India government extends lockdown in Kashmir

A policeman stops motorists on a street in downtown Srinagar yesterday, as thousands of security forces maintained a lockdown across Kashmir.

• The death of Syed Ali Geelani at the age of 92 heightened tensions in the region after authorities refused to let him have a public funeral Thousands of Indian security forces maintained a lockdown across Kashmir yesterday after the death of a separatist political leader sparked clashes with protesters. The death of Syed Ali Geelani at the age of 92 heightened tensions in the region after authorities refused to let him have a public funeral. Authorities said an Internet and mobile phone shutdown ordered after Geelani died late Wednesday would continue and there was tight security around the main city of Srinagar yesterday. Many mosques in the region have announced that they would say special prayers for Geelani. Thousands of police and troops manned barricades and patrolled streets to keep people indoors following clashes between residents and government forces in Srinagar late Thursday. Public movements were restricted in the city and elsewhere in Kashmir, a government official said. “More troops have been deployed in sensitive areas and more roads have been barricaded,” the official said on condition of anonymity. Police fired tear gas to disperse stone-throwing protesters but no injuries were reported. Shops were shut across parts of Srinagar, with many streets deserted and coils of barbed wire strung across them. Soldiers with assault rifles manned checkpoints. Health worker Shakeel Ahmad said he had to navigate more barricades yesterday to get to his hospital than a day ago. “I was stopped at around a dozen places,” he said. Authorities accused Geelani’s son of taking his father’s body away to be buried in the middle of the night, hours after his death. The family said no relatives were allowed at the burial but police rejected the allegations as “false propaganda”. A video widely shared on social media showed police in a scuffle with Geelani’s relatives before taking away his body. Geelani, who had spent much of the past five decades in jail or under house arrest, had infuriated successive Indian governments with his pro-Pakistan stance and demands for a self-determination vote. Pakistan observed a day of official mourning for Geelani on Thursday. India imposed a similar internet shutdown and other restrictions for nearly a year after stripping the territory of its semi-autonomy in 2019. Authorities have also brought a slew of new laws, which critics and many Kashmiris fear could change the region’s demographics.