Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti claim they were placed under house arrest
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti claimed that they were placed under house arrest to prevent them from visiting Mazar-e-Shuhada on Kashmir Martyrs’ Day.
Mehbooba Mufti, president of the People’s Democratic Party, took to X to share photos of her home’s gate being locked.
“The gates of my house have been locked up yet again to prevent me from visiting Mazar-e-Shuhada – an enduring symbol of Kashmir’s resistance and resilience against authoritarianism, oppression and injustice. The sacrifice of our martyrs is a testament that the spirit of Kashmiris cannot be crushed,” she said.
“Today even observing it in remembrance of the protesters martyred on this day has been criminalised,” Mufti tweeted.
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13 July observed as Kashmir Martyrs’ Day every year
Every year on July 13, politicians from all mainstream parties visit Mazar-e-Shuhada in Srinagar to pay tribute to 22 demonstrators who were killed by the former Maharaja’s troops in 1931.
The former Chief Minister lashed out at the Centre, claiming it was an attempt to “erase each one of our collective memories”.
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Omar Abdullah, vice president of the National Conference, voiced concern on X about “police excesses” that prevented people from paying tribute to those who gave their lives to establish a “just, fair, and democratic regime” in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Another July 13, Martyr’s Day, and another round of locked gates…” These people would have been celebrated elsewhere in the country, but the administration in Jammu and Kashmir wants to overlook their sacrifices. This is the final year they will be able to do this. Insha Allah, next year we shall commemorate July 13 with the solemnity and respect it deserves,” Abdullah stated.
