Indian Police Force End to Kashmir Shop Protest 

SRINAGAR, INDIAN ADMINISTERED KASHMIR - Traders in Indian-administered Kashmir have accused police of forcing them to open their shops in the capital, Srinagar, to “portray normalcy” on the anniversary of the revocation of the region’s special autonomy status.

Residents of the disputed region were observing a spontaneous shutdown Thursday to protest the Indian government’s decision to revoke its special status on August 5, 2019 — a move that converted the area from a full-fledged state into two union territories. Police had warned shopkeepers to refrain from observing a strike on the second anniversary of the scrapping of Indian Kashmir’s limited autonomy. A shopkeeper who identified himself as Mohammad Ashraf told VOA that he was at his home when one of his neighboring shopkeepers and a friend called him saying that police had cut the locks on his shop and opened it.