Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti has strongly criticized the administration for imposing restrictions and detaining party workers on the occasion of Martyrs’ Day, observed annually on July 13 to honour the memory of those who laid down their lives in 1931 fighting autocracy.
In a strongly-worded statement, Mufti said, “The day you accept our heroes as your own, just as Kashmiris have embraced yours—from Mahatma Gandhi to Bhagat Singh—that day, as Prime Minister Modi once said, the ‘dil ki doori’ (distance of hearts) will truly end.”
She condemned the government’s actions, stating that police sealed off access to Mazar-e-Shuhada in Naqshband Sahib, Srinagar, and restricted movement of citizens, effectively laying siege to the Martyrs’ Graveyard. Residents were reportedly confined to their homes, and political leaders were either locked inside or detained while trying to visit the site.
Mufti alleged that several PDP leaders including Khurshid Allam, Zohaib Mir, Hamid Kohsheen, Arif Liagroo, Sara Nayeema, Tabassum, Basharat Naseem, and others who attempted to reach Mazar-e-Shuhada managed to leave their homes but were picked up and detained at various police stations.
