WATCH: Omar Abdullah Scales Wall To Offer Prayers At Martyrs’ Graveyard After Being Stopped by Police
Abdullah criticised the "unelected" government and local media's muted coverage of the event.
In a dramatic act of defiance, Jammu and Kashmir's Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday scaled a boundary wall to enter the Mazar-e-Shuhada in Srinagar’s Naqshband Sahib area, after reportedly being stopped by security forces from paying tribute to the 1931 martyrs.
The move came just a day after the Jammu and Kashmir Police sealed the Martyrs’ Graveyard and placed several top political leaders, including Abdullah, under house arrest—preventing them from visiting the site on the anniversary of the 1931 massacre, when Maharaja Hari Singh’s Dogra forces opened fire on protestors demanding civil liberties.
“Paid my respects & offered Fatiha at the graves of the martyrs of 13th July 1931. The unelected government tried to block my way, forcing me to walk from Nawhatta Chowk. They blocked the gate to the Naqshband Sahib shrine, forcing me to scale a wall. They tried to physically grapple me, but I was not going to be stopped today,” Abdullah wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
This is the physical grappling I was subjected to but I am made of sterner stuff & was not to be stopped. I was doing nothing unlawful or illegal. In fact these “protectors of the law” need to explain under what law they were trying to stop us from offering Fatiha pic.twitter.com/8Fj1BKNixQ
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 14, 2025
The Mazar-e-Shuhada is located adjacent to the revered shrine of Khwaja Bahauddin Naqshbandi in downtown Srinagar.
In another post, Abdullah expressed frustration over what he described as the muted coverage of the lockdown on elected representatives by local media outlets.
“Take a look at our local newspapers — both from Jammu and Srinagar, English & vernacular. You’ll be able to distinguish the cowards from the ones with guts,” he wrote. “Shame on the sellouts who buried the story. I hope the size of the envelope was worth it.”
Abdullah also lashed out at the “unelected nominees of New Delhi,” accusing them of attempting to suppress Kashmir’s democratic voice by confining elected leaders to their homes on an important day of remembrance.
Top Headlines
