Mehbooba Mufti: India frees top Kashmir politician after 14 months

 


Mehbooba Mufti, 2019IMAGE COPYRIGHTGETTY IMAGES
image captionMehbooba Mufti was a former chief minister of Indian-administered Kashmir

Former chief minister of Indian-administered Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti, has been freed by Indian authorities, more than a year after her detention.

She was detained on 5 August last year, when the Indian government stripped the region of its partial autonomy. 

Under a controversial law, she was allowed to be kept in detention without charge for up to two years.

Her daughter had filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging her mother's detention. 

She tweeted from her mother's account late on Tuesday, saying: "As Ms Mufti's illegal detention finally comes to an end, I'd like to thank everybody who supported me in these tough times."

The Indian government is believed to have detained thousands of other people last year - including activists, local politicians and businessmen, after it moved to revoke the special status of Indian-administered Kashmir in August.

In an audio message posted on Twitter after her release, Ms Mufti asked for the release of all those in jail.

She also said that the people of the region could not forget the insult they were made to face on 5 August and would have to continue to struggle.

The region had enjoyed a special status which allowed it to make its own rules about permanent residency, property ownership and fundamental rights. 

The decision to strip the region of this special status and instead split it into two federally-administered territories had sparked widespread protests.

The government had deployed tens of thousands of troops to quell the unrest and enforced a crackdown on communication - although phone connections and internet access have since been partially restored

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