Mehbooba Mufti claims police barring her from visiting family of Athar Mushtaq, teen killed in Srinagar encounter

Srinagar: PDP president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday claimed that she was placed under house arrest ahead of her visit to the family of Athar Mushtaq, one of the three alleged militants killed in an encounter in Parimpora locality in Srinagar in December last year. “Placed under house arrest as usual for trying to visit the family of Athar Mushtaq killed allegedly in a fake encounter. His father was booked under UAPA for demanding his dead body. This the normalcy GOI wants to showcase to the EU delegation visiting Kashmir (sic),” Mehbooba said on Twitter. She also uploaded a video of her interaction with her security staff at her ‘Fairview’ residence in the Gupkar area in Srinagar.

Placed under house arrest as usual for trying to visit the family of Athar Mushtaq killed allegedly in a fake encounter. His father was booked under UAPA for demanding his dead body. This the normalcy GOI wants to showcase to the EU delegation visiting Kashmir. pic.twitter.com/xFkcqTGQyV

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) February 13, 2021

“This reign of suppression & terror in Kashmir is the unvarnished & unpalatable truth that GOI wants to hide from the rest of the country. A 16 year old is killed & then hurriedly buried denying his family the right & chance to perform his last rites (sic),” she said in another tweet.

This reign of suppression & terror in Kashmir is the unvarnished & unpalatable truth that GOI wants to hide from the rest of the country. A 16 year old is killed & then hurriedly buried denying his family the right & chance to perform his last rites. pic.twitter.com/fLVzcqIiNb

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) February 13, 2021

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In the video, when Mehbooba asks security officials why she was being stopped from visiting Pulwama, they tell her there is a security problem. The PDP chief said she was being stopped from visiting different areas of the Valley without being informed about the reasons. “Why am I not being allowed to go? Am I a prisoner, or a criminal? What is the reason? Show me the orders, the sections, under which I am being detained,” she told the officials. Mehbooba claimed the gate of her house was locked and additional security forces were put outside it to stop her from leaving the residence. Referring to the upcoming visit of a delegation of the European Union, Mehbooba asked the officials how can the security forces secure them when they cannot provide security to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “When you cannot provide security to me, how are you going to secure the delegation?… Let you keep my security and allow me to go there without the security. You cannot keep the gates of my residence locked always,” she says in the video.