SRINAGAR: The lieutenant governor’s administration on Monday imposed restrictions in parts of Srinagar to prevent political figures from assembling at the Martyrs’ Graveyard in old Srinagar.CM Omar Abdullah and National Conference functionaries, including his father Farooq Abdullah, paid homage at the party headquarters instead. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also paid tributes at her party office.Police sealed the area around the Martyrs’ Graveyard Sunday, deploying heavy security. Education minister Sakina Itoo said she tried to visit the graveyard at 4:30am Monday but was prevented from entering.Last year, Omar had broken through police barricades and climbed a wall to reach the graveyard.“It is a matter of great regret that today we are not being allowed to pay homage to those who sacrificed their lives on July 13 in the struggle against British paramountcy and autocratic rule,” he said on MondayPDP’s Iltija Mufti said, “I haven’t seen such a paranoid administration in J&K before.”“You can’t decide who Kashmiris idolise. For us the 22 martyrs who laid down their lives in 1931 to sow the seeds of political consciousness and dignity are our heroes,” Iltija wrote on X.In Jan 2020, nearly six months after the abrogation of Article 370, the Jammu and Kashmir administration removed July 13 and Dec 5 from the list of public holidays.Dec 5 was observed as the birth anniversary of NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah while July 13 was observed as Martyrs’ Day, in remembrance of the 22 Kashmiris killed outside Srinagar Central Jail during a protest against the Dogra ruler in 1931.
