Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday condemned the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and urged people to control their anger and not take the law into their own hands.

Omar’s condemnation, after an initial alleged reluctance to do so, came on a day when lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha chaired a security review meeting and directed officers to remain on high alert and take all necessary measures to ensure public peace and tranquillity.

“The lieutenant governor also appealed to the citizens and community leaders to uphold harmony and contribute to an atmosphere of calm and goodwill in society. Preserving peace and sustaining the progress of society is a shared responsibility that rests equally upon each one of us,” an official statement said.

Earlier in the day, army’s Northern Command chief Lt Gen Pratik Sharma also chaired a meeting in Srinagar “to review the evolving security situation in the Kashmir Valley” where he engaged with “formation commanders and representatives of sister agencies to deliberate on the prevailing security situation”. Later, Lt Gen Sinha also met the LG.

After years of uneasy calm, street violence erupted in Srinagar on Monday over Khamenei’s assassination, triggering alarm in the security administration.

Apparently anticipating a flare-up, the government extended the closure of schools and colleges till March 7.

Strict restrictions remained imposed in Kashmir for the second consecutive day. There were no reports of fresh violence on Tuesday, although protest rallies were held at multiple places.

Talking to reporters on Tuesday, Omar criticised the US-Israeli action in Iran. “I express my sympathies with the people of Iran and condemn the attack. But at the same time, I request my own people in Jammu and Kashmir to please not allow the situation to deteriorate. Some people are trying to disturb the situation by joining it (the protests). The reports of such things are coming from some places. I don’t want a situation where police or central paramilitary forces will make wrong use of force, leading to injuries or deaths. That will be extremely regretful,” he said.

Omar said the people of Iran alone had the right to decide about their leadership. “The international law does not allow changing governments using force from outside, bombarding them. Iran’s Supreme Leader and his family members were killed mercilessly. Which law allowed America or Israel to do so?” he said.

Omar had earlier faced criticism, including from his Srinagar MP, Aga Ruhullah, for expressing mere concern about the developments in Iran.

Ruhullah on Monday issued a hard-hitting statement accusing those in Gupkar (where Omar lives) of having “abandoned their people and offered nothing but hollow words of ‘concern’, warning, ‘you will stand before Allah on a Day when no office and no alliance will intercede for you”.