Police stop PDP rally in Srinagar, detain half a dozen leaders

It was the first time when PDP leaders tried to take out a protest rally from the party office in more than a year.

The Jammu and Kashmir police detained half a dozen leaders of the Peoples’ Democratic Party on Thursday in Srinagar after they tried to take out a rally to protest the detention of political leaders and alleged human rights violations.

The police said six PDP leaders were taken into preventive detention. (HT PHOTO)

The police also stopped the PDP leaders from taking out procession.

A PDP spokesman said that police stopped the peaceful protest of JKPDP leaders against the detention of political prisoners, the harassment of youth, the gag on the media and gross human rights violations.

“Police detained PDP leaders Rouf Bhat, Hamid Qousheen, Shanti Singh, Arif Laigroo and Mohd Amin,” the party spokesman.

Srinagar’s senior superintendent of police Haseeb Mughal said six people were taken into preventive detention.

“There have been no arrests, only preventive detention. Six people were detained as they gathered amid Covid protocols which are in force,” Mughal said.

It was the first time when PDP leaders tried to take out a protest rally from the party office in more than a year. Former J&K chief minister and the PDP president Mehbooba Mufti is still in detention under the Public Safety Act. She is now the only former CM under detention while two other former CMs, Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah were released after their detention under the PSA was revoked in March.

Although many top PDP leaders are still under house arrest, the party is now slowly resuming its political activities. Some of the leaders have now become active on social media.

“How long can we wait. So we have decided to break the silence,” said a senior PDP leader who was released recently.