Srinagar, July 13 -- People's Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday said that the "dil ki doori (distance of hearts)" between Kashmir and the rest of India would end when the Centre accepts Kashmir's heroes as its own, just as Kashmiris have embraced national figures.

Her comments came amid allegations that the Union Territory administration had denied regional political parties permission to visit the martyrs' graveyard in Srinagar. Mufti further claimed that residents had been 'locked' inside their homes to prevent them from paying respects to the martyrs.

"The day you accept our heroes as your own just as Kashmiris have embraced yours, from Mahatma Gandhi to Bhagat Sing, that day, as Prime Minister Modi once said,...