It has been less than two months since PDP president and former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti was released from preventive detention. Now, she alleges that she and her daughter are facing 'house arrest' yet again.
Mehbooba, who became the first woman chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2016 as head of the PDP-BJP alliance, was arrested along with other leaders hours ahead of the Centre bifurcating the state into two union territories and abrogating Article 370. Since then, she had spent over 14 months under preventive detention.
In the days following her release, the PDP leader had taken various steps to stand up to the Centre and the BJP, alongside other leaders in the area. Beginning with the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, there have been a series of changes in Jammu and Kashmir - from splitting the erstwhile state into two union territories to several modifications to land ownership laws in the Union Territory. The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration was born out of a desire to see the special status of Jammu and Kashmir restored. While National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah is the president, Mehbooba Mufti is the vice-president of the coalition.
The political situation however took a slightly different turn recently with the arrest of PDP leader Waheed Parra. In a major action, the National Investigation Agency on Wednesday arrested Peoples Democratic Party youth wing chief Waheed Parra in connection with the the case of ex-Deputy Superintendent of Police Davinder Singh supporting Hizbul Mujahideen activities. The PDP has alleged that his arrest ahead of the District Development Council elections, which are supposed to give an opportunity to the new youth leadership in Jammu and Kashmir, was "a clear attempt by a central agency to meddle into the electoral process and influence it in favour of the cronies of New Delhi".
"I've been illegally detained yet again. Since two days, J&K admin has refused to allow me to visit @parawahid’s family in Pulwama. BJP Ministers & their puppets are allowed to move around in every corner of Kashmir but security is a problem only in my case," tweeted Mufti on Friday morning. She shared photos of official communiques to underscore her point.
In a follow-up tweet she alleged that her daughter had also been placed under 'house arrest' after wanting to visit Waheed.
"Their cruelty knows no bounds. Waheed was arrested on baseless charges & I am not allowed to even console his family. Even my daughter Iltija has been placed under house arrest because she also wanted to visit Waheed’s family," she wrote.
Mufti plans to hold a press conference later in the day.
