Jammu, Feb 23: Normal life in and around Jammu city was thrown out of gear on Tuesday as all business establishments and educational institutes remained closed while public transport was off the roads in protest against the killing of two persons in a tribal area of Pakistan.
 To express their resentment over the incident, various Sikh organizations which had given the strike call organized protest demonstrations at several places including Satwari Chowk, Gadigarh, Digiana Ashram and Simbal camp.
 Shouting slogans, Sikh protesters burnt tyres on roads at Satwari Chowk restricting the movement of vehicles for nearly half an hour. However, police immediately swung into action and removed the hurdles from the road.
 At Digiana Ashram, hundreds of protesters assembled this morning and blocked Jammu-Pathankot Highway for around one hour leading to traffic jam. With the intervention of senior police officials, protesters were pacified and dispersed peacefully.
 With the announcement of bandh call, various examinations which were scheduled to be held on Tuesday were postponed and all city colleges were closed. 
ASSEMBLY CONDEMNS KILLINGS:
 The Jammu and Kashmir assembly Tuesday condemned the beheading of a Sikh in Pakistan as “barbaric” and demanded that Islamabad be asked to provide protection to minorities in that country.
 The issue was raised by Revenue Minister Raman Bhalla, who said the incident had shaken the community across India. He said protests in Jammu over the issue was reflective of the anger of the community and others over the incident.
 The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party and other members also condemned the incident as “barbaric”. They said the Pakistan government should be asked to stop such incidents.
 Opposition PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti today condemned the killings and asked the Pakistan government to provide security to Sikhs in that country. “It is a heinous crime and all of us are condemning this incident,” she told reporters in the Assembly.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 IST