{"id":183253,"date":"2025-09-10T11:12:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T06:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/?p=183253"},"modified":"2025-09-10T11:12:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T06:12:11","slug":"despite-curbs-protests-escalate-in-doda-kishtwar-reasi-against-mlas-arrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/2025\/09\/10\/despite-curbs-protests-escalate-in-doda-kishtwar-reasi-against-mlas-arrest.html","title":{"rendered":"Despite curbs, protests escalate in Doda, Kishtwar, Reasi against MLA\u2019s arrest"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-183254\" src=\"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assets\/2025\/09\/0-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1330\" \/>Jammu: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir Forceful protests entered the second consecutive day in different areas of Jammu region, including Doda, Kishtwar and Reasi, against the arrest of an elected legislator Meraj Malik under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) .<\/p>\n<p>According to Kashmir Media Service, despite curfew-like restrictions, people in large numbers poured onto the streets in Doda, Reasi and Kishtwar, staging peaceful demonstrations in support of the jailed MLA. The protesters carried party flags, raised slogans demanding justice and condemned the authorities for targeting a people\u2019s representative through black laws.<\/p>\n<p>In Doda, a massive rally was held outside the Deputy Commissioner\u2019s office, where protesters termed Malik\u2019s detention a direct attack on democratic values. BDC member Fatima Farooq sustained injuries during the protest.<\/p>\n<p>Similar demonstrations were held in Bagga area of Reasi and in Chatroo town of Kishtwar, where locals raised serious questions over the occupation authorities\u2019 claim that Meraj Malik posed a \u201cthreat to public order.\u201d \u201cHow can an elected MLA be branded a threat to people who themselves voted him to power?\u201d the protesters asked, while asserting that the PSA is being weaponized to silence dissent in the territory.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, in Thanamandi, MLA Muzaffar Iqbal Khan strongly condemned Malik\u2019s arrest, calling it \u201cillegal and unethical.\u201d Speaking to media, he said, \u201cThe detention of Meraj Malik is not only a violation of democratic norms but also a calculated move to muzzle the voice of people\u2019s representatives. If such actions continue, the public and their leaders will be left with no choice but to intensify their struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Khan demanded Malik\u2019s immediate release and urged pro-democracy voices across India and abroad to take notice of the arbitrary detention.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities have further tightened restrictions in Doda and adjoining areas, but the people\u2019s determination to continue their peaceful agitation has sent a strong message against the misuse of repressive laws like the PSA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jammu: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir Forceful protests entered the second consecutive day in different areas of Jammu region, including Doda, Kishtwar and Reasi, against the arrest of an elected legislator Meraj Malik under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) . According to Kashmir Media Service, despite curfew-like restrictions, people in large numbers &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":183254,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-183253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-protests"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183253\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}