Complete Strike in Kashmir on PM Manmohan Singh Visit

Kashmir Valley hold a strike called by Kashmiris to protest against the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.

Both factions of Hurriyat Conference and JKLF have called for a general strike.

Shops, business establishments, educational institutions, banks and private offices remained closed due to the strike.

Police and paramilitary CRPF personnel have been deployed in numbers across the city while in some places army is also conducting foot patrols to prevent the Kashmiris from carrying out any sit in during the high profile visit.

The security forces have erected barriers after every km to check the antecedents of people.

Chairman of Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani asked the people to observe a complete strike to remind the centre and the world that Kashmir is a “dispute pending a resolution”.

Mirwaiz Umer Farooq also called for a general strike alleging that the Centre is treating Kashmir as an economic issue rather than a political one.

“The people of Kashmir are being compelled to take route of protests and strikes as Indian leadership, instead of addressing Kashmir politically, is trying to look at the issue through the prism of economic packages which is unwise and negative politics,” Mirwaiz said.

The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front headed by Yasin Malik, while calling for the strike, said the Prime Minister has “failed” in his peace process which proved only an “illusion”.