PV International Desk : Indian-held Kashmir was hit by a general strike on Sunday called by the separatist Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) to mark the anniversary of the death of a Kashmiri man who was executed for his part in an attack on India’s parliament in 2001.

The JKLF on Thursday called for strikes on Feb 9 and Feb 11 to observe the anniversary of the death of Afzal Guru, and then that of its founder Maqbool Bhat.

Shops and businesses were shut on Sunday, while there was little traffic on the roads in Srinagar and other parts of Indian-held Kashmir.

Indian troops have erected iron barricades and laid concertina wire in parts of the region to block roads, with armed soldiers in full riot gear patrolling the streets to prevent any protests, a government official said.