Peoples Democratic Party Chief Mehbooba Mufti, while denouncing Modi regime’s harsh tactics being employed in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, has said that hundreds of Kashmiri youth have been arrested and booked under draconian Public Safety Act ahead of Indian parliamentary elections in the territory.
According to Kashmir Media Service, speaking to reporters in Zainpora area of Shopian, Mehbooba Mufti said that atmosphere of suffocation was prevailing in Kashmir, adding, “One cannot even breath freely and there are restrictions on opinions also”.
She said the Indian forces’ personnel have started arresting the youth ahead of the elections, questioning, “If the authorities claim on one hand that everything is alright, why on the other they have started arresting the youth”. She added, “This is not only happening in Shopian or Pulwama districts of south Kashmir but in the whole of the valley”.
The PDP chief said that recently in the Shopian area, a tourist guide was shot at and injured, which is very unfortunate, but that didn’t mean that the forces’ personnel would round up hundreds of youth, book them under the PSA and send them behind the bars.
Mehbooba Mufti was in Shopian to kick-start her election campaign from the Islamabad-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency. “I have started my election campaign to raise voice against this enforced silence, the wanton arrests and atmosphere of suffocation that prevails here”, she said.
to the remarks made by Indian Minister Amit Shah regarding the involvement of PDP, NC, and Congress in the killing of Kashmiri youth through fake encounters, People’s Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti asked Amit Shah to talk about the Shopian encounter and address Topi Peer Incidents.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Mehbooba was talking to reporters during her visit to Kulgam District, Mehbooba challenged the government to hold accountable those responsible for these incidents and any other fake encounters, asserting that if similar events occurred under her or Omar Abdullah’s administration, they too should face consequences.
She questioned why there is only talk and not action, given the government’s resources to identify and prosecute the culprits.
Mehbooba said that the upcoming elections are not merely a contest between political parties but a pivotal moment for the voice of Kashmiri people to be heard.
The focus should be on electing representatives who can truly advocate for Kashmir’s interests in Parliament, she added.—KMS
