Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP chief, Mehbooba Mufti, led a protest against Israel's military campaign in Gaza on Saturday. The demonstration took place near the party headquarters at Sher-e-Kashmir Park, with attempts to march towards the Lal Chowk city center halted by the police near the General Post Office (GPO). During the protest, participants raised slogans against Israel, and Mufti was seen carrying the Palestinian flag.
Mufti highlighted the high civilian casualties in Palestine, emphasising that about 1,500 children and numerous innocent civilians have lost their lives.
"When 500 children were killed in two years in Ukraine, the whole world cried, but today no one is speaking up," the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
She expressed concern that the world has largely remained silent in the face of this conflict, contrasting it with international reactions to other tragedies.
Mufti warned that the situation in Palestine could escalate global terrorism, as the oppressive conditions, including the denial of food, water, and medicine, may lead more people to take up arms.
She drew parallels between the current events and the historical Holocaust, stressing the potentially grave consequences for the world. The recent Israel-Palestine conflict was triggered by Hamas militants' attacks on Israel, prompting a significant Israeli counter-offensive.
"There is oppression in Palestine, supply of food, water and medicines has been stopped, and people are being bombarded. Israel is doing to Palestine what was done to the Jews in the holocaust and its consequences can be very grave in the coming times. "There is already too much terrorism in the world but due to this and injustice, more people will take up arms, which can worsen the situation in the world. So we say the oppressors of Israel should vacate Palestine," she told PTI.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the conflict has resulted in a high number of casualties, with over 3,300 people killed and more than 12,000 wounded in Gaza.