Authorities in Srinagar on Monday imposed strict restrictions across parts of the old city to prevent people from assembling at the Martyrs’ Graveyard at Naqshband Sahib on the anniversary of the July 13, 1931, killings.
Officials said the graveyard, where those killed during the 1931 incident are buried, was sealed on late Sunday as a precautionary measure. Barricades were erected at several locations in the old city, while police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) were deployed in strength to maintain law and order. Armoured vehicles were also stationed in sensitive areas to prevent any attempt by political leaders and supporters to march to the graveyard.
July 13 was observed as a public holiday in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir to commemorate the killing of 22 Kashmiris during protests against the Dogra rule in 1931. However, following the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two union Territories in 2019, the Lieutenant Governor’s administration discontinued the official holiday.
Hurriyat Conference chairman and Kashmir’s chief cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, had announced that he would offer Zuhr (afternoon) prayers at Srinagar’s historic Jamia Masjid before leading a march to the Martyrs’ Graveyard to offer prayers and pay tributes to those killed in 1931.
Leaders of the ruling National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had also announced plans to visit the graveyard to pay homage to the martyrs.
However, several political leaders alleged on Monday morning that they had either been placed under house arrest or prevented from leaving their residences to visit the graveyard.
Jammu and Kashmir Minister and National Conference leader Sakina Itoo said she, along with the party’s provincial president of the Women’s Wing, attempted to visit the Mazar-e-Shuhada at around 4:30 a.m.
“However, due to the heavy deployment of security forces and extensive barbed-wire barricading around the graves, I was prevented from entering,” she said on X while also posting a video.
“Physical barriers cannot prevent us from honouring the supreme sacrifices of our martyrs. Their memory, courage, and legacy will forever remain alive in our hearts. We will continue to pay our tributes with dignity and unwavering respect,” she added.
Last year, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had defied police restrictions by scaling the cemetery wall to pay tributes to the July 13, 1931 martyrs.
On Sunday evening, PDP’s Iltija Mufti alleged that she and her mother, Mehbooba Mufti, were put under ‘house arrest’, on the eve of Martyrs’ Day.
