After backlash, Mehbooba Mufti apologises for her remarks on Kashmir protesters
PDP chief said her remarks had been misconstrued and apologised to the people
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday apologised for remarks she made during a protest at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar after they triggered a political controversy in Jammu and Kashmir, with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah accusing her of justifying the use of force in Kashmir.
“If my remarks have hurt the people, I apologise,” Mehbooba said while addressing a press conference here on the occasion of the party’s 27th Foundation Day.
The controversy erupted after National Conference (NC) leaders shared a video of Mufti’s address at Jantar Mantar, where she allegedly compared the treatment of protesters in Delhi with that in Kashmir.
She had visited Jantar Mantar on July 23 to express solidarity with a protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had on Monday accused her of attempting to justify the use of force in Kashmir through her remarks.
While opposing police action against student protesters in Delhi, the PDP chief appeared to defend the use of pellet guns in the Valley in the past, saying that it was different in Kashmir as the security forces were fighting militancy. Mehbooba clarified on Tuesday, saying she meant to say that the security forces get an excuse to use force against Kashmiris as there is militancy.
“I meant to say the words ‘bahana banta hai’ (they get an excuse), but I couldn’t say ‘bahana’ as I was talking to a lot of people,” she added.
Mehbooba said her remarks had been misconstrued and apologised to the people. “If my incomplete statement caused pain or hurt to my people who consider me one of their own and hold high expectations of me, I sincerely apologise for it,” she added.
Following her statement, the ruling National Conference sharply criticised Mufti.
NC chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq wrote on X: “What a weak, selfish and ungrateful leader.”
He further alleged that Mufti had initially defended PDP MLA Waheed Para before publicly distancing herself from him when the controversy escalated. “You pushed your own MLA, Waheed (Para), under the bus to clean up the mess created by your own remarks, only to publicly humiliate him when the damage couldn’t be contained but Para Waheed you can say what she said is also AI,” Tanvir Sadiq said on X.
“There is no ‘if’ or ‘but’ here. People across Jammu and Kashmir were appalled by your statement. The only appropriate response is a clear and unconditional apology to every Kashmiri who was hurt, especially the victims of pellet injuries,” Sadiq said.
PDP leader Iltija Mufti welcomed the clarification and apology, saying she was glad that Mehbooba Mufti’s “misrepresented statement has been duly corrected along with a humble apology.”
She, however, questioned the Chief Minister’s silence over what she described as the arbitrary detention of more than 2,000 people following the recent Anantnag killing.
“For how long will you keep using the PDP card to digress from your own failures to provide security and dignity to the people of Jammu and Kashmir? When will these boys return home? We deserve answers, not diversion,” she said.
