A ban has been imposed limiting civilian use of a highway in Kashmir for two days a week by Indian authorities.
The ban is intended to keep the highway open only for military and paramilitary convoys.
Soldiers have started patrolling and have blocked the link roads with razor wire.
The Government of India issued the order in which 270 kilometers of the national highway will be reserved for the movement of security vehicles on Sundays and Wednesdays until the end of May.
The order is part of India’s response to the Pulwama-suicide bombing that caused heightened tension between India and Pakistan.
Movement of civil vehicles was already restricted during the movement of convoys.
It is aimed to prevent and attacks by anti-Indian fighters.
The highway is the only road which connects the Himalayas to the Indian plains and a long section of the road passes through mountains and forests.
The road is a four-lane highway and is mostly closed during winter and bad weather.
The ban was applied after criticism from politicians, businessmen and local residents in the disputed land.
The former chief minister of Indian-occupied Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti, an ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, wrote on Twitter, “Last, I checked, we were a democracy. But this sounds like a diktat of Martial Law
“After bringing Kashmir to the brink, the administration is adamant on ensuring collective punishment for Kashmiris,” she added.
People of Kashmir have been fighting against Indian control of the region since 1889.
More than 70,000 people have died in the conflict between India and Pakistan.
