Police prevent PDP march against passage of Waqf Act in Srinagar

The police on Friday prevented a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) march against the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, barricading the party office and restricting the protesters within the premises.

Led by party general secretary Khurshid Alam, scores of PDP workers had assembled at the party headquarters near the Sher-e-Kashmir Park here to protest against the passage of the act last week.

The PDP workers tried to march out of the party office and towards the city centre, but were met by a posse of police personnel who prevented them from moving out. Police had barricaded the gates which restricted the protesters on the premises.

The protesters carried placards with messages like "we reject the Waqf Bill" and "NC's (National Conference) silence is criminal", and raised slogans for the repeal of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.

Later, the protesters dispersed peacefully.

Speaking to reporters, Alam said they wanted to protest peacefully, but police prevented them. "We wanted to protest against the Waqf bill. We understand that no section of the society accepts the bill. They way it was passed in Parliament in the dead of the night, we reject that," he said.

The PDP general secretary said while the BJP's approach towards Muslims of the country is condemnable, "the criminal silence of the NC on the issue is regretful".

"We condemn the role of NC on the passing of the Act," he said, adding the NC was "befooling" people.