A strike,called by separatist outfits in Kashmir to protest against the verdict of a Delhi court awarding death penalty to three members of militant outfit Jammu Kashmir Islamic Front (JKIF) in the 1996 Lajpat Nagar blast,disrupted normal life across the valley today. Shops,business establishments remained closed and traffic remained off the roads while Police and paramilitary troops sealed the old city and prohibitory orders were strictly enforced on people's movement as a precautionary measure,officials said. A Delhi court yesterday had awarded death penalty to three and rigorous life imprisonment to one,saying their "dastardly" act,which had claimed 13 lives,fell under the "rarest of rare" category. Both factions of Hurriyat Conference and other separatist outfits had called for a complete shutdown to protest the verdict and asked clerics to lead peaceful protests after Friday prayers. They alleged the court of having a "biased approach" towards the people of Kashmir. Meanwhile,President of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti termed the sentence as most "unfortunate". "Kashmir is an unresolved political problem and such unfortunate tragedies flow out of the inability of India and Pakistan to resolve this six decade old tragedy",Mehbooba said in a statement here. She said looking at the problem purely on technical and legal level would only add to the complexities that have prevented a solution so far. Terming the countrywide debate on the approach to tackle Maoist extremism as "encouraging",Mufti said by contrast Kashmir problem is being addressed only through force and a bureaucratic disposal. "Kashmir too needs a more compassionate and restrained response from the state to prevent recurrence of violence in any form",she said.
