Srinagar: A complete shutdown is being observed in Mandi town of Poonch on Monday in defense of Article 35-A.
All shops and other commercial establishments are closed while transport is off the roads.
The traders and members of religious bodies in Mandi have called for shutdown in favour of Article 35-A. The transporters from the area had also extended their support to the shutdown call and announced that no private passenger vehicle will ply on Monday.
Article 35A which provides special rights on residents of Jammu and Kashmir has been challenged in the Supreme Court of India.
Earlier,Kashmir valley on Sunday shut down in protest called by the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) against mass arrests and a legal challenge to Article 35A.
The call for the shutdown was issued by the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), comprised of Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, and Muhammad Yasin Malik against the mass arrests, nocturnal raids, censorship and attempts to abbrogate article 35-A.
All shops and other commercial establishments were closed in Srinagar and other district headquarters of the Valley. Public transport remained off the roads.
In view of the strike call, Curfew-like restrictions were imposed in Srinagar parts since early Sunday morning and police and paramilitary forces were deployed in other parts of the valley to prevent any protest.
In a massive crackdown, authorities detained JKLF Chief Muhammad Yasin Malik and almost 150 Jamat-e-Islami leaders during the night long raids. The detained included all the top leaders of the party at the state, district and tehsil levels.
A complete shutdown was also observed in highway town of Banihal. All shops and businesses units were closed in response to the JRL call.
