Movement of Doda MLA Mehraj Malik restricted in IIOJK after release from jail
Jammu: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), authorities have restricted the political activities and movement of a legislator from Doda district, Mehraj Malik, following his release from jail earlier this year.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Mehraj Malik, Aam Aadmi Party’s lone MLA in IIOJK, said in a media interview that he has not been allowed to travel beyond his Doda constituency or organize party conventions across the territory.
He said that while other legislators and political leaders were free to move across occupied Jammu and Kashmir with security cover, his movement had been curtailed and his security reduced to only two PSOs, without any written order from the civil or police administration.
Malik, who won the Doda assembly seat in the 2024 elections by defeating BJP candidate Gajay Singh Rana, said that verbal directions were being issued to restrict his movement outside the district.
Notably, Mehraj Malik was detained under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) in September last year for raising public issues in his constituency, and was released after the High Court quashed his detention on April 28 this year.
“After my release, my movement has been strictly curbed and security downsized,” Malik said. He further said that he was not being allowed to hold political gatherings, even at his residence, and that officials had failed to provide any formal justification for the restrictions.
In a letter to senior police officials, Malik said that his constitutional rights, including freedom of speech and movement, were being violated, adding that some of his volunteers and office-bearers were also being unlawfully detained.
Reacting to the issue, AAP national convenor and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal questioned the restrictions imposed on Malik. “First, you put Mehraj Malik in jail in a completely fabricated case. Since he returned from jail, people across J&K wanted to meet him. How can you stop him from travelling in the state and meeting ordinary people?” Kejriwal said in a post on X.
