Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti Wednesday said the arrest of her party’s youth wing president Waheed Para was emblematic of the situation of Kashmiri politicians who are being “persecuted” by New Delhi for not toeing its line.
Para was arrested on November 25, 2020 in connection with the Naveed Babu – DySP Davinder Singh case for allegedly supporting the Hizbul Mujahideen terror group.
He was granted bail by an NIA court earlier this month but has been taken into custody by Counter Insurgency Kashmir (CIK) wing of Jammu Kashmir police.
Mehbooba Mufti in a series of tweets wrote about Parra stating that his persecution by the Indian government is emblematic of the situation that Kashmiri politicians find themselves in today. “Disliked & mistrusted by people in J&K for their faith in Indian constitution on one hand & punished by GOI for not toeing their line on the other.”
She tweeted that: “PDPs @parawahid arrested immediately after filing his DDC nomination hails from a family where his grandfather would unfurl the Indian flag when not many Kashmiris would do so. Waheed’s interest in politics started at a young age.”
“As a child he’d visit the local MLA’s house & listen to political conversations with rapt attention. His mother was scared that one fine day he”d pursue this passion for politics & become a target for militants. Sadly this fear consumed her & she died when Waheed was a teenager,” Mehbooba in her tweet said.
She said the system in which Para had placed his faith was going after him with a vengeance.
“Today the very same system that he placed his faith in is going after him with a vengeance. Waheed despite being in illegal detention lasting a year fought & won DDC elections from jail. Even after a strong bail order by NIA court he was rearrested by CIK on unknown charges,” the PDP chief tweeted.
“Not having any proof to substantiate these charges, GOI is on a spree where Waheed is arrested by one agency after another. It is sheer political vendetta & an attempt to sabotage the life of a young & promising 32 year old man,” she added.
“His last hope now rests on the justice system & I hope that truth & justice prevail,” she said.