Srinagar, Aug 07: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Friday accused the authorities of attempting to silence any discussion on Article 370 and Article 35A, alleging that her party had been singled out since the constitutional provisions were revoked in August 2019.
Addressing party workers after a protest in Srinagar, Mufti said the police action against her daughter, Iltija Mufti, was part of a broader effort to suppress voices demanding the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status.
Beginning her address with slogans from party workers—”Mehbooba ji aage badho, hum tumhare saath hain” (“Mehbooba, move forward, we are with you”)—Mufti thanked PDP workers for participating in the demonstration and condemned what she described as the mistreatment of Iltija Mufti.
“Iltija was mistreated. An FIR has been registered against her,” she said, adding that her daughter had been summoned to Srinagar’s Kothibagh Police Station later in the day.
Mufti contrasted the response to PDP’s protest with demonstrations organised by other political parties.
“The BJP did not hold a rally. They did not insult our women, yet no FIR was filed against them. The National Conference protested, the Apni Party protested, the People’s Conference protested, the Congress protested—but they protested for statehood. The PDP is the only party that protested for the Kashmir issue and for Article 370 and Article 35A.”
She said the targeting of her party was not new. “This did not begin today. Since 2019, our party has been targeted. Several new parties were created, and their leaders advocated the abrogation of Article 370. The attempt to break and weaken the PDP has continued ever since.”
Mufti alleged that speaking about Article 370 had effectively become a criminal offence. “Today, talking about Article 370 has become a crime. Anyone who speaks about it is treated like a criminal. That is why FIRs are filed against those who raise the issue.”
Without directly attacking Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Mufti referred to recent remarks by former intelligence officer A. S. Dulat. “I don’t want to say much about Omar Sahib. Your close friend Dulat Sahib said in Delhi that Farooq Sahib’s only complaint with Prime Minister Modi was: ‘Why didn’t you ask me? I would also have helped remove Article 370.'”
Mufti also recalled earlier statements by National Conference leaders. “The same party whose senior leader said in the Assembly in 1981 that ‘Article 370 is not a verse from the Quran’ and that removing it would open the doors of development. The BJP said the same thing in 2019.”
Responding to criticism from political rivals, Mufti said they were uncomfortable with the PDP’s insistence on raising Article 370. “Today, if you are irritated whenever the PDP speaks of Article 370, it is because you yourselves no longer want to utter its name.”
Turning to the police action against Iltija Mufti, she questioned the conduct of officers during the protest. “My daughter had neither stones in her hands nor any weapon. The way she was treated—she herself will answer that. Today at 2 p.m. she has to appear at Kothibagh police station.”
She alleged that women protesters had been manhandled. “A woman police officer allegedly instructed constables to drag her. How can male policemen lay hands on a woman? When you grab a young woman, what do you expect her to do? She will defend herself.”
Mufti argued that despite seven years having passed since the abrogation of Article 370, the issue remained emotionally alive among Kashmiris. “Celebrate August 5 as much as you want, but Article 370 lives in the hearts of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
She accused the administration of using arrests, dismissals and raids to discourage people from raising the issue. “Whenever there is an incident of violence, thousands are arrested. Young people are jailed, government employees are dismissed, homes are demolished and houses raided. They want people to fear speaking about Article 370.”
The former chief minister claimed that no other political party had endured the level of pressure faced by the PDP. “Since 2019, no party has made the sacrifices that the PDP has. No other party’s leaders, workers and families have been subjected to what ours have faced.”
Despite the police action, Mufti said neither she nor her daughter would abandon the party’s political agenda. “Today I may be outside, tomorrow I may be inside. Today Iltija may be outside, tomorrow she may be inside. But we will never abandon Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s vision for restoring peace and dignity in Jammu and Kashmir.”
Calling Article 370 an integral part of that vision, she concluded: “They have not only destroyed the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir but also damaged the Constitution of India. A time will come when they will have to correct it. We will not give up Article 370 and Article 35A.”
