Lawmaker injured as restrictions continue in volatile Kashmir

Srigar, July 18: A ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker was seriously injured on Monday when his vehicle met with an accident following an alleged mob attack in the restive Kashmir Valley where curfew was imposed for the 11th consecutive day, police said. Mohammed Khalil Bandh was travelling from his home district of Pulwama to Srigar “in the dead of the night” when the accident occurred, a police spokesperson told IANS here, adding that there was “some confusion” about the incident. “We don’t know if it was really a mob attack. We have a report that his vehicle was chased by an unruly mob, causing the accident. But another version says people gathered after his vehicle overturned,” said the police spokesperson.

Some pictures on social media showed a white sedan, believed to be of the lawmaker, lying overturned. Bandh was rushed to the Army’s 92 Base Hospital in Srigar where he underwent orthopaedic surgery on his back, the police spokesperson said. His condition was stated to be critical. The confusion over the incident follows a complete information blackout on local newspapers in the Kashmir Valley, battling one of the deadliest of street violence that has left more than 40 people dead and over 2,000 injured in the last 11 days.

The unrest was triggered by the July 8 killing of 22-year-old Burhan Wani of Hizbul Mujahideen, the social-media-savvy poster boy of new age militancy in Kashmir. Authorities have imposed a blanket ban on newspapers, asking their editors and owners not to publish till July 19. Jourlists fear that the ban may be extended till there is some “semblance” of normalcy on Kashmir streets.

Cable television services have, however, been resumed after service providers took off all Pakistan TV channels and two private Indian channels. All mobile phone services, including internet and call facilities, have been spped across the valley. Limited call facility continued on post-paid cell phones provided by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Curfew and a shutdown called by the separatists paralysed normal life for the 11th consecutive day in the valley. (IANS)