Shutdown affects normal life in valley

SRINAGAR, JULY 11 (PTK): A protest shutdown called by Joint Resistance Leadership against unabated civilian killings affected normal life across the Kashmir Valley on Wednesday.

JRL comprising of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik, had called the Valley-wide shut down against unabated killings of civilians by the government forces.

All shops, other businesses and educational institutions remained closed in Srinagar and other district headquarters of the Valley. The public transport remained off the road even though private transport and some three-wheelers were seen moving on uptown and city outskirts.

The shutdown call did not, however, affect the passage of Amarnath pilgrims to the two base camps of Baltal and Pahalgam.

Neither did anybody try to prevent the movement of tourists elsewhere in the Valley.

Authorities made heavy deployments of police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the old City areas here and other sensitive places without imposing any restrictions on civilian movement.

Train services between Baramulla town of the Valley and the Banihal town in Jammu region were also suspended.

Mobile Internet services also remained suspended in most parts of south Kashmir.