Curfew remained in force in many parts of the Kashmir Valley on Tuesday, including pockets of Srinagar city and Pulwama district, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired an high-level meeting to review the situation.
As the authorities braced for more protests on the fourth day of Hizb-ul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani’s killing, the death toll in clashes between protesters and security forces climbed to 24. Adil Ahmad Mattoo, who was injured in the firing incident at Bijbehara, died at SMHS Hospital in Srinagar on Monday night.
More than 350 persons, including over 115 security force personnel, have been injured in clashes and militant attacks in the present cycle of violence.
Latest updates:
4.35 pm: Police post set on fire in Romu in Pulwama district. No injuries or casualties, reports ANI.
3 pm: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq issues a statement on the Kashmir situation.
1.50 pm: Suspected militants today attacked a police post in Sopore area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, police said. None was hurt in the incident.
In another incident, unidentified persons hurled a petrol bomb towards security forces posted on law and order duty near Cement Bridge in Noorbagh area of Srinagar, the official said. No one was hurt in the incident too.
12.35 pm: A group of Imams meets Home Minister Rajnath Singh and urge him to restore calm in the Kashmir Valley. The Imams tell Mr. Singh that they will meet Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and local clerics of the State in an attempt to help bring calm in the Valley.
12.32 pm: Prime Minister has hoped for peace, has guided us and appealed that no innocent lives are disturbed, says Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh.
12.31 pm: Prime Minister has appealed for calm in the Valley. He has extended every possible help to the State, says Mr. Singh.
12.28 pm: Kashmir and South Sudan issues were discussed at an high-level meeting convened by the Prime Minister, ANI quotes Mr. Singh as saying. “PM has been keeping a close wtach on the sequence of events.”
12.10 pm: U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon calls on all parties to exercise “maximum restraint” to avoid further violence in Kashmir and hopes that all concerns would be addressed through peaceful means. “The Secretary-General is closely following the recent clashes in Kashmir. He regrets the reported loss of dozens of lives and the injuries to many others,” says a statement issued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson.
11.00 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs a high-level meeting on the situation in the Kashmir Valley. He was given a detailed presentation of the situation prevailing in the Valley, which has witnessed escalating protests following the killing of Wani on Friday.
The meeting was attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Minister of State for PMO Jitendra Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar among others.
10.55 am: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah takes a swipe at Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for not taking part in the crucial meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to review the volatile situation in Kashmir.
However, a senior official in Jammu and Kashmir clarifies that since it was a briefing by Central Ministers on the Kashmir situation, Ms. Mufti had no role at the meeting.
10.35 am: Restrictions will remain in force even today in most areas of Srinagar city and four districts of South Kashmir as a precautionary measure, officials said. The strike called by the separatist groups also affected life in the Valley.
10.20 am: Curfew remains in force in many parts of the Kashmir Valley, including pockets of Srinagar city and Pulwama district as the authorities brace for more protests, as the death toll in the clashes between protesters and security forces climbed to 24. Adil Ahmad Mattoo, who was injured in the firing incident at Bijbehara, dies at SMHS Hospital here late last night, a police official said today. Read more.
9.50 am: Home Minister Rajnath Singh postpones his visit to the United States to attend the Indo-U.S. Homeland Security Dialogue scheduled for next week.
A Home Ministry official cited the busy schedule during the coming Monsoon session of Parliament beginning July 18, 2016 as the reason for the deferment of the visit.
However, tension in the Kashmir Valley could be the other key factor for the postponement of the Home Minister’s five-day visit to America, sources said.
New dates have not been fixed but the trip now may take place sometime in September, the official said.
2.00 am: Kashmir is an internal matter of India, the U.S. has said and asked all stakeholders to make efforts towards finding a peaceful resolution of tensions in the Valley.
“We have seen reports of the clashes between protesters and Indian forces in Kashmir, and are concerned by the violence. We encourage all sides to make efforts towards finding a peaceful resolution,” a State Department spokesman said.
1.20 am: The BSF should remain extra vigilant along the International Border, says Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh. Mr. Singh, who chaired a high-level meeting to review the security situation of Jammu region, said the BSF authorities should beef up border management system and remain extra vigilant along the International Border.
[Source:- The Hindu]
