Separatists defer strike

Srinagar: Separatists on Friday deferred the two-day strike to protest against any tinkering with Article 35-A of the Constitution to August 30 as the case has been listed for hearing on 31 August in the Supreme Court.

Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), consisting of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, had on August 17 called for a two-day strike from August 26, but the strike has now been deferred to the end of the month. 

"As the Supreme Court of India is now hearing the case challenging the state subject law of J&K on 31st August as such the state-wide protest hartal by JRL (Joint Resistance Leadership) against this nefarious move will now be observed on 30th & 31st Aug. 

However, protests by different segments of society will continue,” Mirwaiz wrote on Twitter. 

Article 35-A empowers the Jammu and Kashmir assembly to define "permanent residents" for bestowing special rights and privileges to them.