Life is limping back to normal in the Kashmir valley after two days of curfew and protests called by the separatists after the killing of Zakir Musa, one of the most wanted terrorists and chief of Kashmir’s version of Al-Qaeda, Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, on Thursday evening.
Musa was killed in an encounter with the security forces in Dadsara village of Tral area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
Musa was killed on late Thursday night as confirmed by Army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia. His body was retrieved at around 6 am on Friday after which authorities had clamped curfew in parts of Kashmir as soon as the news of Musa’s killing spread and had imposed restrictions on the movement of civilians, closing of educational institutions, cancellation of scheduled exams and suspension of Internet services.
Also, separatists had called for a protest shutdown following which life remained literally paralysed for two days. There were reports of angry youth indulging in stone pelting at the security forces.
However, on Sunday, the separatists appealed to people to return to their normal daily routine and also confirmed that there would be no shutdown.
Despite being a public holiday, markets opened after two days in Srinagar city and other towns in the Valley on Sunday. Public transport also started moving as usual both in Srinagar and all other districts of the Valley.
Authorities have not imposed any further restrictions anywhere to facilitate the movement of civilians.
Musa had joined the terror group Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) in 2013 and succeeded Burhan Wani after his killing in 2016. However, he quit HM and launched Al-Qaeda’s version in Kashmir.
(With IANS inputs)