Put under house arrest with mother Mehbooba, claims PDP’s Iltija in post

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti on Saturday claimed that she and her mother, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, had been placed under house arrest in the Valley.

In a social media post, Iltija stated that they were prevented from visiting Kathua and Sopore. Iltija had intended to visit Kathua to meet the family of Makhan Din, a man accused of being involved in militancy who allegedly committed suicide following alleged harassment by the police. Meanwhile, Mehbooba had planned to visit Sopore to meet the bereaved family of Waseem Mir, a truck driver killed in an Army firing incident on Wednesday.

Iltija claimed that the gates of their house had been locked to restrict their movement. “My mother and I both have been placed under house arrest. Our gates have been locked up because she was meant to visit Sopore, where Waseem Mir was shot dead by the Army. I intended to visit Kathua today to meet Makhan Din’s family today and I am not being allowed to even move out,” Iltija wrote in a post on X, tagging Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and Home Minister Amit Shah.

“Nothing has changed in Kashmir even after elections. Now even comforting the families of victims is being criminalised,” she added, alongside pictures showing the locked gates.

The J&K Police did not issue any statement regarding the house arrest of Mehbooba and Iltija Mufti. According to PDP leaders, Iltija was supposed to fly to Jammu on Saturday.

The PDP has strongly criticised the authorities for preventing the visits. “The house detentions of party president Mehbooba Mufti and party leader Iltija Mufti to prevent their visit to the family of deceased in Sopore makes it evident that the Office of the J&K L-G is back to its old ways,” said PDP spokesperson Aditya Gupta on X. He further accused the elected government of failing to safeguard the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.