Mehbooba urges J-K police to release women detained during protests against Khamenei's killing

Srinagar, Mar 2 (PTI) PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday urged Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Nalin Prabhat to order the release of women detained in the Kashmir valley during protests against the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli attack.

She told Prabhat that the situation must be handled with compassion and sensitivity since it was a "time of mourning for us".

At least 14 people, including six security personnel, were injured on the second day of protests that erupted in Jammu and Kashmir following the killing.

Authorities have imposed restrictions to curb people's movement, shut down education institutes and throttled mobile internet speeds in the Union territory as precautionary measures.

Officials said that 75 rallies were held at various places in the Kashmir Valley, while a few demonstrations were held in the Jammu region as well. Security forces had to use mild force to disperse the protesters in some areas.

"In light of worrying reports of women protestors detained across Kashmir for expressing solidarity over the martyrdom of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, I urge DGP @JmuKmrPolice to issue immediate orders for their release," Mufti said in a post on X.

She said this is a "time of mourning for us", and the situation must be handled with compassion and sensitivity.

Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulama (MMU) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had given a call for a one-day strike to protest against the killing of Khamenei. He had urged people to observe the strike "with unity, dignity, and in peace".

The MMU's strike call was supported by several political parties, including Mehbooba Mufti.

"Extending our full support and solidarity with the shutdown call of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on the martyrdom of Iran's supreme leader. This is a day of mourning to remind the world that injustice anywhere wounds the entire Muslim Ummah and all who stand for truth," she said. PTI SSB NSD NSD