J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Wednesday chaired a meeting between the administration, religious leader and civil society members in Srinagar following protests and clashes in the UT after the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran.
The meeting came a day after the J&K Police booked Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi and former Srinagar mayor Junaid Azim Mattu accusing them of circulating “misleading online content”.
After the meeting, the chief minister said, “A few senior religious leaders were invited for discussions regarding the situation here. First, we condemned the strikes in Iran that led to the martyrdom of Ayatollah Khamenei and extended condolences. We also discussed how to preserve peace, and tranquillity in J&K.”
Expressing his gratitude to the civil society and religious leadership, Omar said: “We have made an appeal to maintain peace and brotherhood. We may express our anguish peacefully, whether it is in our mosques, shrines or imambaras. We hope this appeal will resonate with all our people”.
This follows days of unrest in several parts of J&K. On Tuesday, the and Kashmir Police Tuesday said an FIR was registered and summons were issued regarding the “circulation of fake, fabricated and misleading information by certain news channels, media outlets and individuals across electronic and social media platforms”. Late Tuesday, Police also booked Ruhullah and Mattu. Both said that their security was also downgraded after their statements criticising Israel and US for the strike in Iran.
“Our endeavour is that no innocent blood should be spilled in these law and order distrubances,” Omar said.
Restrictions on civilian movement, put in place Monday amid the protests, continued to be in place in some parts Wednesday while mobile internet remains restricted to 2G.
Meanwhile, reacting strongly to the CM’s statement urging peace, Ruhullah Mehdi said in a post on X: “When and how was the communal harmony disturbed by the mourners which forced the assembly of this “group” to call for communal harmony. What message is he trying to send? Whose point is he asserting and advocating?”
He also questioned Omar on whether he is “trying to become an instrument of the establishment to justify their unjustifiable actions” He said that the only call that he and this “group” should have made was to ask for the immediate release of our youth and unconditional withdrawal of FIRs against them. “It took a question from a journalist to get a half-hearted mention of the FIRs and detentions of our youth. He couldn’t ask for their release extemporaneously in his opening remarks. Who does he represent? I thought we elected a representative for us who would stand for us against all odds.”
