Restrictions lifted in SeK, downtown in Srinagar

Srinagar, Sep 11 : Curfew-like restrictions imposed in the Shehar-e-Khas (SeK) and downtown as a precautionary measure to prevent any law and order problem, have been lifted, official sources said here today. Apprehending trouble in view of strike called by separatists against four-day visit of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to the state, curfew-like restrictions were imposed in the areas under the jurisdiction of five police stations in SeK and downtown Srinagar yesterday. However, official sources told  that restrictions have been lifted from SeK and downtown Srinagar today though security forces remained deployed at some sensitive areas. Security forces and state police personnel had been withdrawn and all road blocks, including barbed wire, were lifted to allow free movement of pedestrian and vehicular traffic on all routes in SeK and downtown. All the gates of historic Jamia Masajid, stronghold of chairman of moderate Hurriyat Conference (HC) Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq, which were locked yesterday, are open for devotees. The Jamia Market was also open as security forces and state police personnel had been withdrawn. Both the factions of the Hurriyat Conference (HC) and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), spearheading the agitation demanding right to self determination, had called for a general strike yesterday against the visit of Mr Singh, who arrived here on September 9 on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir. UNI