SRINAGAR: A complete shutdown was observed in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) on Saturday to commemorate the sixth death anniversary of Kashmiri leader Muhammad Afzal Guru.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the call for the shutdown was given by the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) comprising Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik.
On February 11, the JRL has organised a march in Srinagar to demand that the remains of Guru and another renowned Kashmiri liberation leader, Muhammad Maqbool Butt be returned from New Delhi’s Tihar Jail for a proper burial.
The Indian authorities have put Gilani, Mirwaiz, Yasin and other leaders under house arrest to prevent them from participating in protests and programmes related to the martyrdom anniversaries.
The authorities have also imposed restrictions in Doabgah, the native area of Guru in the Baramulla district to prevent people from visiting the family members of the martyred leader and expressing solidarity with them. Restrictions have also been imposed in different areas of Srinagar including Mahraj Gunj, Rainawari, Nowhatta, Safa Kadal, Khanyar and Maisuma to prevent protests and rallies.
Guru was convicted in a 2001 attack on the Indian parliament in which 14 people lost their lives. Five gunmen entered the high-security parliament complex and opened fire, killing eight police officials before they were themselves shot and killed. A gardener also died in the attack.
Guru was on death row for 11 years. His family received a letter informing them of his imminent hanging two days after he was dead, but the letter, dated Feb 6, 2013, was mailed on Feb 8, a day before Guru’s execution.
According to the Kashmir Media Service, all shops and businesses in IHK remained closed and streets remained empty.
Security forces in IHK have imposed restrictions in Srinagar and some northern parts of held Kashmir, including Sopore, where Guru lived, to prevent people from staging anti-India protests.