Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was unanimously re-elected president of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday, retaining the post she has held continuously since 2002. Soon after her re-election, she cautioned the Centre against mistaking the prevailing silence in Kashmir for peace and called for greater trust in the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
According to a party statement, members of the electoral college from Jammu and Srinagar unanimously supported her candidature. The proposal was moved by senior party leader and former minister Abdul Rehman Veeri, while Mohammad Khursheed Aalam seconded it. Members from Jammu participated in the proceedings online and extended their support.
Addressing party leaders and workers after her re-election, Mehbooba alleged that the prevailing political arrangement had weakened the role of elected representatives in raising public concerns, referring to the National Conference-led government in Jammu and Kashmir.
“There is no doubt that right now, there is a party here with 50 seats that obeys your (Centre’s) every command,” she said, alleging that decisions being implemented through the Lieutenant Governor were not being challenged by the ruling party.
She maintained that attempts to project normalcy or secure political endorsement from a party would not resolve the issues confronting Jammu and Kashmir. “You will have to place your trust in its people,” she said.
The PDP president also called for an end to what she described as daily raids and harassment of families, demanding the release of undertrials languishing in prisons without due process, particularly those who are ill or have already been granted bail.
Referring to alleged action against families of militants, she cited an incident involving a family from Tral, claiming that even a married daughter and her husband had been targeted. She questioned the justification for such action on the basis of mere suspicion.
Mehbooba said the prevailing atmosphere might serve political interests but was not in the larger national interest. “Do not mistake this prevailing silence and suffocation — where Kashmiris are unable to speak — for peace,” she said.
She further argued that national interest was greater than the interests of any government and urged the Centre to address the grievances of people in Jammu and Kashmir rather than allowing their wounds to remain unaddressed.
Taking aim at the BJP, Mehbooba also criticised what she described as politics based on religious polarisation, referring to recent developments in international politics and warning that communal division could have wider consequences.
She alleged that people from Kashmir were being systematically sidelined in the police and civil administration and urged the Centre not to treat Jammu and Kashmir with indignity.
Concluding her address, the former Chief Minister said governments could change, but the country would endure, reiterating that justice for the people of Jammu and Kashmir was essential to the national interest.
