Jammu and Kashmir shutdown over Article 35A kicks in today

The ongoing Amarnath Yatra from Jammu to the cave shrine in the Kashmir Valley is being temporarily suspended as Kashmir readies for a two-day separatist-called shutdown ahead of the Supreme Court hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the validity of Article 35A of the Constitution. The protest shutdown was called to support Article 35A that gives special powers to the state legislature. Separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) had given the call for a shutdown on Sunday and Monday across the state. The strike call is being supported by organisations across the spectrum, which have threatened to launch a mass agitation if the article is removed by the court.