New Delhi, Sep 10, : The All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, an umbrella body of Muslim organizations and prominent individuals, has strongly condemned the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party’s lone MLA from Jammu and Kashmir, Mehraj-ud-Din Malik, under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
In a statement, acting president of the Majlis, Naveed Hamid, described the arrest as painful and shameful, stressing that detaining an elected representative under PSA was a direct assault on democratic values. He pointed out that Malik’s dispute with the Deputy Commissioner of Doda had ended with him being dragged on camera, pushed into a police van, and later lodged in jail.
Hamid said that even if Malik had used inappropriate language against the DC, legal remedies were available to address such issues. “The use of PSA, which Amnesty International has termed a draconian law, is the first such instance against an elected representative after the abrogation of Article 370. This shows utter disregard for democratic principles in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
He further expressed shock that the concerned officer, Harvinder Singh, had himself signed the order detaining the MLA under PSA, terming it an open attempt by an officer with personal differences to humiliate and discredit an elected representative. Hamid cautioned against attempts to give the issue a communal colour, adding that the officer’s religion was irrelevant and the controversy had nothing to do with his Sikh identity.
The Majlis leader also condemned the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board’s decision to install the national emblem inside the Hazratbal shrine mosque, calling it unprecedented and provocative. “There is no example of the emblem being placed inside a mosque or any other place of worship in any religion. This step has understandably angered the Muslim community in Kashmir,” he said.
Hamid criticized Waqf Board chairperson Darakhshan Andrabi, a BJP leader, for branding protestors as “terrorists,” threatening to ban them from the shrine, and pressing for their detention under PSA. He called such remarks and actions inflammatory and irresponsible. Referring to the State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005, Hamid noted that institutions like the Waqf Board are explicitly barred from such use, and the timing of the move raises serious questions about intent. [KNT]
