• Source:JND
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Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday claimed that she has been put under house arrest to prevent her from visiting Mazar-e-Shuhada on Martyrs' Day. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, Mufti shared the picture of her residence’s gate being locked and wrote, “The gates of my house have been locked up yet again to prevent me from visiting Mazar-e-Shuhada - an enduring symbol of Kashmir's resistance and resilience against authoritarianism, oppression and injustice. The sacrifice of our martyrs is a testament that the spirit of Kashmiris cannot be crushed.”

"Today even observing it in remembrance of the protesters martyred on this day has been criminalised. On 5th August 2019, J-K was dismembered, disempowered and stripped of everything that was sacrosanct for us. They intend to erase each one of our collective memories. But such assaults will only strengthen our determination to continue the fight for our rights and dignity," the PDP chief added. 

Notably, leaders of all mainstream parties visit Mazar-e-Shuhada in Srinagar to pay homage to 22 protesters who were gunned down by the army of the erstwhile Maharaja in 1931.

Not just Mehbooba Mufti, People's Conference chairman Sajad Lone, also claimed that he has been put under house arrest. "For no reason informed of being under house arrest. I really fail to understand what the administration gets in stopping people from going to the martyrs’ graveyard," he wrote on X.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah also hit out at the Centre and expressed outrage over "police excesses" to stop people from paying homage to those who sacrificed their lives to establish a "just, fair and democratic regime" in Jammu and Kashmir. 

“Another July 13, Martyr's Day, another round of locked gates... Everywhere else in the country, these people would have been celebrated, but in J&K the administration wants to ignore these sacrifices. This is the last year they will be able to do this. Insha Allah next year we will mark July 13 with the solemnity and respect this day deserves," Abdullah wrote on X.