The Kashmir Valley has been hit by massive protests, violence and death in the last two weeks. The clashes with the police after the death of Burhan Wani has snowballed into a major crisis with almost daily clashes with the security forces in the streets of towns in Kashmir.
Burhan Wani was a young Hizbul Mujahideen commander from south Kashmir’s Tral area. Wani was prolific on social media, using it to >to reach out to the youth and creating huge following . His killing was announced by the Army on July 8, a Friday. It triggered massive protests.
Here is a look at the key developments:
June 7, 2016: Hizb commander Burhan Wani, in a fresh video, on June 07, >warned of attacks on separate Sainik and Pandit colonies but assured safety to Amarnath pilgrims for their upcoming pilgrimage.
Day 1: July 8
Wani, who carried a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head, was tracked after a tip-off that he was planning to come down from the Tral forest area for Eid celebrations. Wani and his two local associates were cornered by security forces in Kokernag area and >killed in an encounter .
The news of Wani’s death triggeres protests across the Valley. Hundreds of people assemble in Tral, Wani’s hometown, in the evening to participate in his funeral prayers. Several others performed funeral in absentia in south, central and north Kashmir.
Day 2: July 9
Eleven protesters were killed and over 120 persons, including 96 security personnel, were injured, as >violent street protests erupted across the Kashmir valley.
Villagers offer prayers during the funeral of Burhan Muzaffar Wani in Tral, near Srinagar, on July 9, 2016. Photo: Nissar Ahmad
Wani is not the only militant whose funeral has drawn people in the thousands.
>Amarnath Yatra was suspended in view of tension due to the killing of Jammu and Kashmir’s most wanted guerrilla.
Kashmiri protestors clash with police during a protest in Batmallo Srinagar on July 10, 2016. Photo: Nissar Ahmad
Day 3: July 10 Burhan’s father, Muzaffar Wani, a government school principal, said, “ >It gives a sense of satisfaction that he has achieved martyrdom.”
Empty Shikaras on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar on July 10, 2016. Tourists were leaving Kashmir due to unprecedented protests and killings of civilians. Photo: Nissar Ahmad
Day 4: July 12 The death toll in the violence went up to 32, as a Delhi University student >dies of bullet wounds .
Editorial: >This is a cycle that cannot be broken by brute force .
Day 5: July 13 After the high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, security forces deployed in the Kashmir Valley are >asked to exercise “absolute restraint.” Mr. Modi, who chaired the meeting within hours of his return from the four-nation Africa tour, asked officials to see to it that “civilians were not harassed.”
Day 6: July 14 A mob burned down house in which Burhan Wani was killed in Kokernag, about 83 kms from Srinagar.
PDP-BJP coalition government spokesperson and senior minister Naeem Akhtar >spoke to The Hindu about the encounter, the fallout and the way out.
An opinion article: "There is a return to home-grown insurgency, with religious radicalisation acting as a force multiplier this time. The latest uprising in Kashmir was >waiting to happen for some time . Burhan Wani’s father was convinced of the righteousness of his son’s mission."
Day 7:July 15>At least one policeman is killed and five police personnel are injured in a grenade attack and firing in a police station at Yaripora in Kulgam district.
Day 8: July 16 The government >enforces an information blackout , raiding newspaper printing facilities and seizing copies of newspapers.
Day 9: July 17 Centre >rushed 2,000 additional troops to Kashmir.
Day 10: July 18 Home Minister Rajnath Singh >blamed Pakistan for the bloodshed . Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said in the House on Monday that the unrest in Kashmir was unprecedented, something even the 1990s had not witnessed.
Boats tied in the middle of Dal lake during a curfew in Srinagar on July 18, 2016, as the unrest in Kashmir entered its 10th day. Photo: Nissar Ahmad
Kashmiri guards walk in a deserted bus stand during the curfew in Srinagar on July 18, 2016. Photo: Nissar Ahmad
Day 11: July 19 Army instituted an inquiry into a firing incident, which left three civilians dead in south Kashmir. Death >toll climbed to 42 .
Local newspapers failed to hit the stands for the last three days in curfew-bound Kashmir after the government’s alleged clampdown on media in the wake of protests. >Mehbooba Mufti spoke to Venkaiah Naidu with regard to the reports of a ban on newspapers in the State. The CM clarified to the Minister that there is no such ban on publication of newspapers in the Valley.
Day 12: July 20 Army Chief General Dalbir Singh on Wednesday >arrived in Srinagar and reviewed the security situation.
Owners and editors of newspapers in Kashmir on July 20, >decided not to publish dailies in protest against the Mehbooba Mufti government’s failure to own the “ban order” issued three days ago.
Editorial: About the >disruption of normal life in the Kashmir Valley after the killing.
Day 13: July 21 Curfew >entered its 13th day . Forty-five people, including 43 civilians and two local policemen, were killed in the clashes in the Valley.
Authorities even >decided to relax curfew across Kashmir Valley in the afternoon to allow people buy the essentials.
Day 14: July 22 Curfew remains in force.
Children seen going to their tuitions during curfew in Srinagar. Photo: Nissar Ahmad
Day 18: July 26
Authorities continued curfew and restrictions in the Kashmir Valley. Curfew was >lifted in all parts of Srinagar city. Clashes continued in south Kashmir areas as people tried to march to Anantnag town in response to the separatist called protest march on July 25.
Day 19: July 27
Curfew continued in south Kashmir districts while only restrictions were imposed in parts of Srinagar city and elsewhere after it was lifted on Tuesday in the tense Valley.
Day 20: July 28
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi visits the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in new Delhi to meet the patients from Jammu and Kashmir who had received serious injuries from pellet guns.
