Kashmir Impulse Desk

Srinagar, July 13

Authorities sealed off large parts of Srinagar’s old city on Monday and prevented political leaders and members of the public from reaching the Martyrs’ Graveyard, where tributes are traditionally paid to 22 Kashmiris killed during protests against the Dogra monarchy in 1931.

Police and paramilitary personnel erected multiple security layers around the Naqshband Sahab graveyard, closing roads and installing concertina wire, barricades, metal sheets and checkpoints across surrounding neighbourhoods, including Nowhatta, Khanyar, Khawaja Bazaar and M R Gunj.

Movement into the area was heavily restricted, with security measures extending roughly 1 km from the graveyard, residents and political leaders said.

The restrictions coincided with the anniversary of the July 13, 1931, shootings, a date that was observed as an official Martyrs’ Day in the former state of Jammu and Kashmir until the region’s special constitutional status was revoked in 2019.

The holiday was subsequently removed from the government’s official calendar.

Several senior political leaders said they were either stopped from reaching the graveyard or confined to their homes.

Education Minister Sakina Itoo said security personnel prevented her from entering the area during an early morning visit.

National Conference (NC) General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar and legislator Salman Ali Sagar were also prevented from visiting the site, party officials said.

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti said she and her mother, former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, had been detained, while Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said he had been placed under house arrest and that roads leading to the graveyard had been sealed.

In separate statements, leaders from the NC and the PDP criticised the restrictions, saying they prevented peaceful observance of an event they regard as an important chapter in Kashmir’s political history.

Police said the security arrangements were precautionary and aimed at maintaining law and order by preventing large gatherings.

The anniversary commemorates the killing of 22 protesters outside Srinagar Central Jail during demonstrations against the administration of the princely state in 1931. Before Jammu and Kashmir was reorganised into two federally administered territories in 2019, successive governments held official ceremonies at the graveyard each year.

Authorities have imposed similar restrictions on the anniversary in recent years, citing security concerns.