Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and president of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mehbooba Mufti, has alleged that she has been put under "house arrest" to prevent her from offering condolences to the family of senior separatist leader, Abdul Gani Bhat. Mehbooba Mufti said on X on Thursday, “The decision to place the political leadership under house arrest today, simply to stop us from visiting Sopore to offer condolences on the demise of Professor Abdul Gani Bhat, lays bare the harsh and undemocratic reality in Jammu and Kashmir.
What unfolded at Hazratbal Dargah the eruption of spontaneous, raw public anger was not just an isolated incident. It was a loud, unmistakable message from a people pushed to the edge. The BJP however remains willfully blind to this truth refusing to learn anything from the deep anguish and suppressed emotions that have been building for years now."
She accused the BJP of not helping to heal the scars in the valley. “It is becoming increasingly clear that the BJP has no interest in peace or healing in Kashmir. Instead, they seem determined to keep the region in a constant state of turmoil weaponising pain and unrest for political mileage across the rest of the country. This cynical approach is not just irresponsible; it is dangerous and utterly reprehensible.”
Professor Abdul Gani Bhat, former chairman of separatist conglomerate, All Parties Hurriyat Conference, passed away on Wednesday at his Batingoo village home in Sopore area of Baramulla district. He was 90. Bhat was one of the separatist leaders who formed the Muslim United Front (MUF) in 1987 to fight the Assembly elections against the ruling National Conference (NC) headed by Dr Farooq Abdullah.
It is widely believed that the 1987 elections were rigged to ensure that the leaders of the MUF did not enter the state Assembly. Many youth serving as election agents of MUF candidates went across to PoK to get training in weapons and returned to start terrorism in Kashmir in 1989.
Many people believe that the rigging of the 1987 Assembly elections acted as a trigger for Pakistan to lure local youth into terrorism after their efforts to join the democratic process were defeated.