In a dramatic turn of events, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah climbed over the locked gates of the Mazar-e-Shuhada on Monday to offer prayers, after he was allegedly stopped by security forces from entering the site on Martyrs' Day.
Omar Abdullah, who said he had been under house arrest on July 13, arrived at the Naqshband Sahib graveyard in Srinagar without informing authorities. Upon reaching the Khanyar area, his convoy was stopped. He walked over a kilometre to reach the graveyard, only to find the gates locked by authorities.
Other NC leaders climb gate along with Abdullah
Undeterred, Abdullah scaled the boundary wall and entered the premises to offer fateha (prayers) for the 22 people killed by the Dogra army on July 13, 1931. His security personnel and other National Conference leaders also climbed over the gate before it was eventually opened.
“I was not going to be stopped today,” Abdullah posted on X, adding, “The unelected government tried to block my way forcing me to walk from Nawhatta chowk. They blocked the gate to Naqshband Sb shrine forcing me to scale a wall. They tried to physically grapple me.”
Treating political leaders like slaves: J-K CM
Speaking to reporters at the site, Abdullah criticised the administration led by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and the police for preventing them from observing the occasion. “We were kept under house arrest yesterday, and today too, they tried to stop and manhandle us. Police sometimes forget the law,” he said.
Accusing the authorities of treating political leaders like “slaves,” Abdullah said, “We are servants, but of the people.” He also questioned the restrictions in place, stating that if they were only for July 13, why was he stopped a day later.
Security forces seal roads to prevent entry
Other National Conference leaders, including party president Farooq Abdullah and Minister for Education Sakina Ittoo, also reached the graveyard through alternative means, Farooq Abdullah took an auto-rickshaw while Ittoo arrived riding pillion on a scooter.
Security forces had sealed roads from Khanyar and Nowhatta to prevent entry to the site, a measure that Abdullah and his party members circumvented.
July 13 is observed as Martyrs’ Day in Jammu and Kashmir, commemorating the killing of 22 protestors by the Dogra army in 1931.
