Mehbooba Mufti: World Watches As People's Voices Being Muzzled In Jammu And Kashmir

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were placed under house arrest on Sunday.

There was no official confirmation of their arrests but the two leaders tweeted about it late Sunday night.

Officials told PTI Abdullah and Mufti would not be allowed to move out of their respective house in view of the restrictions imposed in Srinagar. Meanwhile, Congress leader Usman Majid and CPI(M) MLA MY Tarigami told the news agency they had been arrested around midnight.

Abdullah reacted to the development on Twitter saying: 

“The world watches as people and their voices are being muzzled in Jammu and Kashmir,” Mufti tweeted.

“Hope those who accused us of rumour mongering realise that our fears weren’t misplaced. Leaders under house arrest, broadband services suspended & section 144 enforced isn’t normal by any standard,” she said.

The Jammu and Kashmir government said on Sunday it had imposed restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPC in Srinagar district. Restrictions on the movement of people came into force in Kashmir Valley on Monday. 

Amid reports of panic in the state over increased troop deployment, Abdullah called for calm.  

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor responded saying, “Every Indian democrat will stand with the decent mainstream leaders in Kashmir as you face up to whatever the government has in store for our country.” 

The arrests came hours after regional parties in the state unanimously resolved to fight any attempt to abrogate the constitutional provisions that guarantee it special status or any move to trifurcate the state.

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, reading out a resolution adopted at an all-party meeting on Sunday, said the parties had decided to send delegations to meet President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of political parties to apprise them about the consequences of any attempt to abrogate Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution, or carry out delimitation of constituencies or trifurcating the state. 

The meeting was attended by Mufti (PDP), Abdullah (NC), Taj Mohiuddin (Congress), Muzaffar Beig (PDP), Sajad Lone and Imran Ansari (Peoples Conference), Shah Faesal (J&K Peoples Movement) and MY Tarigami (CPI-M).