Mujtaba Wani
SRINAGAR: A general shutdown is being observed in Kashmir valley to commemorate the assassination of two senior separatist leaders.
Shops and educational institutions are closed while traffic is off the roads. Government offices and banks, however, are functioning normally.
Separatist leader and chief cleric of the valley, Mirwaiz Muhammad Farooq was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at his Nigeen residence on this day in 1990.
During a rally to mark his 12th death anniversary in 2002, another senior separatist leader, Abdul Gani Lone was killed. Both of them are buried in the Martyr’s Cemetery at Eidgah in old quarters of the city.
It could not be established who the assassins were, but Lone’s son and now a mainstream politician, Sajad Lone blamed separatist militants for his father’s killing.
“I know that two gunmen from Pakistan killed my father. Whether they were acting on their own or at someone’s behest, I cannot say for sure,” Sajad told a news agency in 2011.
Mirwaiz Farooq’s son and his successor as the chief cleric, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq has called for a march to Eidgah today. The authorities have placed him under house arrest.
Police and paramilitaries in riot gear have been deployed in strength in the old quarters of the city to foil any attempts by people to take out a rally.
However, witnesses say people in small groups have been reaching the Martyr’s Cemetery since morning to offer tribute.
