In a strong defense of democratic rights, Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq highlighted the significance of the widespread solidarity strikes across Jammu and Kashmir in response to Iran’s plight. From the Valley to Jammu, the community’s unified mourning and condemnation exemplify a deep-seated ethical stance against injustice.
The shutdown on Wednesday was not just a gesture of grief but a robust, non-violent manifestation of unity as one Ummah, Mirwaiz noted. Yet, this expression has been met with heavy-handed measures.
Detaining participants—many of them women and children—exercising their fundamental right to protest peacefully is regrettable and unwarranted. Equally troubling are the crackdowns on social media coverage, with FIRs against Facebook posts and bans on local news accounts, actions that flout constitutional protections.
Mirwaiz demanded the unconditional release of all arrested individuals and an end to the stifling of voices through ongoing censorship.
Echoing these sentiments, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti slammed the central government and NC’s muted response to the relentless US-Israel bombings on Iran over the past week, which allegedly assassinated Ayatollah Khamenei.
‘At a time when India once stood with Iran, receiving crucial aid like free oil amid sanctions, silence now equates to complicity,’ she said during a media briefing. Mufti warned that criminalizing public outrage over such atrocities undermines free speech in the region.
As tensions simmer, these leaders call for restraint and respect for civil liberties, underscoring the need for dialogue over suppression in a diverse democracy.