NEW DELHI: The All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, a representative body of various Muslim organisations, has strongly condemned the arrest of Mehraj-ud-Din Malik, the lone Aam Aadmi Party legislator in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly.
The body described his arrest under the Public Safety Act (PSA) as a “shocking and shameful” assault on democracy.
Navaid Hamid, Working President of the Mushawarat, said Malik was seen on camera being dragged and bundled into a police van after a dispute with the Deputy Commissioner of Doda. The legislator has since been shifted to Bhaderwah jail.
Hamid noted that even if Malik had used inappropriate language against the officer, there were sufficient legal remedies available.
“Using the PSA, described by Amnesty International as a ‘lawless law,’ against an elected representative is unprecedented since the abrogation of Article 370 and reflects contempt for democratic values in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Hamid criticised the Deputy Commissioner, Harvinder Singh, for personally signing the PSA order, calling it a blatant attempt to humiliate an elected representative.
He rejected attempts to frame the incident in communal terms, stressing that Singh’s Sikh identity was irrelevant. “This issue has nothing to do with religion,” he said.
The Mushawarat leader also denounced the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board’s move to place India’s national emblem inside the Hazratbal Dargah mosque. He said no such precedent exists in mosques or shrines of other faiths, and the decision had understandably unsettled the Muslim community.
He further criticised Waqf Board chairperson Darakshan Andrabi, a BJP leader, for branding the protesters as “terrorists,” threatening them with bans, and pushing for their detention under PSA.
Hamid reminded that the National Emblem Act explicitly prohibits such use of the emblem by bodies like the Waqf Board. He said the act of provocation raises serious questions about intent and timing, suggesting that “there are elements who do not want peace in Kashmir and repeatedly seek opportunities to provoke unrest.”
Warning of wider consequences, Hamid said such actions risk once again eroding public faith in democracy. He recalled the “massively rigged” 1987 elections as a turning point in Kashmir’s troubled history. “Today, even though elections were conducted in a free and fair manner, the post-election environment has been reduced to a mockery, with the elected government stripped of authority and prevented from functioning properly. This amounts to massive rigging of people’s mandate after the elections,” he said.
Hamid stressed that Kashmiris had turned out in large numbers to vote last year in the hope of meaningful democracy, only to find their elected government powerless and dishonoured.
He warned that if such incidents continue, faith in democratic processes will erode once again, with potentially dangerous consequences for peace and stability.
The Mushawarat urged the Government of India to take immediate notice of these developments, act against those responsible, and restore public confidence.
Doda MLA’s family meets Omar
J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah said, “There is no justification for detaining Mehraj Malik under Public Safety Act. He is not a threat to public safety ands using this discredited law to detain him is wrong”.
He reiterated that the use of PSA against the MLA was completed unjustified and a blatant misuse of powers of preventive authority. He took to social media and posted his comments on his handle on X (Formerly Twitter) after meeting the father and other family members of Mehraj Malik in Srinagar.
Omar said, “If the unelected government can use its powers against an elected representative like this then how does anyone expect the people of J&K to continue to have faith in democracy.”
“There is no justification for detaining Mehraj Malik under PSA. He’s not a threat to “public safety” & using this discredited law to detain him is wrong. If the unelected government can use its powers against an elected representative like this then how does anyone expect the people of J&K to continue to have faith in democracy.”
The Aam Aadmi Party MP from Delhi Sanjay Singh reached Srinagar today and said that his party would chalk out their further course of action after meeting party leaders. He posted a short video of his meeting with the father and other family members of Mehraj Malik, Doda MLA, who has been detained under PSA.
Mehbooba alleges Malik’s arrest diverts focus from Hazratbal incident
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday urged the Jammu and Kashmir administration, headed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, to release those detained in connection with the Hazratbal shrine incident, including sitting Doda MLA Mehraj Malik, who remains under detention.
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Mehbooba said invoking the Public Safety Act (PSA) against an elected legislator was unjustified. “PSA is not warranted for a people’s representative even if he has used some offensive language against government officials. Such arrests erode democracy and restrict people from expressing themselves,” she remarked.
She alleged that the detention of Mehraj Malik was aimed at diverting public attention from the Hazratbal shrine incident. “The sitting MLA has been detained simply to shift focus. This approach is not democratic,” she said.
Mehbooba further cautioned that Jammu and Kashmir should learn from regional experiences. “Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal faced serious consequences when people’s voices were restricted. We should take lessons from their experiences,” she added.
Her remarks came amid continuing protests in Doda over Malik’s detention, which has also prompted the administration to impose restrictions in the district.
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