Saturday 18th Jul, 2026
Shopkeepers down shutters in Lal Chowk, protest against ‘attack’ on Kahsmiris
Srinagar, Feb 22: (UNI) Shopkeepers downed shutters in Lal Chowk, the nerve centre of the summer capital, Srinagar, and held demonstration on Friday evening against alleged assault and social boycott of Kashmiris in Jammu and other parts of the country.
As soon as the clock struck 1530 hrs on Friday, shops and business establishments closed in Lal Chowk and adjoining areas following a proposed strike called by traders to protest alleged assault of Kashmiris in rest of the country in view of Pulwama attack last week that left 40 civilians dead.
Holding placards and shouting slogans, the traders assembled at historic Ghanta Ghar and demanded that the assault of Kashmiris should stop at once. The protestors also demanded action against culprits responsible for harassment of Kashmiris outside the valley.
The protestors later dispersed peacefully though shops and business establishments remained closed. Traffic was plying normally on all roads.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday directed the chief secretaries and DGPs of Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand, and the Delhi Police commissioner to prevent incidents of “threat, assault and social boycott” of Kashmiris, including students.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi also directed that the police officers, who were earlier appointed as nodal officers to deal with lynching incidents, would now be responsible to deal with cases of assaults on Kashmiris.