On poll eve, Mehbooba alleges house arrest

Srinagar, November 27

On the eve of the first phase of the maiden District Development Council (DDC) polls in J&K, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti claimed on Friday she had been placed under house arrest.

Kashmir is an open air prison where no one has the right to express their opinion. - Mehbooba Mufti, PDP

Kashmir is an “open air prison” where no one has the right to express their opinion, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said after the authorities barred her from holding a press conference at her residence here.

The former Chief Minister said she was not allowed to visit the Pulwama residence of party leader Waheed Parra, who was arrested by the NIA earlier this week. Mufti said her daughter was also put under house arrest. “Press has been barred from entering my residence in Srinagar. This despite no written orders explaining my arbitrary detention. Kashmir is an open air prison where no one has the right to express their opinion,” she said on Twitter.

A posse of policemen stopped journalists about 100 metres away from Mehbooba’s ‘Fairview’ residence, where she was scheduled to address the media.

The police dismissed Mehbooba’s claims, saying that she was not under house arrest but was asked to postpone her visit to Pulwama due to security reasons.

Meanwhile, J&K is all set for the DDC polls and byelections to the panchayat and urban local bodies, scheduled to be held in eight phases beginning tomorrow. In the first phase of the DDC elections, 43 constituencies will go to the polls — 25 in Kashmir and 18 in Jammu, officials said. — PTI