A shutdown called by JRL on Sunday to protest the civilian killings a day before in Pulwama district, has paralysed life across the Kashmir Valley.

The shutdown has been called by the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) separatist conglomerate.

On Saturday, seven civilians were killed and over 35 others injured in clashes with the security forces which broke out in Pulwama district’s Sirnoo village immediately after a gunfight in the area.

Public transport remained off the streets across the valley on Sundat as authorities made heavy security deployment to maintain law and order.

High tension continued for the second day in the South Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian where the impact of the protest shutdown was maximum.

Governor Satya Pal Malik has ordered a probe into Saturday’s killings led by Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan.
On Monday, the separatists have called a protest march to the Badami Bagh headquarters of the Army’s 15 Corps in Srinagar.

Senior separatist leaders, Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq have been placed under house arrest while Muhammad Yasin Malik has gone underground to avoid detention.

Mobile internet services have been suspended in south Kashmir areas while the speed was brought down in other places of the valley.

Rail services between the valley and the Jammu region remained cancelled for a second day on Sunday.(IANS)

NEW DELHI — Reiterating his stand that stone is as lethal as gun in Kashmir Indian army chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday again equated stone-pelters in Kashmir with militants.

He also discredited the sense of alienation and resentment among Kashmiris for the Indian army as a false impression created by the media.

In an exclusive interview with CNN-News18 Saturday night, General Bipin Rawat said the “terrorists are feeding a wrong impression” of India to the Kashmiris and that the people in the valley live under the “fear of terrorists”.

Speaking on the issue of stone-pelting, Rawat said “The forces lose their calm only when there is a question of an appropriate reaction to the stone-pelters.”

“The question is – how should the army react? We avoid using guns in cases of stone pelting, because we are answerable in the court of law. But in today’s time, a stone is as lethal as a rifle,” he asserted.

“When my men face dilemma as how would they respond to stone pelting, I tell them you can’t pelt stones in return, use arms”, Rawat said adding that the army cannot be disrupted in its attempts to bring law and order.

General Rawat’s comments come on a day when seven civilians lost their lives when troops opened fire on protesters near an encounter site in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

Srinagar, Dec 15, :President of People Democratic Party Mehbooba Mufti Saturday took a dig at the governor over the killing of seven civilians in Pulwama saying ‘no probe was enough to bring back the dead innocent civilians’.

The former chief minister took to her Twitter handle to express her anger on the handling of affairs by governor,“No probe enough to bring back the dead innocent civilians.South Kashmir has been reeling under fear for the last 6 months. This what was expected from Gov rule?The admin has  failed in securing civilian lives. Deepest condolences to the bereaved.” She wrote.

She also condemned the killings and said that no country can win a war by killing its own people, “How long are we going to shoulder the coffins of our youngsters? So many civilians killed today post encounter in Pulwama. No country can win a war by killing its own people. I strongly condemn these killings , and once again appeal for efforts , to stop this blood bath .” She tweeted.

Seven civilians  were killed in Pulwama  in government forces action in the southern Kashmir district.