Ten days after Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani was eliminated by the armed forces, Kashmir continues to see massive unrest, with the violence claiming over 40 lives.
The Valley has seen protestors pelting stones, along with incidents of mobs attacking camps of armed forces. This has led to counter-attack by the security personnel too. The region has seen a complete standstill due to the curfew, with reports of people being unable to access healthcare facilities.
Here are ten updates to know on the situation in the region.
Local newspapers in curfew-bound Kashmir failed to hit the stands today for the third consecutive day after the government's alleged "clampdown" on the media. No local daily -- English, Urdu or Kashmiri -- was available as the newspaper owners decided not to publish them after the "clampdown" by the government on Friday night.
Separatist Kashmiri groups held demonstrations outside the premises of India's Permanent Mission to the UN protesting against the Indian forces in the Valley and demanding UN intervention in the Kashmir issue. The Kashmir American Council led the three-hour protests on Sunday attended by women and children as well. The protesters shouted slogans demanding "freedom" for Kashmir and its people.
Protests have intensified in the valley. On Monday, a PDP legislator was injured after a mob attacked his vehicle and turned it over. The legislator was on his way to Srinagar.
Former J&K CM, Omar Abdullah, has called the ten-day period as one of the worst in the past decade or so. "This is one of our worst periods in the last decade or so — certainly after the twin summers of 2008 and 2010. What led to it, that is fairly obvious – one of the two things happened: either the state government and its various intelligence wings completely failed to assess the fallout of Burhan Wani’s death; or having assessed it properly, they failed to put into place adequate measures to deal with the fallout,", he said in an interview to The Indian Express.
Citing violence and unrest, schools in Kashmir have extended their summer and Eid vacation till July 24.
Mobile internet and telecom services continue to remain suspended in the valley on the back of security threats. BSNL has restored its service, while all private operators remain closed.
Nearly 2,000 additional CRPF personnel have been sent to Kashmir following the death of a protestor. The incident took place when a mob tried to barge into an army camp in Bandipora district of North Kashmir.
The continuous blockade of Jammu-Srinagar National Highway have ensured that people are facing a grave crisis. The Valley remains short of essential commodities.
39 persons, including a cop, have been killed while nearly 3,200 persons, including 1,500 security force personnel, have been injured in the violence so far.
The Congress has taken on the government for handling the entire issue. It attacked the government for not taking Opposition’s views to address the problem and also said that the army had used disproportionate force on the protestors. It has sought an all-party meeting to take suggestions from all sides.
