Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Submit Guest Post

Court told Kashmir leader held for being 'Daddy's girl'

The family of a former Kashmir chief minister went to India's Supreme Court on Monday (10) in a bid to overturn his detention under a law allowing incarceration for up to two years without charge.

The case was launched as it was revealed that the police case against Omar Abdullah was mainly that he has used "dirty politics" while another former state leader held under the law was a "daddy's girl".


Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were among hundreds of politicians and activists detained after the Indian government stripped Kashmir's autonomy in August last year. It imposed a tough security clampdown with internet and phones cut for months.

Last week authorities ordered the two held under the Public Safety Act, condemned by rights groups because those accused can be held for up to two years without appearing in court.

Abdullah's sister, Sarah Abdullah Pilot, moved a Supreme Court petition against his detention which listed the reasons Abdullah was held.

He was accused of "resorting to his dirty politics" and "instigating and provoking general masses" against the Indian government.

The police dossier also said Abdullah's influence was a threat because he was "able to convince the electorate to come out and vote in huge numbers even during peak militancy and poll boycotts."

AFP saw the dossier issued justifying Mufti's extended detention. It calls her a "Daddy's girl", referring to her late father Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, who was also a chief minister.

Mufti was "a hard headed and scheming person" whose action ranged from "speeches glorifying militants to creating fears among (the) majority population based on cheap politics."

Mufti, who had ruled the state in alliance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was also accused of working with separatists.

The government faced new criticism following the release of the dossier.

"Since when has being a 'Daddy's girl' and encouraging people to vote become a crime against the nation?" wrote Priyanka Gandhi, a leader of the opposition Congress party, on Twitter.

Abdullah and Mufti are among scores of Kashmiris still held under the PSA, which had previously been mostly used against militant separatists opposed to Indian rule of the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan.

Abdullah's father, Farooq Abdullah, a member of the Indian parliament and former state chief minister, is also held along with politicians, business leaders, lawyers and separatist activists.

Add EasternEye As Your Trusted Source
preferred source on google news

More For You

uk-drought-farmers

Farmer Rufus Pawsey works on a combine harvester at Shimpling park farm in Bury St Edmunds, eastern England on August 4, 2026.

(Photo by Toby Shepheard / AFP via Getty Images)

UK drought puts food security at risk as crop yields fall

Highlights

  • UK farmers report crop yields falling by up to 30 per cent after prolonged drought.
  • July was the driest on record in England, according to the Met Office.
  • Experts say Britain needs more diverse and climate-resilient farming systems.
  • Farmers warn lower yields could mean higher food prices and greater government support.

FARMERS are facing lower crop yields and growing pressure to change how they farm after England recorded its driest July on record, with experts warning that climate change could pose a growing risk to the country's food supply.

Keep ReadingShow less