Hurriyat spearheads Kashmir shutdown call

Separatist leader and chief of the moderate faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is under house arrest, called for a shutdown in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday to mark the death anniversaries of Mirwaiz Moulvi Mohammad Farooq and Abdul Ghani Lone.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq urged people in the valley to observe complete shutdown to commemorate the death anniversaries of his father Mirwaiz Moulvi Mohammad Farooq and Hurriyat leader Lone.

All shops, schools, colleges and business establishments are closed and public transport was off from the roads. But, hospitals and other essential services were exempted from the strike.

Streets wore a deserted look and security personnel manned marketplaces and several roads to foil any untoward incident. However, there have been no reports of any violence from any part of the Kashmir valley so far.

"Hurriyat leader has called for a shutdown to mark death anniversaries of Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq and Abdul Ghani Lone. The authorities have put curfew in the entire area. We are businessmen and because of the curfew, we are unable to travel within the area," said a resident, Javed.

On May 21, 1990, unidentified gunmen assassinated Mirwaiz Moulvi Mohammad Farooq at his residence, and on the same date in 2002, Peoples Conference chairman and senior Hurriyat leader Abdul Ghani Lone was also killed by unidentified gunmen.