Forces plan and hope for Friday peace; may relax curbs on Eid

SRINAGAR: Kashmir Valley, which continues to remain under curfew for the fourth day on Thursday, is likely to see heightened security measures on Friday to ensure that there are no protests or violence after the weekly prayers. Being the first Friday after the special status for the state was scrapped, the administration is meticulously planning measures to scuttle any chances of protest which could snowball into violence.

The administration held a meeting around 11 pm on Wednesday to deliberate on the security scenario, especially in the wake of Eid ul Adha scheduled on August 12.

“If this Friday passes off peacefully, then we can think of relaxing the restrictions for Eid. We don’t want any loss of life to take place and we are prepared to deal with much worse law and order situation,” a senior government functionary, privy to developments, told ET.


The government has, once again, not allowed Friday prayers to be held at the historic Jama Masjid in old Srinagar City where Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Omar Farooq addresses the congregation. The officials have also identified some other centrally located Masjids where Friday prayers won’t be allowed.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval continues his stay in the Valley and has been holding security review meetings frequently and is monitoring the situation real time.

The newly-appointed advisor Farooq Khan, brought in to advise on the changing political situation in J&K, returned to Srinagar after a week-long stay in the Rajouri-Poonch belt of Jammu for over a week.

Sporadic protests were reported from several parts of Srinagar and some other districts.