Srinagar: Peoples’ Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday claimed she was placed under house arrest to prevent her from visiting Sopore to offer condolences on the passing of former Hurriyat Conference chairman Abdul Gani Bhat.
“The decision to confine political leaders to their homes simply to stop us from visiting Sopore and paying our respects to Professor Abdul Gani Bhat exposes the harsh and undemocratic reality in Jammu and Kashmir,” she wrote on X.
Bhat passed away at his Sopore residence on Wednesday evening after a prolonged illness.
Referring to the recent controversy at Hazratbal Shrine, Mehbooba described public anger there as a “loud, unmistakable message.” She said, “The eruption of spontaneous, raw public anger at Hazratbal Dargah was not an isolated incident. It reflects the deep anguish of a people pushed to the edge. Yet, the BJP remains willfully blind, refusing to learn from years of suppressed emotions and suffering.”
The incident at Hazratbal on September 5 involved the vandalism of a plaque bearing the Ashoka emblem. Several political parties accused Waqf Board chairperson Darakshan Andrabi of hurting religious sentiments and demanded her removal and a criminal case.
Mehbooba criticized the BJP, stating, “It is becoming increasingly clear that the BJP has no interest in peace or reconciliation in Kashmir. Instead, they appear intent on keeping the region in constant turmoil, exploiting pain and unrest for political gain. This approach is not only irresponsible but dangerously reprehensible.”
Peoples’ Conference chief and Handwara MLA Sajad Lone also said he was barred from traveling to Sopore. “I have been placed under house arrest to prevent me from visiting Botingoo, the ancestral village of Professor Ghani Sahib. He was a pacifist, long retired, and a final farewell was something we all deserved,” he said.
Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq claimed he, too, was placed under house arrest late Wednesday night. “It pains me that the authorities forced Professor Sahib’s family to conclude his janazah hurriedly. I have been locked inside my home, denied the chance to walk with him on his final journey,” he wrote on X.
Mirwaiz, who had a 35-year-long association with Bhat, added, “Many others also wished to pay their last respects. Being deprived of the solace of participating in his janazah and bidding him farewell is an unbearable cruelty.”
