Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir), July 14: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday defied security restrictions and scaled the boundary wall of Mazar-e-Shuhada in Srinagar’s Naqshband Sahib to offer prayers on the anniversary of the 1931 Kashmir martyrs. This act followed alleged house arrests imposed by the administration, preventing political leaders from visiting the site.
Abdullah accused security forces of attempting to block his path, stating that the unelected administration had sealed the cemetery and confined him and other leaders on July 13—Kashmir Martyrs’ Day.
“I was forced to walk from Nawhatta Chowk. The gate to Naqshband shrine was blocked, so I scaled a wall. They tried to physically stop me but I refused to be held back today,” Abdullah posted on X, along with images from the graveyard.
The graveyard is adjacent to the shrine of Khwaja Bahauddin Naqshbandi and is a key site of remembrance for those killed by the Dogra regime on July 13, 1931.
Earlier, Abdullah criticized local newspapers for downplaying the lockdown of elected representatives.
“Shame on the sellouts who buried the story. I hope the size of the envelope was worth it,” he wrote, implying media censorship.
Taking aim at the central government, Abdullah shared visuals of armoured police vehicles outside his residence and accused New Delhi’s “unelected nominees” of suppressing democracy in J&K.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) MLA Yousuf Tarigami, JKNC’s Tanvir Sadiq, and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti also condemned the restrictions, calling them an attack on democratic values and historical remembrance.
“When you lay siege to the Martyrs’ Graveyard… it speaks volumes,” Mufti wrote on X, urging the Centre to embrace Kashmir’s heroes to bridge the “dil ki doori” (emotional distance).
Since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, July 13 is no longer recognized as an official holiday in Jammu and Kashmir.