Former IoK chief minister released after 14-month detention

NEW DELHI: Former chief minister of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir who was detained by Indian authorities for nearly 14 months has been released.

Mehbooba Mufti was among several leaders arrested under the country’s Public Safety Act (PSA) after the Indian government in August 2019 unilaterally abrogated Article 370 of the Indian constitution and revoked the region’s autonomy.

“As Ms Mufti’s illegal detention finally comes to an end, I’d like to thank everybody who supported me in these tough times. I owe a debt of gratitude to you all,” her daughter wrote on Twitter.

Mufti’s release comes after her daughter Iltija Mufti filed a petition at the Indian Supreme Court challenging her mother’s detention under the PSA. The case is scheduled to come up for a hearing on Thursday.

“There is a sense of huge relief,” Iltija Mufti told Indian media when asked about relinquishing control of her mother’s social media account, “Twitter is a toxic place. Glad I will not be on it any more. My mother will finally use her own Twitter handle. It felt abnormal to use hers.”

She added that a lot of young people are still languishing in jail and detention us complete travesty of justice as many other families are still suffering.

The PSA allows detention without trial for up to two years and has been used to crack down on dissidents including activists who rallied against revoking the rights of the region.

The Indian government imposed a communication blackout with mobile phones, internet links and landlines down and detained scores of people including Mufti to prevent large-scale protests from erupting over the loss of autonomy for Indian-administered Kashmir.

Arrested alongside Mufti was former chief minister Omar Abdullah as well as two regional party leaders Ali Mohammad Sagar and Sartaj Madni. Omar Abdullah and his father Farooq Abdullah were released earlier this year.