Anti-Israel protests erupted in Kashmir a day after the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nazrallah in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh on Friday. The development was confirmed by the Israel military and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah on Saturday.
Over the weekend, hundreds of Kashmiri protesters took to the streets holding up pictures of Hezbollah, chanting slogans of “Oh martyrs of Palestine, we are with you!” and carrying signs and banners with messages denouncing Israel and the United States.
The incident, which came in the midst of the ongoing Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir — the first since the abrogation of Article 370 — also sparked a flurry of reactions from political parties based in the Kashmir province.
Who said what?
Mehbooba Mufti (PDP): Among the first to react to the development, PDP chief and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti denounced Israel’s action in Lebanon and cancelled her election campaign in solidarity with the “martyrs of Lebanon and Gaza especially Hassan Nasarullah”.
“Cancelling my campaign tomorrow in solidarity with the martyrs of Lebanon and Gaza especially Hassan Nasarullah. We stand with the people of Palestine and Lebanon in this hour of immense grief and exemplary resistance,” Mufti wrote in a post on X.
Omar Abdullah (JKNC): Former Chief Minister and vice-president, National Conference, Omar Abdullah said the killing of Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike indicates that war is hovering around the region. He said that his party condemns the Israeli aggression on Palestinians, and demanded that the international community pressurise Israel to stop killing people in Palestine and Lebanon.
“What happened yesterday (Nazrallah’s killing), it looks like war is hovering around the region. The Government of India and the prime minister along with other international leaders should put pressure on Israel to stop the killings so that peace is established in the region," Abdullah said.
Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi (JKNC): Reacting to the Hezbollah chief’s killing, National Conference MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi announced that he had called off his campaign for NC candidates in Kashmir and termed Nasrallah’s “martyrdom” as a “grave loss to the Palestinian resistance”.
“They want to break the spine of the Palestine resistance, they want to weaken it. His (Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s) martyrdom caused a grave loss to the resistance...They are fighting Israel for their existence and Israel is trying to weaken it...This is a great loss...He was a great power against Israel, he had provided strength to the resistance...This (calling off election campaign) was a protest, we also wanted to express solidarity with them. People of J&K understand the injustice done by Israel to Palestine...People of J&K have always stood with the people of Palestine," he said.
Iltija Mufti (PDP): Daughter of former CM Mehbooba Mufti and grand-daughter of PDP founder and ex-CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Iltija Mufti defended her mother’s decision to call off the campaign for the Assembly polls.
“Israel’s murderous regime continues to enjoy unbridled impunity as it carpet bombs Lebanon while simultaneously carrying out a systematic genocide in Gaza. We mourn the death of Hassan Nasrallah & those martyred today,” she said in a post on X on Saturday.
Hilal Akbar Lone (JKNC): Joining ranks with his party colleague and MP, Hilal Akbar Lone, the National Conference candidate from Sonawari also called off his campaign for the elections.
“Kindly be informed…Our all programmes for tomorrow are canceled over the martyrdom of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Our hearts are ripped! (sic),” Lone said in a post on X on Saturday.
Imran Raza Ansari (People’s Conference): The sitting MLA from Pattan whose family has long had complete hold over the seat, Imran Raza Ansari, a Shia cleric, and the People’s Conference candidate, also called off his campaign in protest against the Hezbollah chief’s killing.
“A lion has fallen, his roar still remains. In every heartbeat his struggle sustains. I am suspending all campaigning activities to honour the supreme sacrifice made by Shaheed Sayed Hassan Nasrallah,” he said in a post on X.
The reactions by Kashmir leaders have come in for for criticism from BJP leaders who have questioned their stand on the killing of a militant leader while choosing to remain silent when Hindus were being killed in Bangladesh.
Kavinder Gupta (BJP): “These are crocodile tears and people understand the intent behind this,” Gupta said, reacting to the decision by Mehbooba Mufti to call off her poll campaign.
“Why does Hassan Nasarullah's death pain, Mehbooba Mufti? When Hindus in Bangladesh are attacked and killed they are tight-lipped,” he said.
Anurag Thakur (BJP): The BJP MP, who is campaigning in Jammu and Kashmir for the party, slammed Mufti for cancelling her campaign in protest against Nasralah's killing.
"These are the parties that supported separatists, terrorists and those who were involved in stone-pelting incidents. Parties like JKNC, PDP and Congress support terrorism. They are aware of what is happening in Gaza but are unable to see what's happening with Hindus in Dhaka. They are unable to see the killings of thousands of people due to terrorism. They are in favour of terrorism and not democracy," the former Union minister said.
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