Srinagar’s head cleric seeks curfew relaxation

SRINAGAR - The head cleric of Srinagar Friday appealed to the Jammu and Kashmir government to relax curfew in the city so that people can observe the Shab-e-Meraj religious festival.

Mufti Azaam Bashir-ud-Din also appealed to the people to perform their religious duties connected with Shab-e-Meraj (anniversary of the night-time ascension of Prophet to heaven from Jerusalem and marked by visits to graves of family and friends to pray for their souls) peacefully.

Informed sources told IANS that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is chairing a high level security meeting here to deliberate on the issue of relaxing curfew so that the people can observe the festival.

What worries the state administration is the unpredictable public response once the curfew is relaxed in the city.

Though the authorities here feel encouraged by the fact that there has been no major untoward incident anywhere in the Kashmir Valley during the last two days, the sources said the final call on whether to relax the curfew or not would be taken by the chief minister.

Contrary to expectations, no curfew relaxation was made anywhere in the city for Friday prayers. People offered prayers in mosques close to their homes in curfew-bound areas.