PSA Slapped to Curtail Her Freedom: Mehbooba Mufti’s Daughter

Iltija said that under the draconian PSA, Mufti will be forced to remain in a ‘sub-jail’ for a long time.

Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija said that a draconian law like PSA basically will make sure that she is not able to move out of whatever is designated as a sub-jail.

(Photo: The Quint)

Video Editor: Vivek Gupta

Video Producer: Aparna Singh

Three former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir – People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Mehbooba Mufti, as well as National Conference’s Dr Farooq and Omar Abdullah – have been placed in preventive detention after orders under the Public Safety Act (PSA) were slapped on them on 6 February.

Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter, Iltija spoke to The Quint saying that the draconian PSA was being used to curtail her mother’s freedom, for which there seemed little justification as she is not “the kind of person who will instigate violence”.

“In the past week, a lot of political prisoners were released from MLA hostels, so we were quite taken aback when we heard news reports (and) speculations of PSA being slapped on my mother who is a former chief minister,” said Iltija.

She noted that there has been speculation that the former chief minister might be moved to her house, “but to be honest, slapping a draconian law like PSA basically will make sure that she is not able to move out of whatever is designated as a sub-jail — it could be a house or a government guesthouse.”

“The fact of the matter is that they’ve curtailed her freedom. They curtailed her fundamental rights, which is illegal. For the past 6 months, she’s been detention. She is not the kind of person who will instigate violence.”

Iltija Mufti, Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter