Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday scaled the boundary wall of Naqshband Sahib’s Mazar-e-Shuhada in Srinagar after security forces allegedly blocked his entry, preventing him from offering prayers on Kashmir Martyrs’ Day.
The incident follows the sealing of the Martyrs’ Graveyard and the alleged house arrest of top political leaders, including Abdullah, a day earlier. The restrictions were imposed to stop them from visiting the site on July 13, the anniversary of the 1931 protests against Dogra rule.
Abdullah shared on social media, “Paid my respects & offered Fatiha at the graves of the martyrs of 13th July 1931… They blocked the gate to Naqshband Sahib shrine forcing me to scale a wall. They tried to physically grapple me but I was not going to be stopped today.”
He also criticised the local media for downplaying the story, alleging that many newspapers “buried the fact that the entire elected government was locked up.”
Calling out the administration, Abdullah said the situation reflected a “tyranny of the unelected”, as elected representatives were detained while “unelected nominees of New Delhi” ran the affairs of the Union Territory.
Other political figures, including CPI(M) MLA Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami and JKNC spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq, also claimed they were placed under house arrest and prevented from commemorating the martyrs of July 13, 1931.
PDP President Mehbooba Mufti lamented the symbolic siege of the graveyard, saying true unity would come when India acknowledges Kashmir’s martyrs as its own, just as Kashmiris have honoured national heroes like Gandhi and Bhagat Singh.
Martyrs’ Day, once an official state holiday in Jammu and Kashmir, was removed from the calendar following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
