Srinagar, May 6: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has written to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, urging him to ensure the release of Kashmiris detained following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.
In her letter, Mufti criticized what she termed a “sweeping and indiscriminate crackdown” by security agencies, claiming that over 3,000 arrests and nearly 100 detentions under the Public Safety Act (PSA) have taken place since the attack.
“The response from various security agencies appears less like a focused investigation and more like collective punishment,” she wrote, warning that such actions risk alienating entire communities.
Mufti stressed the importance of justice but asserted that mass detentions amount to “retribution” rather than lawful accountability. “No democratic and responsible society can or should accept such treatment of its own people,” she said, urging the administration to reciprocate the goodwill shown by the Kashmiri populace.Calling on LG Sinha to intervene, she requested an end to “punitive measures” and sought the release of innocent civilians to restore normalcy and uphold the region’s tradition of hospitality, especially ahead of the Amarnath Yatra.
