Mehbooba visits kin of another militant, draws political ire
SRINAGAR: Former chief minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday visited the family of a dead militant in south Kashmir’s Shopian urging security forces to not harass the militants’ kin.
Her act was criticised by another former CM and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah who said she was using “dead militants” to “rehabilitate her badly damaged reputation.”
This is the second time that Mufti has visited a relative of a militant in the past five days.
Mufti visited the family of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Mohammad Idress Sultan, an army deserter, who was killed in an encounter in November last year. She urged the police to release his brother, who is also in detention.
Omar Abdullah tweeted on Thursday: “The architect of “Operation All-out” & the overseer of the operations that killed hundreds of militants since 2015 is now going from one militant home to the next trying to rehabilitate a badly damaged reputation.”
In a connecting tweet, he said, “She used militants by sanctioning their deaths to appease the BJP and now she uses dead militants to try to appease the voter. Just how gullible does she think people are?”
On Sunday, Mehbooba visited Pulwama to meet a militant’s sister who she alleged was detained and harassed in Jammu. Governor Satya Pal Malik denied all allegations.
PDP formed a short-lived coalition government with the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2015 which dissolved into governor’s rule in June last year.
The elections in J&K have to be held within six months after the dissolution of the state assembly on November 21. Mufti’s alliance with the BJP has eroded her base after she sought votes in 2014 promising to keep it (BJP) out.
She used militants by sanctioning their deaths to appease the BJP and now she uses dead militants to try to appease the voter. Just how gullible does she think people are? OMAR ABDULLAH , former CM