Restrictions imposed in Valley after Zakir Musa killing lifted

Reports said a shutdown was observed in places like Pulwama, where Musa was killed. “There was hartal. Shops were closed and traffic movement was affected.

The authorities on Sunday ended restrictions imposed on people’s movement and mobile internet services across most parts of Kashmir. The restrictions were imposed following the killing of militant Zakir Musa in a gunfight with security forces in South Kashmir’s Tral on Thursday night.

Paramilitary soldiers stood guard during restrictions in downtown Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India on Friday. Authorities imposed restrictions in parts of Kashmir in view of a strike called by senior separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani against the killing of Zakir Musa, a top militant commander and a civilian, Zahoor Ahmad earlier this week. (Waseem Andrabi / Hindustan Times)

Reports said a shutdown was observed in places like Pulwama, where Musa was killed. “There was hartal. Shops were closed and traffic movement was affected. However, the situation remained peaceful,” said a police officer posted in South Kashmir.

Shops and businesses remained open elsewhere in the Valley while train services and traffic plied as usual in the absence of any restrictions.

Officials said mobile internet services were restored even though the speeds remained slower. In Srinagar, the weekly flea market opened as usual on Sunday.

Some schools also opened on Sunday. “Schools were closed for two days. So we opened our school to finish our pending works of the two days like making necessary preparations for the first term examinations,” said Amina Akhtar, a teacher at a private school in Srinagar.

The restrictions were reimposed at Nowhatta in old Srinagar after stone-throwing protests. “Some youth indulged in stone pelting. So we were forced to reimpose the restrictions. The rest of the city remained peaceful,” said an officer at Srinagar’s police control room.

Musa, 25, who had formed al Qaeda affiliate Ansar Gazwat-ul-Hind, was killed in the gunfight with security forces on Thursday night at Dadsara, some two km from his home in Noorpora village of Tral.

The killing triggered protests and stone throwing in old Srinagar and in Pulwama prompting the administration to suspend mobile internet from Thursday. Curfew was also imposed in parts of the Valley on Friday while educational institutions were shut.

The police termed Musa’s killing a “major success against terrorism” in South Kashmir.