Omar Abdullah Pays Tribute to July 13 Martyrs, Says “We Are Not Slaves of Anyone,” Slams LG-Led Administration
Srinagar, July 14, KNT: In a dramatic show of defiance, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday breached a security cordon to offer prayers at the Martyrs’ Graveyard in the old city of Srinagar, just a day after authorities sealed the site and placed him and several other political leaders under house detention.
Accompanied by his father and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, and other cabinet ministers, the Chief Minister reached the graveyard where 22 Kashmiris killed by the Dogra forces on July 13, 1931, are buried. As police and paramilitary personnel attempted to block his way, Omar climbed the graveyard fence, determined to pay homage.
Emerging from the graveyard after offering fateha, a visibly irate Omar addressed the media, denouncing the administration’s actions. “Yesterday, when I informed the control room of my intention to visit the cemetery, concertina wires appeared around my residence within minutes. They laid siege till midnight,” he said. “Today, I told no one. I quietly left. Yet, even now, they tried to stop us. These policemen sometimes forget the law.”
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The Chief Minister accused the police of acting on explicit orders from Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who, according to Omar, issued directives to prevent political leaders from marking the historic day. “The people who claim their only responsibility is security and law and order—it was on their clear instructions that we were not allowed to offer prayers on July 13,” Omar charged. “They think this is their estate, and we are their subjects. But let me be clear, we are not anyone’s slaves. If we serve anyone, it is the people.”
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Refuting the narrative that tributes must be confined to a single day, Omar asserted, “They seem to think these martyrs matter only on July 13. But their memory lives on every day. If not the 13th, then the 14th or 15th, we will come whenever we want to honor them.”
“What law was used to stop us today?” he asked pointedly. “Even if there was an order, it was for yesterday. Today, there was no legal ground, yet they obstructed us.” [KNT]
Omar Abdullah Entering Martyrs Graveyard pic.twitter.com/q1CjhrXh6t
— Kashmir News Trust༝ (@kntnewsagency) July 14, 2025
