Iltija Mufti detained at her residence in Srinagar; PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti's daughter stopped while trying to visit grandfather's grave

Iltija Mufti, the daughter of Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti, was detained at her home in Srinagar on Thursday, CNN-News18 reported. Iltija has said that she wanted to visit her grandfather Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s grave in the Bijbehara area of Anantnag district to pray, but was disallowed from doing so. “I have been detained at home and not allowed to move anywhere,” Iltija, a Special Security Group protectee, told PTI. However, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Munir Khan denied that Iltija was detained and said: “the Ananantnag district administration did not give clearance for her visit”. [caption id=“attachment_7389801” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Iltija Mufti. News18 Hindi[/caption] “We also have to keep in mind that she is an SSG protectee who has to take police clearance before visiting anywhere,” Khan added. Sayeed, the two-time chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, had passed away after a brief illness on 7 January, 2016. Barricades have been erected at Gupkar road which leads to the ‘Fairview’ residence belonging to Iltija’s mother and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, who is under preventive detention since August 5 when the Centre announced the decision to abrogate Article 370 provisions and bifurcate the erstwhile state into Union territories. Media persons were not allowed by police to reach the residence and the road was open only for security personnel and residents of the high-security area of the city. “I wanted to go to visit my grandfather’s grave. It is my right. Is it a crime for a granddaughter to visit her grandfather’s grave or do they think I am going to organise stone pelting or a protest there,” Iltija said. She accused the civil and the police administrations of being “arrogant”, alleging “they do not want peace in the Valley”. Her mother Mehbooba, has been in detention since 5 August. She, along with several other regional leaders in the erstwhile state, was placed under detention shortly before the Union government passed two legislations to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution revoking the erstwhile state’s special status and bifurcate the state into two Union Territories. Iltija has been handling her mother’s Twitter account since the latter was placed under detention. She has been vocal in her criticism of the abrogation of Article 370 and the subsequent restrictions imposed in Kashmir. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on scrapping of Article 370 received a thunderous applause at the ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event in September 2019, she tweeted , “Ironic that a move ostensibly taken to secure ‘special interests’ of Jammu and Kashmir gets cheered on everywhere except in the state that’s it meant to benefit (sic). While people in Kashmir have been gagged, mass hysteria is orchestrated elsewhere to justify this decision.” With inputs from PTI