Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari on Sunday has strongly condemned the Jammu and Kashmir administration for allegedly preventing him and his party from paying homage to the 1931 martyrs on Martyrs’ Day.
In a statement issued here, Bukhari said that after being denied permission to visit Mazar-e-Shuhada at Naqshband Sahib—where they intended to offer prayers for the 1931 martyrs—the administration further escalated its actions by locking the Apni Party headquarters in Srinagar to block a planned memorial event.
“Police personnel in large numbers were deployed near my residence in Sheikh Bagh to stop me from reaching the party office and participating in the peaceful prayer meeting,” Bukhari said. He also revealed that police were stationed outside the homes of several senior leaders and workers of the party, thereby obstructing their participation in today’s commemorations.
Calling these measures “clear and blatant examples of highhandedness and authoritarian behaviour,” Bukhari questioned the rationale behind the restrictions. “What is the purpose of stopping us from commemorating Martyrs’ Day, and how does it serve the authorities?” he asked.
He emphasized that the Apni Party had no intention to disturb public order and only sought to remember the martyrs through peaceful prayer and reflection. “As peace-loving and law-abiding citizens, we would have carried out these activities quietly, without causing any disruption to law and order,” he asserted.
Expressing deep disappointment with the administration’s conduct, Bukhari affirmed that no act of suppression could erase the memory of the 1931 martyrs. “Their memory lives on in our hearts, and no barriers can prevent us from honouring them from the depths of our hearts,” he said, leaving it to the public to judge the fairness of the government’s actions.
