After being set free from detention after 14 months, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has called the revocation of Article 370 “robbery and insult” committed on the “dark day” of August 5 last year.
In an audio clip released on Twitter, Mufti said, “I have been set free after more than a year today. All this while, the dark day of August 5, 2019, and the decisions taken on this day kept troubling me.” She said “I fully realise that the same feeling would have been that of all the people of Jammu and Kashmir. None of us can forget the robbery and insult committed on that day (August 5, 2019) and now we all must firmly decide that what was snatched away in an unconstitutional and undemocratic manner would be restored.”
She said people need to strive for the Kashmir issue for which thousands of people have lost their lives. “I agree this path would not be an easy one, but I am hopeful that our zest and strong belief will help us reach our goal,” she said. “Today, when I have been released, I would like that all those persons from Jammu and Kashmir detained in various jails of the country must be immediately released.”
Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter, Iltija Mufti, took to Twitter minutes after she was set free and wrote, “As Ms Mufti’s illegal detention finally comes to an end, I’d like to thank everybody who supported me in these tough times. I owe a debt of gratitude to you all. This is Iltija signing off. May Allah protect you.”
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and NC vice president Omar Abdullah welcomed Mufti’s release. “I’m pleased to hear that @MehboobaMufti Sahiba has been released after more than a year in detention. Her continued detention was a travesty & was against the basic tenets of democracy. Welcome out Mehbooba,” Omar wrote on Twitter.
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president G.A. Mir also welcomed the PDP president’s release “This is a step in the right direction,” Mir said in a statement.
A day before, Mir had said that any forward movement on the Gupkar Declaration signed by all major mainstream parties to safeguard special status of Jammu and Kashmir will take place only after Mehbooba Mufti’s release.
PDP spokesperson Suhail Bukhari said the PDP president would address her maiden press conference after her release on October 16.
Mufti has emerged as the strongest opponent of the BJP government’s decision to revoke Article 370. Observers believe the revocation of Article 370 has provided Mehbooba Mufti a chance to rebuild her image and that of her once popular party, which was hit due to its alliance with the BJP in 2015 and the emergence of separatist agitation in 2016, triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
