SRINAGAR: A seven-day-old curfew was briefly lifted in revolt-hit Indian Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar yesterday, prompting panic buying by residents to stock up on food.
Stores reported they were running out of supplies in the city of one million, summer capital of Indian Kashmir where an armed revolt against New Delhi’s rule has raged since 1989. “I have only this to sell,” said shopkeeper Mehraj-u-Din, pointing to a bucket of old potatoes as residents ran from one area to another to stock up on essentials.
The indefinite curfew is the longest to be clamped on the Muslim-majority region since the early 1990s when the insurgency was at its peak.
The curfew, imposed last Sunday by authorities who hoped to prevent further anti-India protests, was lifted for “four hours,” a police spokesman said.
Eight people were shot dead during the past week for defying the crackdown, and several separatist leaders - including the two most senior figures, Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq - have been detained.
In the past few weeks, the region has been rocked by some of the biggest pro-freedom demonstrations since 1989.
