Kashmir remains shut for 12th consecutive day

17/08/2019

SRINAGAR, Aug 16: Kashmir remained shut for the 12th consecutive day on Friday, even as the authorities relaxed restrictions on the movement of people in Srinagar.
"Restrictions on the movement of people have been eased in most parts of the Valley. The situation so far has remained peaceful," a senior official of the state administration said here.
He said while the deployment of security forces on the ground remains as earlier, people were allowed to move around the city and other towns.
Kashmir was placed a under a total clampdown on August 5, hours before Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced in the Rajya Sabha that the special status for the state had been revoked.
The state administration has directed government employees to report at work from Friday through a radio announcement.
However, the communication clampdown continues as all telephone and Internet services remained suspended.
While schools are closed for the past two weeks, shops and other business establishments too remained shut since August 5.
The official said the situation in the Valley was being monitored on a real-time basis and the decision to remove the forces would depend on the ground situation.
A Kashmir-based journalist, who was picked up from his home in Pulwama by security forces Thursday night, has been released on a bond, officials said on Friday.
Irfan Malik, a correspondent with the Greater Kashmir newspaper, was questioned before being released, they said.
It was not immediately known as to why was he detained.
Officials, however, said a bond is taken from those who indulge in anti-social activities.
After the government removed Jammu and Kashmir's special status on August 5, it imposed restrictions on free movement of people, prevented large gatherings, put curbs on telecom connectivity and announced closure of schools and colleges.
A few preventive detentions of individuals were also made in accordance with the provisions of the law to maintain peace, a senior official said on Friday.
A media centre was set up to enable media to cover events in the state with regular press briefings by senior officials, the officials told journalists.
All schools and educational institutions in Kashmir will reopen from August 19, sources in the Jammu and Kashmir administration said on Friday.
Earlier, Governor Satya Pal Malik had directed the Civil Secretariat in Srinagar and all government offices to resume normal functioning from today.
All schools in Jammu had reopened on Saturday, a day after the district magistrate had ordered the withdrawal of prohibitory orders imposed under section 144 CrPC.
"The order dated August 5 issued under section 144 CrPC, within Municipal Limits of Jammu district is hereby withdrawn," read the order issued by Sushma Chauhan, District Magistrate, Jammu on August 9.
Section 144 was imposed after the abrogation of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

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