Iltija recalls dark moment when her mother Mehbooba was taken away on August 5

It was a rare and dark moment in the life of Iltija Mufti, daughter of the PDP president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, to witness the taking away of her mother on August 5 last year by the police, hours before the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was scrapped and the state came under an unprecedented clampdown.

Recalling the moments Iltija, who handles her mother’s Twitter, told The Tribune in an interview: “Personally, it was quite hard when my mother was taken away and this was made worse by the cruel manner in which she was deliberately cut off from her family and isolated.”

‘Gupkar Declaration to be roadmap’

She’s a woman of a few words, but I am sure she will vociferously oppose the GoI’s decision to scrap J&K’s special status. Gupkar Declaration (August 4, 2019, made by all Kashmiri parties vowing to defend Articles 370 and 35A), will serve as the future roadmap. —Iltija Mufti

Iltija sees worsening of the situation because “the powers that be are deliberately pushing Kashmiris to the wall and leaving no stone unturned in disempowering them”.

She refused to answer a question about the role her mother would play once she was set free from the PSA detention, saying, “that’s the question that only Mehbooba Mufti can answer.”

“She’s a woman of a few words, but I am sure she will vociferously oppose the GoI’s decision to scrap J&K’s special status. From what I can gauge, Gupkar Declaration (August 4, 2019, made by all Kashmiri parties vowing to defend Articles 370 and 35A), will serve as the future roadmap,” Iltija said.

On her relative silence on the Kashmir issue in 2020 compared to last year, Iltija attributed it to the pandemic and the news space it has consumed, but affirmed: “I will continue to be vocal. But I am not a politician and the idea was to speak until political leaders were released.”

Regarding the scrapping of Article 370, she said “Nothing is irreversible or permanent, including BJP and its electoral fortunes and mandate. In the course of history, revolutions happened when least expected. J&K isn’t some lab experiment where the BJP can control everything to its liking. It is quite evident that they have failed in J&K.”

TNS