Mourners barred from holding Muharram gatherings in IIOJK

Police sealed off parts of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) main city Srinagar on Friday to stop Shia Muslims from staging processions during their mourning month of Muharram and detained at least 50 attendees, police said.

Citing coronavirus fears, authorities have banned Muharram gatherings where worshippers flog themselves with steel-tipped flails or slash their bodies with knives to mourn the seventh-century martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Shia crowds tried to gather in parts of Srinagar but some were thwarted by police roadblocks and by officers searching vehicles and others chanting slogans were chased down by police.

“At least 50 mourners were detained in Srinagar who defied the restrictions,” a police officer said. Some scuffled with police before they were taken away.

Occupied valley is already under stringent restrictions since last year when the Modi-led government abrogated its special status, causing anger in the revolt-torn Muslim majority region.

“There is usually procession on Muharram but they have put a lot of restrictions this year. All the roads are shut near Lal Chowk (Red Square) ... There are no public transports and shops are also shut. It feels like a curfew,” a resident who gave his name as Mohammad said.

Police and witnesses said some people taking part in the Muharram processions on the outskirts of Srinagar shouted anti-India slogans earlier in the week.

Shia youths have been vocal about human rights violations by Indian occupation forces, said senior Shia leader Maulana Masroor Abbas Ansari.

Kashmir valley’s police chief Vijay Kumar said two people had been detained for anti-India slogans during the Muharram processions earlier in the week.

“We will book and act against all those people who have taken part in such processions at other places”, Kumar said.