Separatist shutdown affects life in Baramulla district

Normal life was affected in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district on Wednesday following a shutdown called by hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani to protest the killing of a party activist in Sopore town.

Normal life was affected in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district on Wednesday following a shutdown called by hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani to protest the killing of a party activist in Sopore town.

Shops, business establishments, public transport, banks, and educational institutions remained shut in the district.

Unidentified gunmen shot dead Sheikh Altaf-ul-Rehman, 35, in Sopore town of Baramulla district, 35 km northwest of summer capital Srinagar, on Tuesday.

Rehman, a pharmacist in the state health department, was an active member of Geelani's pro-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.

His father is a senior member of a politico-religious body, the Jamaat-e-Islami.

Separatist leaders condemned the killing and demanded an "impartial" probe.

Geelani and Muzaffarabad-based United Jehad Council chief Syed Salahuddin blamed the "Indian agencies" for the murder.

Meanwhile, police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the killing.