21 June 2018•Update: 21 June 2018
By Zahid Rafiq
SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir
Kashmiris on Thursday observed a complete shutdown to protest the killing of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari and other civilians in the region.
Bukhari was assassinated on June 14 along with his two security guards by unidentified gunmen in Srinagar’s Press enclave.
Offices, businesses and educational institutions remained closed on Thursday, while the train services in the region were also suspended.
Thursday’s shutdown was called by the region’s pro-independence groups, which has condemned the killings and demanded an international probe.
The pro-independence leaders Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar were put under house arrest, while Yasin Malik was put in prison on early Thursday to prevent them from addressing gatherings, according to local media reports.
“These dictatorial tactics will not change anything. People have a basic right to protest brutal repression and killings and we will continue to do so as long as this policy is pursued,” Mirwaiz said.
The government has not commented on the situation in the region, while police have also remained tight-lipped over Bukhari’s killing.
The police has yet to find concrete leads that could help them in solving the case, a senior police officer told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.
Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.
Also, in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.
Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.
According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.
