ndian police remove a noose from the neck of Kashmiri human rights activist Ashan Untoo,who was depicting a hanging during a protest in Srinagar on February 18,2013. Untoo demanded the return of Afzal Guru’s mortal remains to his family in Kashmir. Guru was executed on February 9, 2013 and buried inside a high security prison in New Delhi over his role in a deadly attack on Indian parliament in New Delhi in 2001. — AFP Photo

SRINAGAR: Most shops and businesses were shut on Wednesday in Indian-administered Kashmir after separatists called for a three-day strike to demand the return of the body of a Kashmiri man secretly executed and buried in the Indian capital.           

The strike began Wednesday and authorities imposed a ban on the assembly of more than four people to prevent protests in the region.

Kashmir was rocked by violent anti-India protests after Mohammed Afzal Guru was hanged in a New Delhi jail on February 9, 2013. He was convicted of involvement in a 2001 attack on India's Parliament.

Three protesters died in clashes with troops.      Many Kashmiris believe Guru did not get a fair trial and the execution's secrecy only fuelled the anger in a region where anti-India sentiment runs deep.

Opinion

Editorial

Lull in fighting
Updated 28 Jul, 2026

Lull in fighting

AFTER two weeks of escalating violence, the US has halted its strikes on Iran, with Tehran also silencing it guns....
Water policy
28 Jul, 2026

Water policy

THE country is caught in a crisis where there too much water at the wrong time and too little when it is most ...
Ending hepatitis
28 Jul, 2026

Ending hepatitis

WORLD Hepatitis Day is being observed under the theme ‘Hepatitis: Let’s break it down’, a call to remove the...
Writing on the wall
27 Jul, 2026

Writing on the wall

EVERY few months, another set of figures reminds Pakistan of a painful reality. Sahil’s latest Six Months Cruel...
Still unprepared
27 Jul, 2026

Still unprepared

EVEN as Pakistan counts around 100 deaths since the onset of the monsoon season on June 26, it is bracing for ...
Delayed devolution
27 Jul, 2026

Delayed devolution

THE debate over Islamabad’s reluctance to fully let go of devolved subjects has been running since 2010. But it ...