Separatists extend strike call till October 20

PTI | Srinagar | 13 October, 2016: Separatists, who have been spearheading the ongoing unrest in Kashmir for the last 96 days, on Wednesday extended the shutdown call till October 20 even as people began resuming their normal activities. 

In a fresh protest calendar for the upcoming week, the separatist camp, comprising leaders of both factions of Hurriyat Conference headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik, has asked people to march towards Raj Bhavan to hand over a memorandum to the Governor on Friday. 

It also called upon social and religious organisations to start a "door-to-door campaign" on October 16 to raise funds for the support of transporters who have "suffered immensely" due to the ongoing strike which entered fourth month last week. 

"Identify and prepare a list at mohalla (locality) level of all drivers, conductors, auto rickshaw owners, cab owners and matador (mini-bus) owners and extend help to them in all possible ways," the camp said in a joint statement here. 

The proposed protest calender includes 14-hour relaxation from 5 PM daily from October 15 to October 20. 

The unrest in the Valley following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8, has claimed 84 lives, including that of two policemen, and left hundreds of others injured in clashes between protestors and security forces.