Srinagar: A day after postpaid mobile services on all networks were restored in Kashmir, nearly 15 women, including former J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah’s daughter and sister, held demonstrations Tuesday to protest against the scrapping of Article 370.
Police sources said 13 women were arrested for violating prohibitory orders and sent to Srinagar Central Jail. The arrested women included Abdullah’s sister Suraiya Matoo, daughter Safiya, Delhi-based activist Sushobha Bharve, academician Muslim Jan and activist Qurat ul Ain.
Although the situation in the Valley has remained largely stable after mobile connections were restored, the killing of an apple truck driver by terrorists in Shopian’s Shirmal village Monday evening created panic among people.
The incident took place nearly eight hours after phone connections were restored. The driver, identified as Mohammad Shareef Khan, used to ferry apples from Shopian to Jammu. He was shot dead and his vehicle set on fire. Hours after the incident, SMS services were blocked in the state.
Police sources said SMS services were withdrawn to prevent people from sending text messages in bulk. This apart, security was also beefed up in vulnerable areas Tuesday morning.
Also read: Less than a day after mobile services are restored in Kashmir, SMS services suspended
The murder
According to police, at around 8 pm four militants carjacked Khan’s vehicle and forced him to take it towards the highway. The vehicle was then used to block the highway.
The truck’s helper, identified as Ikram Khan, managed to escape and ran towards a nearby village to seek help. In the meantime, the militants shot the driver, killing him on the spot and then set the truck ablaze.
The J&K Police, in a statement, said by the time local residents from the nearby village reached the spot, it was too late. Khan was a native of Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.
Restive Shopian & apple trade
The incident sent shockwaves among people in Shopian and other adjoining districts in south Kashmir, which have a considerable presence of militants. ThePrint had earlier reported that ‘militant sightings’ in south Kashmir, including Shopian and Pulwama, have seen a 60-70 per cent jump in recent months.
The scrapping of Article 370 followed by the massive clampdown on communications and restrictions on the movement of vehicles have put a lot of strain on the law and order situation in Shopian.
Apple trade in the district was also adversely affected. Militant groups in early September put up posters, asking apple-growers to not harvest their produce as part of the civil shutdown to protest against the scrapping of Article 370.
Last year, Shopian had accounted for 2,72,620 metric tonnes of apple produce out of 18.82 lakh metric tonnes produced in the entire state.
Stories of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Naveed Babu “spoiling his own family’s apple produce” also began to do rounds in south Kashmir, deterring farmers to harvest apples.
The state administration had last month issued front-page advertisements in local newspapers, asking people to break the civil shutdown and not succumb to militants’ threats.
Posters threatening apple-growers stopped appearing late last month, but the killing of the truck driver seems to indicate a change in the mind of militants, police sources said.
“The killing might be another way to showcase that militants’ writ still exists in Kashmir. We have begun our investigations and will get to the core of the matter soon,” said a senior police officer, who did not wish to be named.
Mohammad Ashraf Mir, president of fruit mandi association in Shopian, expressed concerns over the future of apple trade. “There is fear. We don’t know what to do,” he said.
Mohammad Amin, who is involved in fruit trade in Shopian, said, “Whatever has happened is wrong. It might have ramifications on the trade. We hope things get stable soon.”
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Very unfortunate. Some estimates suggest that Kashmir will suffer a hit of $ 5 billion out of its GDP of $ 24 billion. Allowing unplucked fruit to rot in the orchards would be blasphemy, to disdain Allah’s bounty. Other, peaceful, non destructive ways should be found for people to express their sentiments. Ms Suhasini Haidar has tweeted, wondering whether there is any political plan for the way ahead.