Saurabh Mukherjee
Public demonstrations broke out across parts of Kashmir on Sunday after Iranian state media confirmed the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a reported joint US-Israel strike.
The protests mark a rare return of large-scale street mobilisation in the Valley, where hartals and stone-pelting incidents have significantly declined since 2019.
Hundreds of people, particularly from Shia-majority localities, assembled in Srinagar and areas of north Kashmir, raising anti-US and anti-Israel slogans.
According to police, the gatherings were largely spontaneous and peaceful, though security arrangements were intensified in sensitive zones as a precautionary measure.
In Srinagar, demonstrators gathered at Lal Chowk and marched towards adjoining neighbourhoods. In the old city’s Saida Kadal area, groups carried black flags and portraits of Khamenei while chanting slogans and reciting mourning verses. Traffic movement was briefly affected in parts of downtown Srinagar, with some shopkeepers partially closing their establishments during the protests.
Eyewitnesses said Lal Chowk witnessed a heavy turnout from Sunday morning after news of Khamenei’s death in the overnight airstrike was confirmed. Women and children joined the protests near the clock tower, raising slogans in support of Khamenei and against the US and Israel.
Some demonstrators invoked the battle of Karbala and carried posters of Khamenei and former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, along with Iranian and Palestinian flags and religious banners.
Similar marches were reported from north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, including in Shadipora and Sumbal villages, where residents gathered after afternoon prayers. Participants described Khamenei as a religious figure of global importance and condemned the strike, while local clerics appealed for calm and peaceful conduct.
In Budgam district, Shia mourners also staged protests, holding banners and raising slogans against Washington and Tel Aviv. Police officials said adequate deployments were made across Srinagar, Budgam and Bandipora.
“The situation remained under control. There were no reports of violence,” a senior officer told Deccan Herald.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed “deep concern” over the killing, while Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq called for a shutdown on Monday to protest the “ongoing aggression against Iran”.
Abdullah further urged restraint from the authorities.
“The police and administration should exercise utmost restraint and refrain from using force or restrictive measures. The Government of Jammu & Kashmir is in close coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, to ensure the safety and well-being of J&K residents, including students, currently in Iran,” he said in a post on X.
The police administration in the Union territory remains under the direct control of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
Mirwaiz said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir condemn the “brutality and the ongoing aggression against Iran, as well as the massacre of innocent girl students in Minab”.
Reports indicated that at least 148 people, most of them adolescent girls, were believed to have been killed in Minab in Iran’s Hormozgan province during the early hours of the Israeli-US strikes.
“In this hour of immense sorrow, our hearts beat with the resilient people of Iran. May Allah grant strength to the oppressed, elevate the martyrs, and bring swift justice to those responsible for this,” Mirwaiz said.
“This is a moment for the Ummah to rise above divisions and stand united and register our protest and solidarity against this killing and the continued aggression in the region. Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulama (MMU) has called for a complete strike tomorrow. We urge the people to observe it with unity, dignity, and complete peacefulness,” he added.
As tensions in West Asia continue to escalate, the developments have reverberated strongly in Kashmir, prompting calls for peaceful expression of grief while authorities maintain heightened vigilance across the Valley.
The protests mark a rare return of large-scale street mobilisation in the Valley, where hartals and stone-pelting incidents have significantly declined since 2019.
Hundreds of people, particularly from Shia-majority localities, assembled in Srinagar and areas of north Kashmir, raising anti-US and anti-Israel slogans.
According to police, the gatherings were largely spontaneous and peaceful, though security arrangements were intensified in sensitive zones as a precautionary measure.
In Srinagar, demonstrators gathered at Lal Chowk and marched towards adjoining neighbourhoods. In the old city’s Saida Kadal area, groups carried black flags and portraits of Khamenei while chanting slogans and reciting mourning verses. Traffic movement was briefly affected in parts of downtown Srinagar, with some shopkeepers partially closing their establishments during the protests.
Eyewitnesses said Lal Chowk witnessed a heavy turnout from Sunday morning after news of Khamenei’s death in the overnight airstrike was confirmed. Women and children joined the protests near the clock tower, raising slogans in support of Khamenei and against the US and Israel.
Some demonstrators invoked the battle of Karbala and carried posters of Khamenei and former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, along with Iranian and Palestinian flags and religious banners.
Similar marches were reported from north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, including in Shadipora and Sumbal villages, where residents gathered after afternoon prayers. Participants described Khamenei as a religious figure of global importance and condemned the strike, while local clerics appealed for calm and peaceful conduct.
In Budgam district, Shia mourners also staged protests, holding banners and raising slogans against Washington and Tel Aviv. Police officials said adequate deployments were made across Srinagar, Budgam and Bandipora.
“The situation remained under control. There were no reports of violence,” a senior officer told Deccan Herald.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed “deep concern” over the killing, while Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq called for a shutdown on Monday to protest the “ongoing aggression against Iran”.
Abdullah further urged restraint from the authorities.
“The police and administration should exercise utmost restraint and refrain from using force or restrictive measures. The Government of Jammu & Kashmir is in close coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, to ensure the safety and well-being of J&K residents, including students, currently in Iran,” he said in a post on X.
The police administration in the Union territory remains under the direct control of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
Mirwaiz said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir condemn the “brutality and the ongoing aggression against Iran, as well as the massacre of innocent girl students in Minab”.
Reports indicated that at least 148 people, most of them adolescent girls, were believed to have been killed in Minab in Iran’s Hormozgan province during the early hours of the Israeli-US strikes.
“In this hour of immense sorrow, our hearts beat with the resilient people of Iran. May Allah grant strength to the oppressed, elevate the martyrs, and bring swift justice to those responsible for this,” Mirwaiz said.
“This is a moment for the Ummah to rise above divisions and stand united and register our protest and solidarity against this killing and the continued aggression in the region. Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulama (MMU) has called for a complete strike tomorrow. We urge the people to observe it with unity, dignity, and complete peacefulness,” he added.
As tensions in West Asia continue to escalate, the developments have reverberated strongly in Kashmir, prompting calls for peaceful expression of grief while authorities maintain heightened vigilance across the Valley.
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