Zakir Musa killing: South Kashmir parts shut for 4th consecutive day

Srinagar: A spontaneous shutdown is being observed in most of the south Kashmir districts on fourth consecutive day against the killing of militant commander Zakir Musa.
Reports said that normal activities remained paralyzed in most of the districts of South Kashmir on Monday as people observed a complete shutdown to mourn the death of militant commander Zakir Musa.
Shops and other business establishments remained closed while government offices witnessed thin attendance with roads wearing a deserted look in these areas, reports added.
They said scores of people visited the home of slain commander in Noorpora area to express condolences with his family. An official said that contingents of police and paramilitary troopers were deployed in sensitive areas including Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam, Tral and Anantnag to maintain law and order.
Law enforcing authorities had announced the closure of many educational institutions across Kashmir, as a precautionary measure. Several educational institutions in the Kashmir Valley remained closed on Monday in a measure to prevent student protests after the killing of top militant Zakir Musa last week.
While many schools were functioning till Class 10, higher secondary schools and degree colleges in Srinagar, Budgam and Kupwara districts were closed as a precautionary measure, said officials. Classes were also suspended in Baramulla, Sopore and Pattan towns in Baramulla district, and some others in Ganderbal district.
“Deputy commissioners have been authorised to take a call on class work based on their own assessment,” Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmad Khan had said on Sunday evening .
In South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, where the encounter with security forces took place, all schools and colleges remained closed. The Islamic University of Science and Technology in Awantipora suspended classes too.
Musa was killed on Thursday night in a village in Tral area of Pulwama district. He was a former Hizbul Mujahideen commander and the chief of the al Qaeda’s Kashmir cell. He joined militancy in 2013 and came to the limelight after security forces killed militant Burhan Wani in 2016.
Sporadic protests and shutdowns have continued in the valley since Musa’s killing. The authorities had ordered closure of all educational institutions on Friday. People shouted slogans in favour of Musa, prompting authorities to impose curfew in some parts of the Valley as a precautionary measure.