Several PDP leaders detained as police foil anti-govt march

The police on Tuesday detained several leaders of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party as they tried to take out a protest march against the National Conference-led government over its alleged "failure" to fulfil its poll promises.

PDP leader Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura said party workers took out the protest against the non-availability of drinking water, increase in electricity tariff and demanding the return of our youth languishing in jails outside J-K. “But look at this dictatorship of the L-G administration and the Omar Abdullah government that we are not even allowed to protest peacefully,” he said.

Meanwhile, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said it appears that the administration "only flexes its might when it comes to foiling PDP's protests and detaining our workers".

“If only this same power & urgency was applied to address the worsening water crisis, skyrocketing power bills, alarming 17.4 per cent unemployment rate and unresolved issue of political prisoners,” she wrote on X.

She said: “We have witnessed our protests silenced when we raised our voice against unconditional scrapping of Article 370 and human rights violations. But now even raising concerns over governance failures has become a punishable act.”

On Late Tuesday afternoon, PDP said several leaders continue to remain detained at the local police stations.

The party said those detained leaders include former ministers Abdul Haq Khan, Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura, Basharat Bukhari, Zahoor Mir.