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Curfew lifted from Pulwama; shutdown, clashes continue

SHABIR AHMAD. Dated: 2/23/2014 11:21:57 PM

SRINAGAR, Feb 23: Even as curfew was lifted from Pulwama township of south Kashmir after three days, shutdown and clashes continued in the area for the fourth consecutive day today. Police resorted to cane charge and heavy teargas shelling to disperse the protesting and stone throwing youth. Curfew was imposed in the town on Thursday after the violent protests over the killing of a local militant, Towseef Ahmad Dar in Central Kashmir’s Badgam district.
The curfew continued for three consecutive days. Though the curfew was lifted from the town today but reports said that shutdown and clashes between the youth and forces continued to affect the normal life on the fourth day of militants’ killing.
“Since there was no deployment in the town today, groups of youth assembled near Muran chowk this morning and attacked the police station with stones. The police initially retaliated by throwing back only stones but as more and more youth joined and resorted to stone pelting from all sides, the forces burst tear gas canisters to quell the stone pelting,” eyewitnesses said.
They said that after succeeding in chasing away the stone pelting youth deployment was again made in many localities of the town.
“At around 1:30 pm scores of youth again assembled and tried to take away a procession which was thwarted by the forces again by resorting to cane charge and tear gassing triggering clashes again,” eyewitnesses said. The clashes, they said, continued for several hours, however nobody was injured.
Meanwhile all the shops , business establishments and private offices remained shut in the entire town while as the traffic was off the roads. Reports said that the youth had also blocked Srinagar-Pulwama busy road by placing huge logs and tractor trolleys on it.