Indian Police Detain PDP Leaders, Foil Protest Against Water Crisis, Power Tariffs in Srinagar

As basic civic issues grip Kashmir, a peaceful protest by the Peoples Democratic Party was met with a heavy-handed police response—exposing the shrinking space for dissent under India’s rule in the occupied territory.
Several leaders and workers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were detained on Tuesday as Indian police forcefully stopped a protest march in Srinagar, Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The protest was organized to highlight critical public issues including the acute drinking water shortage, soaring electricity tariffs, and the prolonged detention of Kashmiri youth in jails across India and the occupied region.

Report stated that, the PDP leaders and activists gathered outside the party headquarters in Srinagar and began marching toward the city’s commercial hub, Lal Chowk. Carrying placards and chanting slogans, they demanded immediate attention to the mounting civic distress in the region.

However, their march was interrupted by a heavy deployment of Indian police, who ordered the demonstrators to disperse. When the protesters refused to comply and continued forward peacefully, police personnel intervened, detaining several party members and leaders.

Among those taken into custody were PDP general secretaries Abdul Haq Khan and Mohammad Khurshid Alam, along with senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura and Syed Basharat Bukhari. Female leaders from the party’s women wing were also among the detained.

Before being whisked away by police, Hanjura condemned the crackdown, calling it a clear example of authoritarianism. “We tried to take out a peaceful protest to raise genuine issues affecting every household in Kashmir,” he said. “But look at this dictatorship of the Lieutenant Governor administration and the Omar Abdullah government—people are not even allowed to raise their voices democratically.”

The protest was primarily aimed at drawing attention to the severe water crisis that has left many areas without access to drinking water for weeks. Citizens have repeatedly complained of dry taps and government apathy, especially during the scorching summer months.

In addition to the water issue, the PDP also condemned the recent hike in electricity tariffs, which they say has added financial strain to already struggling households. “This government is deaf to public suffering,” said another detained leader. “Instead of addressing basic necessities, it crushes protests and detains opposition.”

The party also reiterated its demand for the release of Kashmiri youth who have been languishing in prisons across India—many of them without formal charges or fair trials. The PDP called their continued detention inhumane and politically motivated, intended to suppress dissent and scare families into silence.

Political analysts have noted that Tuesday’s detentions reflect the growing intolerance for democratic expression in IIOJK. Ever since the region’s special status was revoked in 2019, political parties, civil society groups, and activists have faced consistent restrictions, surveillance, and detentions.

PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, though not present at the protest, later expressed strong condemnation of the police action in a post on social media. She called it yet another instance of the administration’s failure to allow peaceful democratic engagement.

Meanwhile, the local administration has maintained silence on the detentions, and no formal charges have been made public at the time of reporting.

As frustrations mount over deteriorating civic conditions and continued political repression, the events in Srinagar signal yet another flashpoint in the broader crisis of governance and civil liberties in the occupied territory.