Protests across India over Khamenei killing

Srinagar/Lucknow: The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a reported joint US-Israel strike led to protests being witnessed in various parts of India.

Sentiments ranged from the killing being called an attack on the Muslim world to condemnation of the international community for its silence on the action.

Protests intensified across Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday evening, with Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq calling for a rare Valley-wide shutdown on Monday.

This was the first large-scale protest in J&K since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

Meanwhile, officials said all schools and colleges across the Valley would remain closed on Monday and Tuesday as a precautionary measure.

The decision came as demonstrations spread from Shia-majority pockets to mixed and Sunni-dominated areas, giving Sunday’s mobilisation a broader political resonance.

Traffic was briefly disrupted in parts of Srinagar, and some shops downed shutters for several hours, reopening by evening.

Several Sunni leaders and politicians also joined the protests. PDP leader Waheed Para and Zuhaib Yousuf Mir were seen at Lal Chowk with demonstrators.

Protests were also reported from the Budgam district and North Kashmir’s Bandipora, including Shadipora and Sumbal, where residents marched after prayers.

In the Shia-majority Kargil district of Ladakh, mourners assembled in the town centre, terming the strike an attack on the Muslim world and holding prayers for the slain leader.

In a statement, Mirwaiz described the strike as a “serious escalation” and criticised what he said was a lack of international accountability for Israel’s actions. He, however, urged people to observe a peaceful shutdown and offer special prayers.

Other religious leaders, including Agha Syed Hassan, Maulana Masroor Abbas, and Agha Syed Hadi, termed the development “deeply destabilising” with “grave implications” for West Asia and beyond, while appealing for restraint.

Former J&K chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti expressed solidarity with Iran, and asserting that “no missile or menace can extinguish its sovereignty or break its spirit".

Police officials said security was stepped up across Srinagar, Budgam, and Bandipora, with additional deployments in sensitive areas.

Mobile internet services were briefly suspended in parts of the Valley during the day, later restored at 2G speed, said officials.

In UP

The Shia community took to the streets on Sunday in several parts of Uttar Pradesh in protest against Khamenei’s killing.

In Lucknow, thousands of Shias, including women, demonstrated near the historic Bara Imambara in the old city, chanting anti-Israel and anti-US slogans and hailing Khamenei as a “martyr”.

A woman protester said the international community should condemn the killing in unequivocal terms.

Prominent Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad called Khamenei’s killing an “irreparable loss” for the Muslim community and humanity. He also declared a three-day mourning as a mark of respect for the supreme leader.

The cleric appealed to the people to keep their shops and business establishments closed in this hour of grief.
Demonstrations were also reported from Jaunpur, Mirzapur, Sambhal and some other places.