Normal life remained paralysed for the 37th consecutive day due to curfew, restrictions and separatist sponsored strike.
Hiba got the unwanted tag of being the youngest pellet victim in Kashmir on November 25 when she was hit by pellets inside her house during clashes between protesters and security forces in Shopian district.
"There should be a complete shutdown on April 2 to protest the proposed visit of Modi. All rhetoric about development or construction of tunnels and roads are futile and will not succeed in luring us," chairmen of the rival factions of the Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik said in a joint statement.
Stone-pelters clashed with security personnel in Anantnag and in the Safakadal area in Srinagr in the wake of the rumours, he said.
Shops and business establishments were closed across the Valley while all kinds of transport remained off the roads due to the strike called.
As many as 22 fire tenders along with pumps were dispatched to the spot immediately to douse the flames.
4 civilians were also killed and dozens of others injured in clashes that broke out between protestors and security forces following three separate encounters.
The body of Sehrai, 77, was handed over to his family on Wednesday evening and taken in a police escort to Kupwara in north Kashmir, at least 350 km from Jammu, where he would be buried at his ancestral graveyard in accordance with the COVID-19 guidelines.
A protest shutdown called by the various separatist groups on the third death anniversary of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru on Tuesday affected normal life in summer capital Srinagar and other towns in Kashmir Valley.
According to the order, all security and vehicles provided to the separatists will stand withdrawn by Sunday evening. No security forces or cover will be provided, under any pretext, to them or any other separatists. If they have any other facilities provided by the government, they are to be withdrawn forthwith.
The foreign minister acknowledged that he spoke with Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz and India should not make it an issue.
In an email to PTI, the economist said he was informed of his name being dropped from the panel of speakers at the conference two days ago.
In a significant move, Kashmiri separatist leaders on Sunday decided to convene a meeting of all stakeholders on Tuesday to decide the future course of the nearly four-month-long shutdown in the Valley.
Normal life remained paralysed for the 45th consecutive day due to curfew, restrictions and separatist sponsored strike following Wani's killing in an encounter with security forces.
Officials said both the factions of the Hurriyat are likely to be banned under Section 3(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or the UAPA, under which "if the Central Government is of opinion that any association is, or has become, an unlawful association, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare such association to be unlawful."
Top separatist leaders were placed under house arrest on Friday ahead of their march towards Shopian town in south Kashmir where curfew remained in force for the eight consecutive day following killing of five persons in CRPF firing earlier this month.
India on Friday made it clear to Pakistan that it should not go ahead with the meeting of its NSA Sartaz Aziz with Hurriyat representatives in New Delhi when he comes to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval, saying it will not be "appropriate".
Geelani, chairman of hard-line Hurriyat Conference, also tried to defy the house arrest and lead a march towards the UNMOG.
Lt Gen Dua called on Governor Vohra and briefed him about the security situation and the Army's preparedness to deal with any arising exigency.
Shops, business establishments and schools remained closed due to the strike called jointly by the JKLF, Hurriyat Conference factions led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani; and supported by almost all separatist groups in the Valley.
In a significant move, separatists have decided to hold talks with Kashmiri Pandit migrants to discuss their return to the Valley.
In a break from past, there was no function at the martyrs' graveyard in Srinagar after the government dropped July 13 from the list of gazetted holidays last year, officials said.
Kashmiris protest against the killing of Amarnath pilgrims.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday created ripples as he led a five-member delegation of civil society members to meet separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a bid to break the three-month impasse in Kashmir triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani.
It is an ode to his politics that believed in building bridges across social or political divides that he was one of the most liked state leaders among the upper castes even as he drew his support mostly from Dalits, a group which at times shared antagonistic relations with the more prosperous communities due to a number of social and political reasons.
Earlier, a youth injured during clashes last week succumbed at a hospital in Srinagar on Monday morning.
A recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.
PDP will ask the Centre for Geelani's passport on humanitarian grounds to visit his ailing daughter in Saudi Arabia
Alam had been under house arrest since Thursday evening.
Both factions of Hurriyat Conference on Tuesday attacked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in unison over his statement asking to explore "other options" if Pakistan continues with ceasefire volition, saying his talk of "bullet for bullet" shows lack of understanding of the consequences.
The statements made before a judicial magistrate had tightened the case against separatists.
A young man was killed and two others injured in firing by the Central Reserve Police Force on Saturday during protests in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir where a strike has been called by the hardline Hurriyat faction against the killing of two youths in Tral earlier this week.
'Why was he killed? What was his fault? Whoever did this is so inhuman.'
"What do they want us to do? They label us as a threat to peace and cage, confine and gag us. So how can we be of help?" said Mirwaiz.
A group of envoys including those from several Europe Union countries and a few Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) member states began a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday to take a first-hand account of the situation in newly-carved union territory, especially after the recently-concluded local body elections.
'It will be a long time before we will see the likes of Vajpayee again.'
Khan stated that an iron rod which was used on Pandit was found including his identity card and pistol.
What used to be confined to homes as a winter garment has become a political and cultural symbol, with most leaders and many citizens donning the long cloak at offices and their places of work, observes Athar Parvaiz.
Restrictions have been imposed in five police station areas of Srinagar, a police official said.
Curfew remained in force in entire Srinagar district and Anantnag town on Saturday to thwart the separatists' plan to stage a two-day sit-in in the city centre even as the death toll in the ongoing unrest climbed to 56 in the Valley with the death of a youth injured in firing.
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