India incrases restrictions in Kashmir ahead of separatist call for portest
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| An Indian security guard |
Posters appeared overnight this week in Srinagar, the Muslim-majority region's main city, calling for a match to the office of the UN Military Observer Group for India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), to protest against India's revocation of Jammu and Kasmir state's special autonomy.
SHOPS SHUT
Protests have broken out in parts of Srinagar over the last two weeks, some drawing hundreds of people. At least 152 people have been hurt by teargas and pellets since security forces launched a sweeping crackdown, data from the Himalayan region's two main hospitals shows. On Friday, several dozen paramilitary personnel manned at least two barriers on the main road leading to the office of UNMOGIP in Srinagar and public movement around it was blocked.
Entry into the city's old quarter, which has long been a centre for protests, was severely curtailed, as policemen blocked street after street with concertina wire. Large swathes of Srinagar remained deserted with shops shut except for some provision stores with shutters half-down. Police vans patrolled some areas announcing a curfew and asking people to stay indoors.
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