Police foils PDP protest in Srinagar
Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, Aug 25: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to take up the issue of J&K prisoners with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Addressing reporters here, after she, along with several party leaders, was prevented from holding a protest, Mufti alleged that court proceedings for prisoners lodged outside J&K are being deliberately prolonged.
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Mufti demanded that the Chief Minister seek their transfer back to J&K to ensure speedy trials and facilitate meetings with their families, which she claimed is impossible for most.
“I request CM Omar Abdullah that on humanitarian grounds, the issue of prisoners from J&K must be raised with the Home Minister. Their transfer back to J&K is essential so that trials can be expedited and families are able to meet them,” she said.
If that is not possible, Mufti suggested that an all-party delegation from J&K be allowed to visit different jails where such prisoners are lodged.
“And if even that is not possible, the CM must at least depute a few ministers to visit these prisoners to know their condition, because we are not sure about their state,” she added.
The PDP chief said she and her party colleagues intended to hold a peaceful demonstration to highlight the issue but were stopped. “We were not allowed. Are they scared of PDP?” she asked.
Recalling earlier efforts, Mufti said that even when the PDP had only three MLAs, it had moved a resolution in the Assembly demanding that prisoners be brought back to J&K. “That was not entertained either,” she added.
She expressed concern over the plight of inmates, saying many were ill and denied proper medical care, while their families suffered hardships.
“Imagine the condition of the poor whose families cannot afford to travel to meet them. How are they supposed to fight their cases when proceedings are repeatedly delayed?” she said.
Mufti alleged that while Kashmiri prisoners are “denied” parole or bail, others with serious charges manage to secure relief.
Calling for the issue to be kept above politics, she said: “We will do politics during elections. Today, I request the CM not as PDP president but as a mother, sister and daughter-please meet the Home Minister on humanitarian grounds and demand that these prisoners be brought back to J&K, if not released.”
Meanwhile, responding to the issue, National Conference Chief spokesperson and MLA Zadibal, Tanvir Sadiq, said that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had already raised the matter with the Union Home Minister “several times, and that too strongly.”
“Those lodged in prisons outside, the party wants them to be released-especially those against whom there are no serious cases. Others should be transferred to J&K,” Sadiq said.
Sadiq asserted that such matters would be decided in Delhi, not in Srinagar, remarking that “those raising it in Srinagar are doing it only for the media.”
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