Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Nov 5
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday accused the ruling National Conference government in Jammu and Kashmir of acting as a “rubber stamp” of the Centre, saying political compliance could not substitute for public trust or resolve the region’s underlying political issues.
Speaking after being re-elected unopposed as party president, the former chief minister urged New Delhi to address public grievances, end what she described as daily raids and harassment of families, and release undertrials who were being held in prisons without due process.
“There is no doubt that right now, there is a party here with 50 seats that obeys your (Centre’s) every command. Whatever you ask for, whatever you want to execute through the Lieutenant Governor, you are now executing through them, and they don’t even utter a sigh of protest,” she said, referring to the National Conference government.
“Yet, trying to normalise everything or getting a rubber stamp from some political party is no solution to the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. You will have to place your trust in its people,” she added.
Mehbooba said the national interest was greater than the interests of any government and cautioned against interpreting the prevailing silence in Kashmir as an indication of lasting peace.
“National interest is far greater than any government. That is why I want to tell you: do not mistake this prevailing silence and suffocation — where Kashmiris are unable to speak — for peace,” she said.
She called for an end to what she described as routine raids and sought the release of people detained as undertrials without due legal process.
“You have to stop these daily raids. You must open prison gates where our people are languishing as undertrials without any due process. Release those who are ill, and those who were granted bail but are still kept behind bars,” she said.
The PDP chief also alleged that families of militants were being targeted, citing the case of a family from Tral.
She claimed that a married daughter living with her in-laws and her husband had also faced action despite having no direct connection with the alleged activities of the militant who had left the family home.
“If a militant has fled his home, you target his house, his family. Out of mere suspicion, a family from Tral was targeted: a daughter was married and living with her in-laws; you even arrested her husband. How can this go on? This cannot continue,” she said.
Mehbooba alleged that the prevailing political and security environment might serve the interests of those in power but was damaging to the wider interests of the country.
Referring to political developments in the United States and the conflicts in Gaza and Iran, she criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for what she described as its reliance on religious polarisation.
“You saw what happened in America. Trump, who stood against Muslims, who subjected Muslims around the world to atrocities, who oversaw the killings of Muslims in Gaza and innocent young lives in Iran; look at the slap in the face the American public dealt him!” she said.
She urged the BJP to abandon what she termed its Hindu-Muslim divisive politics and alleged that Kashmiris were being systematically marginalised in the police and civil administration.
“How long will you keep playing this Hindu-Muslim division card, using Jammu and Kashmir as political fodder? Here, Kashmiri people are being systematically sidelined and erased, whether in the police or the civil administration,” she said.
Describing Jammu and Kashmir as the “crown of the nation”, Mehbooba urged the Centre to treat its people with dignity.
“When I say this, I say it to the BJP: You will perish, but this country will endure. This is a great and magnificent nation, and its people understand,” she said.
Her re-election comes as the PDP seeks to strengthen its political position amid criticism of the National Conference-led government and continuing debate over the region’s political future.
