Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 16: Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti has shot off a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to know the reasons of her detention, claiming she is being treated as a war criminal despite being a law abiding citizen.
It is not clear how Iltija’s letter got out in absence of any communication channels while she is apparently under detention.
“It has now been over 10 long agonising days since this crippling curfew was imposed . The Valley is gripped with fear because all phones of communication have been snapped thereby debilitating an entire population”, the letter written by Iltija claims.
“Kashmiris have been caged like animals and deprived of basic human rights.”
The letter was circulated along with a voice message, reportedly of Iltija.
“Unfortunately, for reasons best known to you I have also been detained at my residence. We are not even told when visitors are turned away from the gate and am not allowed to step out either. I am not affiliated to any political party and I have always been a law abiding citizen,” she said.
Mehbooba’s daughter claimed the security personnel have cited her interviews to various media portals and newspapers as the reason for her detention. “Is it a crime to articulate the pain, torment and indignity we have been subjected to? Does it warrant a detention to describe our plight,?” she asked.
“I will be most obliged if you kindly throw light on the laws under which I have been detained and for how long. Do I need to seek legal recourse? It is suffocating and humiliating to be treated in this manner.”
“For the world largest democracy, does not a citizen have a right to speak up in the face of unimaginable repression? Satyemev Jayate that is truth only triumphs had defined the spirit of our country and its Constitution. It is tragic irony that I am being treated like a war criminal for stating the inconvenient truth,” she said.
In a voice message, she said she decided to formally write to the Home Minister to know the reasons of her detention.
Iltija wrote that she had made several unsuccessful attempts to get a degree of clarity on her detention before she shot off the letter.
“Hope and pray that I am not punished/penalized or arrested for raising questions about my fundamental rights. Kashmir is engulfed in clouds of darkeness and I fear for the safety of its people including those who spoke up. We Kashmiris are reeling in despair since the unilateral abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019,” she writes.
She has expressed concern over the safety of her mother and hundreds of political detainees.
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