Khushi Bhuta, Pune
Mehbooba Mufti, the chief of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has suspended her election campaign in light of the death of Hassan Nasrallah. The leader of the Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group Hezbollah, Nasrallah was killed in an airstrike by Israel in Beirut.
The Israel Defense Forces declared the death of the leader through a post on X (formerly Twitter) by tweeting, “Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world”. As per the Israeli military, the targeted attacks were conducted while several Hezbollah leaders were present and allegedly coordinating attacks against the citizens of the state of Israel at the headquarters of the organizations.
In solidarity with the people of Lebanon and Gaza, the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister went on to declare that her election campaign for the ongoing Legislative Assembly Elections in the Union Territory of J&K stands canceled. The PDP chief tweeted on the social media platform X, “Canceling my campaign tomorrow in solidarity with the martyrs of Lebanon and Gaza, especially Hassan Nasarullah. We stand with the people of Palestine and Lebanon in this hour of immense grief and exemplary resistance”.
Mehbooba Mufti is the leader of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party, which is contesting for 63 seats in the 2024 J&K Legislative Assembly Elections. She served as the 9th Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir from 4th April 2016 to 19 June 2018.
The secretary-general of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah was killed in a series of airstrikes launched by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) which aimed to target him. A total of six other individuals, including Nasrallah’s daughter Zainab, were killed in the strikes. The strikes, launched across the span of Friday and Saturday, also killed several other Hezbollah members including Ali Karaki, Muhammad Ali Ismail and Hossein Ahmed Ismail.
The streets of the Budgam and Srinagar districts saw protests against the IDF due to the killing of the late Hezbollah leader. The protestors raised their agitations by carrying black flags against Israel and the United States in further solidarity with Lebanon and Palestine. They also expressed their solidarity by holding photos of Nasrallah.