Death toll reaches 30 as Kashmir Valley simmers

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 11

Nine more people, including a girl, have succumbed to their injuries, taking the death toll in the Kashmir Valley following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani to 30, officials said on Monday.

Curfew-like restrictions have been extended to volatile areas, including Batamaloo in Srinagar, where a youngster was killed on Sunday night. The situation in the Valley remains tense and additional security forces have been deployed at sensitive areas. In other parts of the Valley, a complete shutdown is being observed on a call by separatist organisations.

An official said nine more people from various districts of south Kashmir succumbed to their injuries since Sunday night. They have been identified as Yasmeena, Feroz Mir, Shahid Hussain Bhat, Zubair Khanday, Nazir Ahmed Sheikh and Mushatq Ahmed, all from Kulgam; Shahid Gulzar of Shopian; Abdul Rashid Kumhar of Pulwama; and Bilal Ahmed Shah of Anantnag.

More than 300 people have been wounded in the violence since Saturday.

Meanwhile, normal life continued to remain paralysed for the third consecutive day on Monday as protests, mainly by the youth, have been going on in different areas of the Valley. The youth have been taking to streets and engaging police and paramilitary jawans in clashes in the capital city and other areas. These demonstrations were triggered following the death of Wani in South Kashmir on Friday evening. There are reports of clashes under way in various parts of Kashmir on Monday.

Amid tight security, the annual pilgrimage to Amarnath resumed this evening from Jammu after remaining suspended for two days due to violent protests in Kashmir following the killing of Burhan Wani.

“Amarnath yatra has resumed this evening from here. A batch of 3,500 pilgrims left from Bagwatinagar base camp for Baltal and Pahalgam,” Jammu Deputy Commissioner Simrandeep Singh said.

The yatra was suspended on July 9 in the wake of violence in the Valley following the killing of the top Hizbul Mujahideen commander.

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Meanwhile, mobile telephony has been suspended in four districts of south Kashmir since Friday evening. Authorities have strengthened the presence of security forces in vulnerable areas of the city and elsewhere in the Valley to contain protests, a police official said.

He said the restrictions were being enforced strictly on Monday to avoid any further loss of life or damage to property. Mobile internet services continued to remain suspended for the third day, while normal life remained affected due to the strike called by separatist groups.

Shops, private offices, business establishments and petrol pumps were shut, while government offices and banks witnessed a thin attendance, officials said.

Public transport was completely off the roads, while private cars and auto-rickshaws were seen plying at a few places in areas where there were no restrictions, they said.

Educational institutes in the Valley were closed on account of the ongoing summer vacations, while the Central University of Kashmir, Islamic University of Science and Technology and Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education have postponed the examinations because of the prevailing situation.

Most separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, are either in custody or under house arrest. With agencies