Restrictions to continue in Srinagar and other places

Protests in the wake of the killing of Ansar Ghazwatul Hind outfit's chief commander Zakir Musa, forced authorities in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday to continue preventive restrictions in the Kashmir Valley.

All schools and colleges in the valley were ordered to shut down for the second day in a row by Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Basheer Ahmad Khan.

All exams scheduled by different universities in the valley have been postponed. Officials of the Kashmir University, Islamic University of Science and Technology said new dates would be announced later.

Musa was gunned down during an encounter with the security forces on Thursday in Pulwama district's Dadsara village of Tral area.

Mobile Internet services have since been suspended in the entire valley.

Restrictions continue in many areas of the city. Rolls of razor edged concertina wire have been spread across roads, crossings, bylanes in areas under preventive restrictions to prevent any movement of vehicles.

The congregational Friday prayers were not allowed at the historic Jamia Masjid in the old Nowhatta area.

Senior separatist leader, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who delivers the traditional Friday sermon at the Masjid, came down heavily on the authorities for the move during the holy month of Ramadan.

Meanwhile, thousands of people offered multiple funeral prayers for Musa -- both at his native Noorpora village in Tral and at dozens of other places in the valley.

A spontaneous protest shutdown was observed throughout the valley on Friday as reports of Musa's killing was confirmed.

Real name, Zakir Rashid Bhat, Musa was a militant of Hizbul Mujahideen who succeeded Burhan Wani and later headed the Al Qaeda affiliate. He had taken to militancy in 2013.

An engineering student in Chandigarh, Musa had abandoned education and joined militancy. His father, Abdul Rashid Bhat, is a senior engineer working for the Jammu and Kashmir government.

Clashes were reported in the old city of Srinagar, Sopore town in Baramulla district, Anantnag town and other places between the angry youth and the security forces.

Heavy deployments of police and CRPF have been made in Srinagar, Pulwama, Anantnag, Shopian and Kulgam districts in south Kashmir.

--IANS

sq/in