Srinagar: In the wake of Amarnath Yatra and the first death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, around 21,000 paramilitary forces, in addition to the already existing estimated 700,000 forces, have been deployed in Jammu and Kashmir for ‘security purposes’.
Burhan was killed last year on July 8, in an encounter with the Indian Armed forces, catalyzing a massive uprising and prolonged period of curfews and shutdowns across the valley, in which as many as 85 people were killed and thousands of others were injured in daily clashes between the Indian Armed Forces and the protesters for a period of over four months.
“We are well prepared to handle any situation in Kashmir. We have sent 214 companies of central forces to control any situation which may arise on July 8 and during Amarnath yatra,” union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi while speaking to reporters in New Delhi said.
Amid tension regarding the events that might unfold on July 8, the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) on Tuesday had issued a protest calendar commemorating the first death anniversary of the popular Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant commander.
The JRL leaders including Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar, Yasin Malik in a joint statement had called for a complete shutdown on July 8 and July 13 to pay tributes to Burhan and July 13 martyrs.
These forces are in addition to the already existing estimated 700,000 forces in the valley.
Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian and Anantnag districts of Kashmir have been under severe unrest since the killing of Burhan in a gunfight with forces on July 8, 2016.
Over 80 young men from those areas had joined the militants, a report in GK said.
The state government has also announced 10-days holiday for all educational institutions from July 6.
