Curfew continues in Jammu amid reports of more attacks

Curfew continued for the second consecutive day in Jammu on Saturday as reports of attacks on a number of quarters belonging to Kashmiris were reported from Janipur area of the city.

The curfew was imposed in Jammu district on Friday after violence erupted in the backdrop of the strike call given by various political and business organisations against the killing of 49 CRPF me in a suicide attack on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Pulwama by a Jaish-e-Mohammad.

“Curfew will continue till further orders. We will take a call later in the day after assessing the overall law and order situation,” a senior official said in Jammu.

However, despite the curfew, reports of attacks on Kashmiris were received from Janipur area of Jammu. “The mobs entered inside the premises and attacked quarters of Kashmiris while police remained a mute spectator,” they said.

J&K Secretariat Employees Union President, Ghulam Rasool Mir condemned the attack and urged the administration to ensure the safety of the people from Kashmir and those from the particular community.

“This is highly condemnable. There are brazen attempts to damage the communal harmony and brotherhood and the administration must swing into action to ensure that such attacks are stopped instantly, and that life and property of the Kashmiris and other innocents are protected,” he said.

On Friday, nearly 30 vehicles belonging to a particular community were reduced to ashes while more than 50 vehicles were damaged by the mobs during a strike called by the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industries and Bar Association in the state’s winter capital against Thursday’s attack on CRPF in Lethpora Pulwama.

The Army was immediately called out to assist the civil administration to restore order in the city.

In Srinagar, Kashmir Economic Alliance Chairman Muhammad Yasin Khan termed the riots and arson in Jammu as a result of government giving ‘free hand’ to a handful of goons.

“The way police is seen acting mute towards the rioters in Jammu conveys that iron hand is meant only for peace-loving Kashmiris. In Kashmir, pellets are fired on innocents as young as infant Hiba, but in Jammu, rioters are given a free hand only because they apparently enjoy blessings of some politicians,” Khan alleged.

Meanwhile, protests broke out amid a spontaneous shutdown in south Kashmir's Anantnag town on Saturday against the attacks on Kashmiris putting up in Jammu and outside the state.