Srinagar, June 25: After two working days, life again came to a standstill across Kashmir Valley on Friday in response to the strike call given by Hurriyat Conference (G).
 Shops, banks, courts and educational institutions, remained closed and traffic remained off the roads.
 Unlike the recent shutdowns, no restrictions were put in place anywhere in the old city but for the volatile Maisuma and Gawkadal localities in city centre where policemen blocked the roads by concertina wires to restrict public movement.
 After Friday prayers, protests erupted in old city localities of Saraf Kadal and Rajouri Kadal where youth staged protests and clashed with police and paramilitary CRPF men and pelted stones on them. Clashes continued till late in the evening.
 In uptown Tengpora, Bye-pass, and Batamaloo localities, youth during protests pelted stones on forces. Window panes of at least half a dozen vehicles were damaged in clashes. 
 The strike also hit the normal life across various districts and towns in the Valley.

NORTH KASHMIR
 In north Kashmir’s Varmul town, youth staged protests and pelted stones on forces. They also attacked the cavalcade of Roads and Building Minister G M Saroori at Delina Varmul.
 The locals alleged that after the incident, police raided the Rawatpora area and beat up several residents  including a policeman Farooq Ahmed.

SOUTH KASHMIR
 Reports pouring in from the south and central Kashmir districts of Islamabad, Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian and Budgam said the strike call evoked a total response.
 Protests broke out at a few places in Kulgam where youth took to streets and staged demos.
 At Ganderbal, youth assembled outside Jamia Masjid, Kangan after Friday prayers and took out a procession to protest the increasing human rights violations in Valley.
 Police fired several rounds of fire in air at Pampore near Nambalabal to disperse protesters who repeatedly regrouped and staged protests through out the day. (With inputs from Altaf Baba and Khalid Gul)

Lastupdate on : Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 26 Jun 2010 00:00:00 IST