5 August 2024: On the fifth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, regional leaders in Jammu and Kashmir, including PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, have reported being placed under house arrest. These actions coincided with both protests and commemorations of the controversial decision made on August 5, 2019.
Mehbooba Mufti, as per a PTI report, confirmed her house arrest and noted that the PDP office was locked. She expressed her grievances on social media, calling August 5, 2019, a “dark day for J&K” and a “blot on Indian democracy.” In her post on X, Mufti described the revocation of Article 370 as an act that disempowered and dismembered the state, taking away its special status.
Omar Abdullah echoed similar sentiments, criticizing the government for allowing BJP leaders to celebrate while confining those who opposed the abrogation to their homes. “This is what passes for democracy & free speech in J&K,” Abdullah remarked on X.
Other political figures, including Altaf Bukhari of the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party and Tanvir Sadiq, the chief spokesman for the National Conference, also reported similar restrictions. Sajad Gani Lone of the People’s Conference referred to the anniversary as a reminder of the “complete disempowerment of Kashmiri people.”
The National Conference condemned the government’s actions, alleging unjust isolation of leaders and accusing the administration of suppressing democratic activities. They pledged to continue their fight for the restoration of their rights through democratic and peaceful means.
The abrogation of Article 370 by the Indian government on August 5, 2019, resulted in the end of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and its bifurcation into two union territories: Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.
