Kashmir Separatists Declare State Shutdown on Diwali; Calls Modi's Visit a Political Stunt

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left for the relief camps in Srinagar to spend time with the flood victims, Kashmiri separatists have declared a shutdown in Jammu & Kashmir.

Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani said his visit to the Muslim-dominated region on Diwali is "nothing but cultural aggression."

"Diwali in the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir is nothing but cultural aggression on the part of Modi. His stay in Kashmir on Diwali is nothing but an election stunt. India wants to show the world that they are with flood-hit Kashmiris. It is ridiculous," Hindustan Times quoted Geelani as saying.

The separatist leaders blamed Modi for politicising the man-made disaster that caused loss of lives and properties.

"Modi's Kashmir visit is an act of politicising a human tragedy. Kashmiris will observe a complete shutdown against this visit," said Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JLF) chief Yasin Malik.

In the backdrop of protests, security has been tightened across the state and areas where he will be visiting. Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed extensively and check posts have been set up at politically sensitive areas and several other places to ensure peace.

Modi, who embarked on his journey to J&K early on Thursday morning, is spending time with Siachen soldiers, after which he will be heading to Srinagar to visit relief camps, where flood victims have taken shelter after their houses were swept away in the disastrous deluge last month.