'It's high time Mehbooba Mufti is released': Rahul Gandhi wants PDP boss' detention over

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday demanded the release of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, days after the Jammu and Kashmir government extended her detention for another 3 months. Rahul Gandhi alleged that the 'illegal detentions' by the government were 'damaging' the democracy of the country adding that it was 'high time' that Mufti was released. Rahul Gandhi's statements come shortly after he advocated for the release of senior party leader and ex-Union Minister Saifuddin Soz, who has also been in house arrest since the abrogation of Article 370 in August last year.

Mehbooba Mufti's detention extended

On Friday, July 31, the Jammu and Kashmir government extended the detention of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti under the Public Safety Act by three months. Mentioning that her detention was due to end on August 5, the order stated that the law enforcement agencies had recommended further extension in this period. She will continue to be lodged at her residence on Gupkar Road in Srinagar which has been designated as a subsidiary jail. Mufti served as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir for just over two years in an alliance with BJP. However, she resigned on June 19, 2018, after BJP withdrew support from the government. 

Read: Violence Down In Kashmir, Ceasefire Violations By Pak Gone Up: J-K DGP

Political Detentions in J&K

Former chief ministers of Jammu & Kashmir--Farooq Abdullah, along with his son Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, and other mainstream Kashmiri leaders were placed under detention, citing 'preventive measure' on August 5, prior to the passage of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisational Bill, 2019. 

While the PSA charges against the Abdullah father-son duo were withdrawn in March 2020, Mufti was shifted to her Gupkar Road residence in Srinagar which was declared as a 'Subsidiary Jail'. Recently, Mehbooba Mufti's former partymate and ex-MLA Sajad Lone, who founded the J&K People's Conference, was also released from his PSA detention. 

Read: Sajad Lone Released From Detention; Says 'experience Was Psychologically Draining'

Read: 'Damage To Nation's Fabric': Rahul Gandhi Demands Saifuddin Soz's Immediate Release