Srinagar, June 21 -- Leader of Opposition in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Sunil Sharma, on Saturday said the 11th International Yoga Day celebrations at Srinagar's iconic Lal Chowk sent a powerful message of unity and peace from a location once associated with tension and conflict.

"It gives me immense relief that at the Lal Chowk, where we have always seen tensions, today under the tricolour, Yoga, which is a part of our culture, is being performed... We have sent a message that the people of J&K are united," Sharma told ANI at the event.

Earlier in the day, Indian Army personnel from the Krishna Ghati Brigade's Balnoi Battalion also marked the occasion with a yoga session in Poonch, which saw enthusiastic participation from locals of n...