Jammu Tawi, Apr 23: For the first time Jammu and Srinagar simultaneously observed compete Bandh in protest against the terror attack on the civilians in Pahalgam killing 28 and critically injuring 18 others, officials said.
Several parts of Jammu region observed a total shutdown on Wednesday on multi-organisations Bandh calls.
Besides Jammu city, shutdown was observed in Reasi, Udhampur, Katra, Kathua, and Samba.
Protests were held in several parts of Jammu city, with many protesters raising anti-Pakistan slogans.
“We want a befitting reply to Pakistan on the pattern of surgical strikes to destroy terror bases there. We want terrorists and their supporters in J-K to be eliminated,” senior BJP leader Yudhvir Sethi told reporters here.
He further said Pakistan will never end support to terrorism and that strict action should be taken.
“We want to avenge the killings. Security forces should take revenge,” another BJP leader Rajesh Gupta said.
In Reasi, hundreds of people took out a march and burnt tyres as a mark of protest.
The bandh brought normal life in Jammu city to a grinding halt.Shops and business establishments remained closed, and public transport was off the roads in response to the shutdown call given by several civil society groups and trade bodies.
Several educational institutions were closed, and attendance was lower than usual in government offices. The Jammu Bar Association also observed shut down against the killings.
Several organisations, including the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Transporters Association, Jammu Bar Association, and the Congress, called for a complete shutdown in Jammu.
“The situation during the shutdown is normal. There are no reports of any untoward incident from anywhere in the region,” an officer said.
The administration is in close touch with community leaders to maintain harmony.
Additional deployments of police and paramilitary forces were made in vulnerable locations, while checkpoints were set up to monitor movement, officials said.
The killings in Pahalgam have sent shockwaves across the country, drawing condemnation from political parties, human rights groups, and citizens alike.
Many termed the attack a heinous assault on the spirit of Kashmiriyat and the region’s age-old tradition of hospitality.
For the first time in the 35-year-old history of terrorism in Kashmir, the common people on Wednesday publicly condemned the terror attack in Pahalgam, as the Valley observed a complete shutdown against the dastardly act.
Alongside the shutdown, protests erupted in several parts of Kashmir, with people taking to the streets to decry the savage attack.
The attack, which took place at a meadow near the famed tourist destination of Pahalgam in Anantnag district, claimed the lives of 27 tourists and a local resident.
The brutal incident has plunged Kashmir into mourning.
The prominent trade bodies, transport associations, and civil society groups also gave the strike call, with the mainstream political parties, including the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), extending their support.
Officials said that all shops, schools, and business establishments remained closed in the capital city Srinagar, with public transport largely keeping off the roads. Major towns across the Valley also reported a near-total shutdown. A heavy deployment of security forces was seen in sensitive areas here to maintain law and order.
Despite the widespread shutdown, officials said no incident of violence was reported from any part of the Valley.
This is the first such complete shutdown witnessed in Kashmir in the past several years. Before the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, shutdowns were a common occurrence, often called by separatist groups.
