Traders protest, demand safety of Kashmiris

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 22

Several traders’ organisations of Kashmir on Friday staged a protest at Lal Chowk and observed a shutdown in the afternoon, demanding safety of Kashmiris living outside the Valley.

They also took out a procession to condemn harassment of students and businessmen outside Kashmir.

“Our children are being harassed and if it does not stop, people of Kashmir will come out on the roads,” said Mohammad Yasin Khan, who heads the Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA), an amalgam of various traders’ bodies.

Several other traders’ organisations, including the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCC&I) and Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF), also took part in the protest in Lal Chowk inSrinagar.

Nasir Hamid Khan, senior vice-president of the KCC&I, urged the civil society to come forward and play its role. “We urge the thinkers, intellectuals and civil society wherever they be to come forward and play a role in thwarting the attempts to extract political advantage out of our tragedies,” he said.

Shopkeepers in Lal Chowk, Maisuma, Residency Road and other adjoining areas downed their shutters at 3:30 pm following a shutdown called by trade bodies and civil society organisations of the Kashmir valley.

(With inputs from PTI)