As Kashmir took a break from mass protests over the Amarnath shrine land row today, streets remained empty and shops half shut in anticipation of another march: this time to the office of the United National Military Observers’ Group based in Srinagar.

A worried government dispatched Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Kachu Asfandyar Khan and Senior Superintendent of Police Syed Ahfad-ul-Mujtaba to visit top Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq to convince them to cancel the public march to the UN office tomorrow and rather go for a token march.

The separatists did not agree, though they did change the course. Now the procession will gather at the neighbouring Tourist Reception Centre grounds where the leadership will address the people. There is, however, no word on whether there will be a subsequent march to the UN office or not.

The Government is in a fix about how to handle this separatist groundswell across Kashmir. “It is a Catch-22 situation: whether to allow a mammoth procession in Srinagar city or try to halt it,” a senior police officer told The Indian Express. “A free run for the protestors to converge at the UN office on a narrow road strip in Srinagar city, adjoining the sensitive Gupkar road which houses top mainstream politicians, offices of security agencies and top police and civil administration officers, has a serious security dimension,” he said. “But if we halt the procession, it will mean more killings and then another cycle of protests.”

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