Family members of the late Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, former Chief Minister and patron of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), were denied permission to visit the leader’s grave on his fourth death anniversary on Tuesday.
Sayeed’s granddaughter Iltija Mufti alleged that she was stopped from stepping outside her residence in Srinagar’s Gupkar Road.
“Despite fulfilling all the formalities and informing the authorities well in advance, the Special Security Group (SSG) stopped me. No one was allowed to meet me. I was pushed and sustained bruises too. Is this a sign of the normalcy that has returned to Kashmir?” Ms. Iltija told The Hindu.
Ms. Iltija Mufti, who is a SSG protectee, said she is writing to the Director-SSG, Muneer Khan, over the incident. “I will seek withdrawal of the SSG. My grandfather has served as a Union Home Minister long before [incumbent Home Minister] Amit Shah. The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is crushing voices across India, whether it is JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) or Assam,” she said.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, who remains in a sub-jail in Srinagar since August 5, and Sayeed’s brother-in-law Sartaj Madni, were also not allowed to visit the grave.
However, Sayeed’s wife, and his daughter Rubiya Sayeed, who was kidnapped in 1989 by militants, managed to visit the grave in a private car.
The PDP held a low-key commemoration function at its headquarters in Srinagar.
“The late Mufti had a vision to resolve the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan amicably. He motivated former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to resolve the Kashmir issue in a manner that India and Pakistan don’t feel they have lost. He was keen to bring India and Pakistan closer,” said a PDP spokesman.
On the future course of action, the PDP spokesman said, “Till our party leadership is not released from illegal detention, we can’t frame future strategy.”
No PDP MP made an attempt to visit the grave on the occasion.
