Kashmir: Curfew lifted in 4 districts; schools re-open but on paper

Authorities lifted curfew in four districts of Kashmir where schools were scheduled to reopen on Thursday but the ban on movement of people continued in the rest of the six districts of the Valley as a precautionary measure.

Curfew has been lifted from Bandipora, Baramulla, Budgam and Ganderbal districts of the Valley but restrictions on the assembly of people under Section 144 CrPC continue in these districts as a precautionary measure, a police official said.

He said the curfew was lifted in order to facilitate the reopening of the schools in these areas following the government decision to this effect on Wednesday.

The government modified its earlier order and announced opening of schools in these four districts from Thursday.

The schools were earlier scheduled to open on July 18 but the government had extended the summer vacations till July 25 in view of the unrest that has claimed 43 lives and injured over 3400 others.

While officials did not comment on whether the schools opened, reports from these four districts said the educational institutions remained closed.

"Some staff members had arrived for duty at schools but returned home as no students turned up," Nazir Ahmad, a social activist from Bandipora, said.

Ahmad said even schools in Garoora, the native village of Education Minister Naeem Akhtar, remained closed.

"Please do not expect people to risk the lives of their children," he added.

Unofficial reports received from Baramulla, Budgam and Ganderbal also spoke about schools not opening on Thursday.

Meanwhile, curfew continued in the remaining six districts of the Valley.

Normal life remained affected for the 13th day on Thursday due to curfew and separatist-sponsored strike against the civilian killings in the clashes between protestors and security forces in the wake of killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter on July 8.

The separatist groups, which are spearheading the ongoing protests, have, however, relaxed the bandh in the valley from 2pm on Thursday till night.

The "relaxation" was announced by the separatist camp to allow people to stock essential commodities.

The strike will resume from Friday till July 25.

Meanwhile, local newspapers in Kashmir Valley were back on the stands after five days, a day after Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti met editors and owners of city-based newspapers and expressed regret over restrictions on the media.

"It is good that newspapers have resumed their publications. We are happy not only from the business point of view, but because it will also spread factual information in the Valley where rumour mills are always buzzing," a newspaper distributor said.

Local newspapers in the Valley whether English, Urdu or Kashmiri had failed to hit the stands on Saturday after the police allegedly raided some printing facilities and seized newspapers, plates and even detained the printing staff.

Following the police action, a meeting of Kashmir-based newspaper editors, printers and publishers was held on Saturday where they decided to stop their publications until the government owned up to the clampdown and apologised.

The journalists also held a protest against the clampdown, terming it as an attack on the freedom of press and stopped their publications.

However, on Tuesday, the government said there were no restrictions on printing and publishing of newspapers. The District Magistrates of Srinagar and Budgam have clarified that there are no restrictions on printing and publishing of newspapers in the districts, an official spokesman said.

But the newspaper editors and owners on Wednesday said since the government had not changed its press emergency, they regret that it may not be possible to resume the publication of newspapers.

The government must own the ban and issue a statement guaranteeing that media operations are not being hampered from the movement of staff, to news gathering, printing and the distribution of the newspapers, they said in a statement.

They, however, decided to resume their publications after they met the chief minister on Wednesday who expressed regret over the restrictions and said it was not a deliberate attempt on part of the government, but happened because of some communication gap.

Though there has been no deliberate attempt on part of the government to impose any restrictions on the publication of newspapers, however, whatever has happened, because of some communication gap, is regrettable, Mehbooba had told them.

The chief minister assured the editors and owners that the Government would facilitate to the maximum extent possible smooth movement of journalists and other newspaper staff to ensure that they can perform their professional duties in a hassle-free manner.

She assured them that the stgte Government is committed to independence of the media at all costs and complaints of highhandedness against the press, if any, amid the prevailing situation will be looked into".

Meanwhile, an All-Party Meeting convened by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was held in Srinagar on Thursday to review the situation in the violence-hit Valley and find a way out of the unrest that has left 43 persons dead and 3,400 others injured.

Main opposition National Conference is not participating in the meeting. The party had on Wednesday announced its decision to boycott it, saying actions in the recent past have shown that there was no "effective leadership" in the state government.

Mehbooba chaired the meeting, which was also attended by several ministers including deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, leaders from opposition Congress, independent MLAs and leaders of other political parties in the state.

Mehbooba convened the meeting to build a consensus on the measures to be taken for restoring normalcy in the Valley which has erupted into violent protests after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8. 

Photographs: Umar Ganie