SRINAGAR: In Occupied Kashmir, the two-day shutdown will be observed from today to protest against the onslaught on the Article 35-A of the Indian Constitution that grants special rights and privileges to the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir and bars the non-Kashmiris from purchasing land and property in the territory.
Call for the shutdown has been given by the Joint Resistance Leadership comprising Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik and supported by traders bodies and civil society organizations.
The shutdown is aimed at expressing resentment against the hearing in the Indian Supreme Court on Monday of a petition seeking repeal of Article 35-A. The abrogation of this constitutional provision will pave way for the non-Muslim Indian citizens to permanently settle in occupied Kashmir that will subsequently result in change in the demographic composition of the territory.
AP