Protests In Valley Over Police’s Removing Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah Banners
The police had also removed the flag of the Lebanon-based Shia political party and militia.
Srinagar:A huge crowd of Shia mourners held a protest outside a police station in the Magam town on the outskirts of capital Srinagar on Thursday, a day after the police had removed banners featuring slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah from public places.
The slogan-chanting protesters who were carrying the portraits of Nasrallah and Iranian spiritual and political leader Ayatollah Ruhullah Khomeini, incumbent supreme leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei and other Shia religious and political figures denounced the police action. They also pasted posters featuring Nasrallah on the outer wall of the roadside police station, indicating a defiant response from some community members.
Earlier on Wednesday, tension had gripped Srinagar’s Saida Kadal-Ashai Bagh corridor after the police removed banners featuring slain Hezbollah leader. The police had also removed the flag of the Lebanon-based Shia political party and militia.
A vast majority of people living along the corridor in settlements on the Dal and Nigeen lakes are Shia Muslims and, as in the past, they have, like many other Valley areas particularly those with sizable community population, put up black flags and banners during Muharram to mourn the martyrdom of Imam Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, who was killed along with his 72 family members and companions in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE.
Many of the banners crisscrossing the roads or hanging from walls feature Nasrallah and some other Hezbollah leaders and Iran-linked political and military figures. While black is a symbol of grief and sorrow, many other flags or banners put up across Srinagar and other Kashmir Valley areas also feature inscriptions, religious symbols, or phrases honoring Imam Hussein and commemorating his sacrifice.
Though this practice is common in regions with significant Shia populations, it is believed some of the banners were removed by the police because these featured figures associated with Hezbollah, a group designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including the US and Israel.
Soon videos showing irate youth arguing with a police officer over its removing some of the banners in Srinagar’s Saida Kadal-Ashai Bagh corridor went viral on social media platforms. This evoked a warning from the police, asking all account holders to remove these or face consequences.
The Srinagar police in a post on ‘X’, said, “It has been observed that certain social media users are circulating malicious content related to the removal of a particular flag. Such posts have the potential to disturb public order and harmony.”
The post added, “All social media account holders are hereby strictly advised to immediately delete such content and refrain from sharing or uploading any similar material in the future. Failure to comply will attract strict legal action under applicable laws. We urge everyone to act responsibly and uphold peace in the community.”
A Kargil-based political activist Sajjad Kargili, himself a Shia, in a post on ‘X’ requested the Srinagar police to “direct concerned officials not to interfere in the religious practices of the Shia community during Muharram.” He asserted, “We live in a democracy—India, not Israel—and our religious authorities are Ayatullah Khamenei and Ayatollah Sistani. The people of Kargil stand firmly with the mourners of Imam Hussain [AS] in defending their right to religious freedom in J&K.”