Shutdown over Article 35A affects life in Kashmir Valley

Life across the Kashmir Valley was disrupted on Friday due to a separatist-called shutdown in support of Article 35A of the Constitution.

The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), a separatist alliance led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yasin Malik, had called for a complete shutdown to demonstrate support for the constitutional provision.

Shops, public transport, businesses and educational institutions remained closed in Srinagar and several other parts of the Valley.

The absence of public transport also affected attendance at government offices, banks and post offices in Srinagar and other districts.

Postgraduate entrance examinations had already been rescheduled because of the shutdown. Rail services between Baramulla and Banihal were also suspended for the second consecutive day.

Authorities imposed restrictions in several areas of Srinagar, including Khanyar, Rainawari, Nowhatta, M.R. Gunj, Safa Kadal, Kralkhud and Maisuma, to maintain law and order, police said.

Large numbers of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed in the restricted areas and other locations considered sensitive from a law-and-order perspective.

Article 35A empowers the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define the state's permanent residents and determine their special rights and privileges.

The provision was under challenge in the Supreme Court through a number of petitions being heard by a three-judge bench on Friday.