Shopkeepers in Kashmir ordered to keep shops open on Republic Day: Mehbooba Mufti

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday claimed that shopkeepers in Kashmir have been ordered to keep their shops open on Republic Day. “While rest of India will celebrate Republic Day as a holiday tomorrow, shopkeepers in Kashmir have allegedly been ordered to keep their shops open or face consequences. One of many abnormal and coercive steps to project normalcy,” she tweeted.

Separatist outfits used to call for a general strike on Republic Day and Independence Day in Kashmir but the practice has stopped after almost all top separatist leaders were arrested by authorities before the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in 2019.