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  India   All India  11 Dec 2017  Security lockdown in tense Valley

Security lockdown in tense Valley

THE ASIAN AGE. | YUSUF JAMEEL
Published : Dec 11, 2017, 12:31 am IST
Updated : Dec 11, 2017, 12:31 am IST

Main market places shut, traffic hit on Human Rights Day.

Tourists click photographs of a man holding a calendar issued by Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons during a protest against the alleged human rights violations in Srinagar on Sunday, the World Human Rights Day. (Photo: H.U. Naqash)
 Tourists click photographs of a man holding a calendar issued by Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons during a protest against the alleged human rights violations in Srinagar on Sunday, the World Human Rights Day. (Photo: H.U. Naqash)

Srinagar: The local police and Central paramilitary forces in riot gear enforced a security lockdown in vast areas of Srinagar, the summer capital of restive Jammu and Kashmir, on Sunday to hold back protests called by separatist leaders against alleged human rights violations.

Elsewhere in the Kashmir Valley, main market places were shut and vehicular traffic was disrupted after a shutdown call issued by “Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL)”, an alliance of key separatist leaders, to mark the World Human Rights Day. The impact of the strike call was, however, comparatively less in some Valley areas, reports pouring in here said.

The JRL, various other separatist parties and also some main Opposition mainstream parties, accused the security forces of inflicting excesses on local population while combating a 28-year-old militancy and intermittent civilian unrests in Kashmir. The charge is strongly denied by the latter. The authorities also say that dozens of uniformed men have been punished for using excessive force or committing human rights violations while discharging their duties.

However, the world human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Asia Watch recently asked India to improve its human rights record further in J&K. They also renewed the demand for withdrawal of the AFSPA. Some J&K political parties including ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party which rules the State in partnership with BJP and opposition National Conference too have repeatedly asked for repeal of the contentious AFSPA.

Tags: jammu and kashmir, kashmir valley, world human rights day