The work in courts was also affected as Kashmir High Court Bar Association has also joined the strike call.
Militants have shot dead six persons, including separatist activists and former militants, in Sopore town over the past three weeks, leading to fear among the residents of the north Kashmir town. Police has announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh each for information leading to arrest of two militants believed to be behind the killings.
The militants have been identified as Abdul Qayoom Najar and Imtiyaz Ahmad Kandoo, who are believed to have defied the command of Hizbul Mujahideen supremo Syed Salahuddin and operating under the shadow name of Lashkar-e-Islam outfit. Najar alias Nazarwala, a resident of Sopore, is believed to have fallen out with Pakistan-based Salahuddin after the recent attacks on telecom towers which claimed two lives.
According to intelligence reports, Nazarwala had prepared a list of people whom he claimed were allegedly helping security agencies and government machinery in curbing down the movement of the militant group.
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MLA links killings with Parrikar’s statement
Srinagar: Congress leader and Sopore MLA Abdul Rashid Dar on Wednesday alleged that the killings in the north Kashmir township are a result of Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s statement that “terrorists will be used to neutralise terrorists”.
“Sopore was peaceful in 2014. We had a good Assembly election where people voted in good numbers. But the day Parrikar’s statement came, the killings started. These killings are a result of that statement,” Dar alleged. The MLA, while talking to reporters here, claimed there was no trace of government or police in Sopore.
“They have no clue what is going on there or who is doing it,” the MLA said. Criticising Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and his daughter and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, he said, “the father-daughter duo used to visit the houses of the civilians who were killed by police or militants while in opposition, but there was no trace of them while they are in power”. PTI
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