No curfew in Srinagar despite separatist shutdown
Srinagar: No curfew or restrictions were imposed in this Jammu and Kashmir summer capital Wednesday despite a separatist shutdown and educational institutions, private transport and government offices functioned normally.
"No curfew has been imposed anywhere in Srinagar today (Wednesday). Restrictions have been imposed in north Kashmir's Sopore, Palhalan and Delina towns of Baramulla district," a senior police officer told IANS here.
As part of his 'Quit Kashmir' campaign, hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani has called for a protest shutdown across the Kashmir Valley Wednesday.
Shops as well as other businesses remained closed and public transport was off roads here in response to the shutdown call. But private transport, educational institutions and government offices functioned normally.
To ensure that the work in government offices did not suffer because of the shutdown call and non-availability of public transport in the city, authorities instructed government employees to stay close to their places of posting.
Geelani has asked the people to resume normal activities Thursday and Friday.
In response to appeals by the non-Muslim communities of the valley, Geelani has modified his protest calendar and withdrawn the shutdown call Friday to enable them to celebrate the festival of Diwali without any hardship.
The authorities believe that with the levels of public violence coming down remarkably during the last fortnight, things are gradually returning to normal.
This has also been confirmed by union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who visited the valley earlier this week. In a statement in New Delhi, he said the situation in Kashmir is gradually returning to normal.
A senior police officer in Srinagar said: "Going by the level of tension that gripped the valley in the last four months, there is no doubt the situation is returning to normal now."
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