Separatist leaders under house arrest, internet shutdown on Burhan Wani’s death anniversary

Representational Image

The separatists have called for a complete shutdown in the Valley on the third death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani. As a precautionary measure to avoid any incident of violence, security forces have kept senior separatist leaders under house arrest.

Hurriyat (moderate) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Tehrik Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, separatist leader Hilal War, among others have been kept under house arrest in the wake of the call for shutdown.

While there is heavy deployment of forces across the Valley, restrictions have also been put at several places, including the downtown area of Srinagar.

Mobile internet services have been snapped across south Kashmir and in Srinagar, the internet speed has been reduced to 2G.

A conglomerate of separatist parties, Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), had appealed to people of Jammu and Kashmir to observe a complete shutdown.

This comes two days after sources in the intelligence agencies warned of a possible plan to attack security forces in Pulwama district. According to sources, a new group of Pakistan terrorists, comprising six to eight people, recently reached Pulwama. The terrorist group also has a sniper in its ranks.

The killing of Burhan Wani, a posterboy of Hizbul Mujahideen, on July 8, 2016, had triggered protests in several parts of Jammu and Kashmir. The Valley had witnessed prolonged curfews and shutdown and at least 85 were killed in protests that followed his killing.

Pakistan had also used the opportunity to target India, referring to Wani as a freedom fighter and a “victim of atrocities by Indian troops in Kashmir”. In 2017, Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had praised Wani, stating that his death "infused a new spirit in the struggle for freedom" in the Kashmir Valley.