Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir police on Friday (March 28) booked unknown protesters under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) after anti-Israel and pro-Palestine protests broke out in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on the eve of Quds Day.
A separate case was filed by Budgam district police under sections 126(2) (wrongful restraint) and 189(6) (unlawful assembly) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in connection with a similar protest that was held in Beerwah.
Quds Day, which is commemorated on the last Friday of the ongoing Islamic month of Ramadan, was marked by pro-Palestine, anti-Israel and anti-America protests in different parts of Kashmir and Ladakh, which were attended by thousands of people, including women and children.
The day is both religiously and politically significant for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, many of whom link the ongoing dispossession of the people of Palestine with their own struggles following the eruption of armed insurgency in the early 1990s.
During one such protest in Chainabal in the Pattan area of Baramulla district, some demonstrators were seen waving Hezbollah flags, while others carried placards and banners that featured the photos of Lebanese cleric and Hezbollah commander Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated last year.
Other protesters held placards featuring Yahya Sinwar, the Palestinian politician and former chairman of Hamas who was killed in a clash with Israeli forces in October last year.
The protesters shouted slogans such as “murdabad, murdabad, Israel murdabad” (Down with Israel), “murdabad murdabad, Amrika Murdabad” (Down with America) and “Ae zalimo, ae qafiro, bait-ul-muqadas chood do” (Oh tyrants, oh infidels, leave Jerusalem).
According to a police official, some protesters allegedly resorted to slogans in favour of the slain Hezbollah commander that were “aimed at inciting the public and encouraging elements associated with terrorism to engage in subversive activities and to revive terrorist activities within the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir”.
A group of protesters in Srinagar hold the flag of Palestine to express solidarity with the besieged people of Gaza on Quds Day. Photo: Ubaid Mukhtar.
The official said that a case has been filed under the UAPA (FIR No 49/2025) at the Pattan police station in connection with the protest.
However, the police didn’t divulge the section of the anti-terror law under which the case was filed.
The “public is urged to cooperate with the police and report any suspicious activities that may compromise national security,” the official said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a large crowd of protesters gathered in Beerwah of central Kashmir’s Budgam district to express their solidarity with the people of Palestine on Quds Day.
After the culmination of Friday prayers, the protesters gathered on the Sonpah-Beerwah road, where they raised slogans against Israel and America and in favour of Palestine.
“Israel has illegally occupied Jerusalem and we condemn it. We have gathered here to express solidarity not just with the people of Palestine but with the Muslims across the world who are facing injustice and oppression,” said Imtiyaz Hussain, a protester in Beerwah.
However, police said that the organisers “attempted to create a law and order situation and blocked the Sonpah-Beerwah road, thereby causing obstruction to the smooth movement of the general public”.
A large number of women participated in Quds Day protests that were held on Friday in different parts of Kashmir and Ladakh. Photo: Ubaid Mukhtar.
“Taking cognisance of the incident, Budgam police have registered a case under Sections 126(2) and 189(6) of the BNS, 2023, vide FIR No. 33/2025 at police station Beerwah,” a police spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that an investigation into the matter is underway and action would be taken against those involved in the protest.
“The Budgam police have urged citizens to maintain peace and refrain from engaging in activities that could disturb public order,” the spokesperson added.
Pro-Palestine and anti-Israel protests were reported on Quds Day in the Shia-dominated areas of the Kashmir valley, including in the capital Srinagar’s Bemina locality, and parts of the Budgam and Baramulla districts.
In Ladakh, Quds Day demonstrations were also taken out in the towns of Sank and Kargil that were attended by several hundred protesters on Friday who demanded an end to the ongoing war in Gaza.
Meanwhile, dozens of women protesters rallied through the bustling market of the Shia-dominated Magam locality who raised pro-Palestine and anti-Israel slogans while condemning the “Israeli occupation” of Jerusalem.
A significant number of women protesters also participated in the Quds Day rally in Srinagar.
