Srinagar, In a significant move, the Modi administration in India took stringent measures, which included multiple arrests and intimidation, to deter Kashmiris from demonstrating against Israel’s occupation of Palestine and its military actions in Gaza.
According to a news release by Kashmir Media Service, protest rallies were scheduled across various district headquarters throughout the Kashmir valley and some portions of the Jammu region. These demonstrations were organized by local opposition factions, notably the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), expressing their condemnation of the Palestinian civilian casualties caused by Israeli operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
In a bid to subdue these planned demonstrations, Indian law enforcement launched a series of apprehensions, capturing most of the leadership spanning from central to district and tehsil ranks during night raids. Additional arrests were executed earlier today.
Prominent PDP member, Ghulam Nabi Lone, who previously held a ministerial position in the Mehbooba Mufti cabinet, was subjected to house arrest in anticipation of the scheduled anti-Israel rallies in Budgam. A substantial police force, accompanied by armored vehicles, was positioned outside Lone’s residence in Charar-e-Shareef, thereby restricting his movements. Other key PDP figures from the district, including Additional General Secretary Agha Syed Mohsin and Mohammad Yasin Butt, were similarly apprehended during the nighttime operations and subsequently detained.
Further incidents of house arrests were reported, including that of PDP’s senior leader and Srinagar district president, Abdul Qayoom Butt.
A similar crackdown occurred in Ganderbal, resulting in the detention of several leaders including district President Zahoor Ahmed Rather and associates Sheikh Bilal, Mohammad Yousuf Butt, and Shakeel Ahmed.
In Baramulla, PDP District President Jalaluddin Shah, along with associates Ghulam Rasool Butt, Mir Sheraz, and others, were taken into custody and held at the local Sharee police station.
Additionally, numerous socio-political figures in the districts of Jammu, Samba, and Kathua were detained to preempt peaceful solidarity demonstrations for the Palestinian cause under the ‘United Peace Alliance’ banner. Notably, the entire organizing committee, including members like Sheikh Abdul Rehman and Mir Shahid Saleem, was detained without formal documentation.
Amidst this tense backdrop, PDP media advisor Iltija Mufti addressed a press conference in Srinagar, seeking an explanation from the Modi government for preventing their party members from protesting Israel’s actions against Palestinians. Iltija highlighted the party’s intentions to publicly condemn Israel and extend support to Palestine but emphasized that administrative restrictions led to the detention of many party leaders. She lamented the post-2019 scenario where free expression in Jammu and Kashmir appeared suppressed. “PDP is under crackdown. Our freedoms have been curtailed, and many of our leaders face detention,” Iltija stated.