Separatists call strike in Kashmir after killing of scholar-turned-militant

Srinagar: Normal life in Kashmir was affected on Friday due to a strike called by separatists after the killing of PhD scholar-turned-Hizbul Mujahideen commander Manan Bashir Wani in an encounter with security forces.

Schools, higher educational institutions and business establishments remained closed due to the strike called by the Joint Resistance Leadership, a separatist amalgam comprising Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, officials said. 

Public transport remained off the roads in most places but few private vehicles could be seen plying in the city, the officials said. 

The separatists called for a shutdown after Wani and his associate Ashiq Hussain Zargar were killed in a gunbattle with security forces in Handwara area of Kupwara district on Thursday. 

The situation across the valley so far is peaceful but security personnel have been deployed in strength at vulnerable places for maintaining law and order, the officials said.