Mehbooba Mufti stages protest on Aug 5 eve

Srinagar, Aug 4: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday led a candlelight protest at the party headquarters in Srinagar on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35-A. Scores of PDP leaders and workers gathered at the party headquarters near Sher-e-Kashmir Park and attempted to take out a candlelight march towards the city centre. However, police prevented the march, following which Mufti, along with senior party leaders and workers, staged a sit-in outside the party office. The PDP president, carrying both the tricolour and the official flag of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Party workers carrying candles and placards raised slogans demanding the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A and seeking the release of political detainees. Addressing party workers, Mufti described the night of August 4 as “the darkest night” in Jammu and Kashmir’s history, alleging that a “conspiracy” was executed on this night in 2019 before Parliament revoked the erstwhile state’s special constitutional status the following day. “This is the darkest night for Jammu and Kashmir. On this night, a conspiracy was hatched and Articles 370 and 35A were taken away. These constitutional provisions were not given to us by Pakistan or China, but by the Constitution of India,” she said. Announcing her decision to remain at the PDP headquarters overnight, Mufti said she apprehended being confined to her residence or detained before August 5. “I will stay here tonight because there is every possibility that I may be placed under house arrest or detained before tomorrow’s protest. We will not remain silent until there is a peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue and the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A,” she said. She accused the BJP-led Centre of “snatching” Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status, claiming Article 370 represented the region’s constitutional safeguards. “Article 370 was our protection, our dignity and our identity. It safeguarded our land, jobs and identity. The trampling of Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s Constitution started from Kashmir and is now spreading across the country,” she alleged. Mufti also criticised what she described as attempts by some political parties to limit the political discourse to the restoration of statehood. “Many people keep talking only about statehood so that people forget everything else. Our struggle is not merely for statehood but for the restoration of our constitutional rights and dignity,” she said. Questioning the government’s claims of improved normalcy, Mufti said security measures continued to affect ordinary civilians. “When a police constable is martyred, why are thousands of people jailed? After every militant attack, innocent people are detained, houses are demolished and government employees are dismissed. Thousands of our people remain in jail, yet nobody speaks about them,” she said. “If the government claims the situation has improved, then why is the Army not sent back to the barracks? Why can’t civilians live freely? Why is there so much oppression?” she asked. The PDP chief reiterated that the abrogation of Article 370 remained unacceptable to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “The people are silent because they are frightened and intimidated. But no Kashmiri can accept the removal of Article 370 because it protects our identity, our land and our jobs. We will continue to fight for it till our last breath,” she said. She also demanded the reopening of cross-Line of Control trade and travel routes, saying such confidence-building measures had benefited people on both sides of the divide. During the protest, Mufti alleged that a woman police officer had manhandled her daughter, Iltija Mufti, while the protesters were holding what she described as a peaceful demonstration. “If she herself is a woman and laid hands on Iltija’s clothes, then she has made a very serious mistake. We were protesting peacefully,” she alleged. Explaining why she carried both the national flag and the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state flag, Mufti said both derived their legitimacy from the Constitution of India. “Both these flags are ours. One has been retained and the other was taken away. Until it is restored, and until there is a peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue, our struggle will continue,” she said. Mufti, however, maintained that the restoration of Article 370 alone would not resolve the larger Kashmir issue. “I do not speak only about Article 370. We had Article 370 earlier as well, yet thousands of people were killed and enormous destruction took place. Jammu and Kashmir is a political issue. India and Pakistan should engage in dialogue, address the grievances of the people, restore what was taken from us and allow Jammu and Kashmir to live with dignity,” she said. Later in the evening, the PDP chief left the protest site.

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