Indian police clash with pro-Khamenei protesters in Kashmir

Authorities closed schools and colleges for two days and imposed restrictions on public movement. Read more at straitstimes.com.

SRINAGAR, India - Police in Indian-administered Kashmir fired teargas on March 2 during clashes with thousands of demonstrators protesting the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for a second day in a row.

The clashes came a day after tens of thousands of people in the Muslim-majority region joined peaceful street demonstrations against strikes by Israel and the United States that killed the Iranian leader.

On March 2, authorities closed schools and colleges for two days and imposed restrictions on public movement by barricading many arterial roads.

The restrictions were imposed “as a precautionary measure” after a group of Muslim organisations headed by the region’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq called for a strike, authorities said.

The protesters clashed with security forces when they were stopped from marching to the main square in the main city of Srinagar, which was sealed off.

Demonstrations were also held in other pockets across the Kashmir valley, with protesters displaying portraits of Mr Khamenei, slain Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Hassan Nasrallah of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.