Sopore Shuts to Mourn Qayoom Najar

Sopore A complete shutdown was observed amid restrictions in Sopore town of north Kashmir on Wednesday against the killing of Valleys longest surviving militant commander Abdul Qayoom Najar in a firefight on Line of Control on Tuesday while infiltrating into Kashmir Valley.

Najar was buried last night amid intense Islamic and pro-azadi sloganeering.

Reports and witnesses said that huge number of people turned up for the funeral of Najar, a resident of Batapora in Sopore, and it was held twice. The witnesses said that body of Qayoom Najar was wrapped in black flag of Al Qaeda and ISIS while slogans in favour of Ansar Ghazwatul Hind chief Zakir Musa were also shouted by mourners.

All the shops, commercial establishments and educational institutes were closed across the Sopore today while government forces imposed restrictions in sensitive localities of the area to thwart protests. Reports said that the entry and exit points of the Sopore town were sealed off by the forces while mobile internet services remained suspended. A police official said that the day passed off peacefully.

Described as most dreaded militant by police, Qayoom Najar until 2015 was affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen but he broke away from the group and formed his own outfit which he named Lashkar-e-Islam. The group carried out series of attacks on mobile towers and killed several former militants and Hurriyat activists for their alleged links with government forces. The Hizb has not released any statement about Qayoom Najar so far.(GNS)

Ceasefire Now in the Middle East: Why Total War is Unworkable?

Jammu to Get Separate Railway Division: Jitendra Singh

Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now

Be Part of Quality Journalism

Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast.

ACT NOW