Altaf Bukhari expresses disappointment with administration’s conduct
Diplomat Correspondent
Srinagar: DD, Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari has expressed his disappointment over the administration’s actions to bar the party leadership from visiting Mazar-e-Shuhada at Naqshband Sahib in Srinagar to pay tribute to the martyrs of 1931 on their anniversary, and from organizing a special prayer meeting at the party headquarters.
Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari wrote on his X handle: “After being denied permission to visit Mazar-e-Shuhada in Naqshband Sahib, Srinagar—where we intended to pay homage to the martyrs of 1931—the authorities have now gone a step further by locking the Apni Party headquarters in Srinagar to prevent us from holding a prayer event in their memory. Also, police personnel in a large number have been deployed near my residence in Sheikh Bagh, Srinagar, so that I do not reach my colleagues and participate in the planned prayer meeting at our office.”
He went on to say, “I have also been informed that police personnel have been stationed at the homes of several of our leaders and senior workers, blocking their participation in today’s Martyrs’ Day commemorations. These measures are clear and blatant examples of highhandedness and authoritarian behaviour by the administration. What is the purpose of stopping us from commemorating Martyrs’ Day, and how does it serve the authorities?”
“Today, our only intention was to visit Mazar-e-Shuhada to pay tribute to the martyrs and then hold a peaceful prayer meeting in their memory. As peace-loving and law-abiding citizens, we would have carried out these activities quietly, without causing any disruption to law and order. I am deeply disappointed by the administration’s conduct. That said, no level of suppression can diminish our reverence for these martyrs. Their memory lives on in our hearts, and no barriers can prevent us from honouring them from the depths of our hearts. I leave it to the people’s sense of justice to judge whether the administration’s actions today were fair or unjust,” the post reads.DD