Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s mother Gulshan Mufti was denied permission for a short meeting with her daughter, Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday. The Peoples Democratic Party chief has been under house arrest since the Centre’s August 5 declaration to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 of the Constitution.

“We wrote a letter to the Jammu and Kashmir Police asking for a short meeting,” Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti was quoted as saying. “We even said ‘you can frisk her’. It has been 21 days and we have no word on the arrested leaders. Why are mothers and daughters not being allowed to meet? How will that impact the ground situation?”

On Independence Day, Iltija Mufti had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, questioning him about Centre’s decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. She had said that “Kashmiris have been caged like animals” while the rest of the country celebrated the day.

Iltija Mufti also asked under which law she had been detained in her home, especially since she was not affiliated to any political party. The former chief minister’s daughter has been under house arrest since August 5 at the family’s Gupkar Road residence in Srinagar.

On August 6, Iltija Mufti had called the Centre’s decisions “completely undemocratic”, and said her mother’s arrest was to “break her spirit”.

Several leaders in Jammu and Kashmir were put under house arrest after the state lost its special status. While there were no reports from former Chief Ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, leaders like Shah Faesal challenged their detainment in court.

The Centre imposed a curfew in the state on August 5 and cut communication networks hours before rescinding its autonomy and splitting it into two Union Territories. The state has witnessed sporadic protests since then, especially in the Kashmir Valley. Restrictions have been been eased in certain parts and authorities said schools would reopen from Wednesday in areas where restrictions have been lifted.

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