Sham polls in IIOJK: PDP says Mehbooba Mufti’s phone calls barred, workers detained
Srinagar : President of People’s Democratic Party, Mehbooba Mufti has said that Indian authorities have suspended outgoing calls on her mobile number without any explanation on the day of polling in Islamabad-Rajouri parliamentary constituency.
According to Kashmir Media Service, in a media interview, Mehbooba Mufti said, “I am not able to make any calls since morning. There is no explanation for this sudden suspension of services on the day of polling in the Islamabad-Rajouri parliamentary constituency”.
The PDP chief is contesting the elections from the Islamabad-Rajouri constituency, where voting is currently underway.
The PDP also flagged the issue in a post on X. “Just ahead of the polls, Ms. Mehbooba Mufti’s cellular phone service has been abruptly snapped”.
The party also said that scores of PDP workers and polling agents were detained Friday evening and in the early hours today in south Kashmir. The PDP has written to the Election Commission of India, saying that its workers and polling agents were detained by police.
The letter said, “It has come to our notice that the police in Islamabad, Shopian, and Kulgam have initiated a campaign of terror against our polling agents. From Friday evening, numerous polling agents have been either forcibly taken from their residences or summoned to police stations, where they are being held in illegal confinement”.
In the letter to the chief election commissioner, the party said it seeks the commission’s immediate attention towards a grave matter that threatens the integrity of the polls.
In this regard, Mehbooba Mufti in a post on X said, “Many of our PDP polling agents & workers are being detained just before voting. When the families went to the police stations they are being told that it’s being done at the behest of SSP Islamabad & DIG South Kashmir. We’ve written to the ECI hoping for their timely intervention”.
