Over a dozen women, most of them grannies and all from prominent backgrounds, were released from Srinagar’s central jail on Wednesday.

Their reluctance to speak after spending 30 hours in the Valley’s main prison tells the story of how the government is enforcing the silence of the graveyard in Valley.

Omar Abdullah’s sister Safiya Abdullah, who was one of the 13 women arrested on Tuesday for staging the first protest in Srinagar city centre against the revocation of the special status, did not utter a word after her release but displayed her arm with a stamp from the jail authorities.

“All we had to say, we have said it,” Hawa Bashir, wife of former high court Chief Justice Bashir Khan, said.

Altaf Khan, their counsel, said they were released after signing a bond which bars them from speaking or making a statement. “That (bond) could have been the reason (why they were silent). It is basically a threat,” Khan told The Telegraph.