The People’s Democratic Party on Tuesday accused the Jammu and Kashmir administration of detaining its leaders, including party chief Mehbooba Mufti, as it sought to hold peaceful protests over civilian deaths in Gaza, reported The Hindu.
Iltija Mufti, the daughter of Mehbooba Mufti, made the allegations at a press conference.
“Our party general secretaries, Ghulam Nabi Hanjura and Mehboob Beg, have been placed under house arrest,” she said. “Several leaders, including elected District Development Council members, have been either detained and asked to report to police stations in Kashmir.”
Israel launched airstrikes in the Gaza strip after Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked the country on October 7 and took over hostages. Israel declared a siege on Gaza and also stopped water, fuel and power supplies to the region’s 2.3 million residents.
More than 5,000 persons have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza in the past two weeks, the United Nations said. Israel said on October 20 that 1,400 persons died in attacks on the country from Gaza.
Protests have been taking place in several parts of the world in support of Palestinians.
On Tuesday, the leader of the Kashmiri political party alleged that security officials tried to manhandle Mehbooba Mufti, a former chief minister, when she tried to protest.
“When PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti wanted to protest for Palestine, she was almost manhandled by the security officers,” Iltija Mufti said. “They did not allow her to protest peacefully. I want to ask why, since 2019, the local administration here is consistently cracking down on PDP?”
She also said that the Jammu and Kashmir administration should not forget the Indian government’s official position on the Israel-Hamasconflict.
On October 12, India’s Ministry of External Affairs had reiterated its longstanding position supporting the establishment of an independent Palestine.
“There must be resumption of direct negotiations towards establishing a sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine living within secure and recognised borders side by side at peace with Israel,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said.
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