Former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti alleged on Friday that she has been “illegally detained yet again”. Mufti also wrote that she has been refrained from visiting the family of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) youth wing president Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra in Pulwama. Parra was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday for alleged links with Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Naveed Babu, a terror outfit. PDP president Mufti further added in her tweet that her daughter Iltija has been "placed under house arrest" for the same reason. Mufti has been trying to reach Parra's family for the past two days, but the Jammu and Kashmir administration has reportedly denied her permission to do so.
Calling Parra her close aide, Mufti on Friday wrote on Twitter, “BJP Ministers and their puppets are allowed to move around in every corner of Kashmir but security is a problem only in my case.” She also accused the government of arresting Parra on “baseless charges” and that she was “not allowed to even console his family”.
Ive 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. pic.twitter.com/U5KlWzW3FQ
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) November 27, 2020
“Even my daughter Iltija has been placed under house arrest because she also wanted to visit Waheed’s family,” Mufti expressed.
Tweeting a photo of an armoured vehicle outside the gates of her house, she also attached a letter written by the SSP Pulwama to the Director of Special Security Group Srinagar. Meanwhile, just before his arrest, Parra filed his nomination for the District Development Council (DDC) elections - the first phase of which will be held on November 28.
Mufti was among the political leaders detained on 5 August last year, soon after the central government scrapped Article 370 that granted special status to J&K. She was released in October.
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She was in detention for more than a year, on charges under the Public Safety Act (PSA) of 1978. Mufti became the first woman Chief Minister of J&K, in the year 2016. She resigned from her post in 2018 after the Bharatiya Janata Party ended its alliance with People’s Democratic Party.
The state police, however, has denied the speculations saying that Mufti was asked to postpone her visit to Pulwama district over security reasons and currently is not under house arrest. “PDP leader Ms Mehbooba Mufti is not under house arrest. She was requested to #postpone her visit to #Pulwama purely due to #security reasons. @JmuKmrPolice,” the police said in a tweet.
PDP leader Ms Mehbooba Mufti is not under house arrest. She was requested to #postpone her visit to #Pulwama purely due to #security reasons. @JmuKmrPolice
— Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) November 27, 2020
Image Credit: PTI