Protest march called by separatists foiled in Srinagar

Srinagar: Authorities foiled a protest march called by separatists on Tuesday to the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) here by imposing a curfew.

The separatists had called for the march from all parts of Srinagar to the high-security Sonwar area where UNMOGIP is headquartered.

All roads leading to Sonwar were sealed off with heavy deployment of police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), blocking all vehicles and even pedestrians.

The Eid congregation near a shrine in Sonwar was also disallowed by the authorities fearing that the devotees might march to the nearby UN office.

All the separatist leaders have been placed under detention since the ongoing unrest that started a day after Hizbul commander Burhan Wani was killed on July 8.

The UNMOGIP has officers at Srinagar, Baramulla and Muzaffarabad and it is mandated to ensure that ceasefire violations don't occur between India and Pakistan on the Line of Control (LoC) between the two countries.

Despite its limited mandate, it has become customary for separatists to hand over memoranda to officials posted at UNMOGIP.