Curfew imposed in India-held Kashmir on Eid day

Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) will impose a curfew during Eid starting from Tuesday and will use drones and choppers for air surveillance to limit any violence in the strife-torn state.

Security sources said that people will be allowed to offer Eid prayers in mosques, Indian Express reported, adding that this may be the first time a curfew is in place on Eid since 1990.

For the first time in 26 years, no Eid congregations will be held at the Eid gah and Hazratbal shrines, the report claimed.

Seventy-six protesters have been killed and more than 7,000 wounded in clashes since July in the worst violence in six years in the disputed territory.

Two police officers and more than 5,000 security personnel have been wounded.

Authorities decided to impose a curfew and keep an aerial watch after reviewing the situation ahead of the festival, a police spokesman said on Monday.

On Tuesday, Kashmiri separatists are scheduled to march to the United Nations Military Observers Group India Pakistan (UNMOGIP) Office in Srinagar, the state capital.

‘It has become imperative to impose a strict curfew... in view of the separatist march,’ the spokesman said.
Mobile internet and cell phone services have been partially blocked ahead of Eid, the second such disruption since July 9, the day after security services shot dead Burhan Wani, a 22-year-old militant known for his calls to arms on social media.

Wani led Hizbul Mujahideen, prominent among the groups fighting Indian control of the majority Muslim region.

His death came amid a rise in violence and separatist sentiment across the state.