‘Mindless’: Political parties protest J&K highway ban

Srinagar, Apr 07: Political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have come together in their opposition to the ban on civilian traffic for two days a week on an important highway that came into effect today.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah expressed his resentment with the move and said, "Driving to Uri I'm getting to see first-hand the extent of disruption and inconvenience that is being caused to people because of the mindless highway closure order that is in place today."

People's Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti said her party would not allow Kashmir to be turned into an "open-air prison". She further said, "This is Kashmir, not Palestine. We won't allow you to turn our beloved land into an open-air prison. 'Jis Kashmir ko khoon se seencha, woh Kashmir humara hai'.

Mehbooba Mufti said that it seems like the government admin wants to punish people by depriving them of simple things like access to roads she added that she hoped the order is revoked immediately.

Former BJP ally Sajjad Lone called it a humanitarian disaster and asked the governor to scrap the order. "The highway ban is now turning into a humanitarian disaster. We've been flooded with calls from across the state. People in dire need to travel in order to tend to their day-to-day needs of survival stuck in a state of helplessness," he tweeted.

The ban on the movement of civilian vehicles on Sundays and Wednesdays on the highway has been put in place after the February 14 Pulwama bombing in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

A state government notification on Wednesday said that civilian traffic would not be allowed on the Baramulla-Srinagar-Udhampur highway on Sundays and Wednesdays to ensure safe movement of security convoys during the parliamentary elections.