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'Will Take Back What Was Snatched': Mehbooba Mufti Tweets After Release

She was put under detention on 5 August last year, the day the government announced the abrogation of Article 370.
File image of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti.
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
File image of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti was on Tuesday released from detention after 14 months and said the people of Jammu and Kashmir cannot forget the humiliation of 5 August.

Mufti was put initially put under preventive custody on 5 August last year ahead of the government’s announcement of Article 370 abrogation and later booked under the stringent Public Safety Act in February. She was shifted to her official residence on 7 April after it was declared a subsidiary jail by the authorities, according to PTI.

“In exercise of powers conferred under Section 19(1) of the J&K Public Safety Act (PSA), the government revokes the detention order dated February 5 and extended for a period of three months on July 31, 2020 against Ms. Mufti,” an order issued by Shaleen Kabra, principal secretary, Home, read, according to The Hindu.

Soon after her release, Mufti shared an audio message on Twitter and called 5 August, 2019 a “black day” and the government’s Article 370 announcement a “black decision”.

“We all have to pledge that we will take back what was snatched illegally, undemocratically and unconstitutionally on 5 August last year. We will also have to work for the resolution of Kashmir issue for which thousands of people have laid down their lives,” she added.

Immediately after her release, a PDP spokesman said Mufti would address a press conference on 16 October, The Hindu reported.

Her release came just two days before the Supreme Court was scheduled to hear the matter related to her detention.

Her daughter Iltija, who was handling Mufti’s Twitter account during the detention, thanked “everybody who supported me in these tough times” and signed off.

She also expressed happiness that her mother was finally released from detention, which she alleged was “illegal, unlawful and a complete travesty of justice”.

“I now hope that other youths who have been detained for over a year in various jails in and outside the state are also released soon,” Iltija told PTI.

Several political leaders welcomed Mufti’s release with National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah tweeting that her “continued detention was a travesty and was against the basic tenets of democracy.”

CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said Mufti’s release was a welcome relief but the administration should also consider the cases of all other detenues arrested after 5 August last year, according to PTI.

“There are a vast number of persons still in jails since last year under PSA. The administration should consider releasing them too,” he said.

DMK chief MK Stalin also urged the government to release all other political detainees as well.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also tweeted that detention of political leaders has no place in a democracy and the BJP-led Centre is yet to learn to give space to Opposition.

(With PTI inputs)

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.