Mehbooba Calls Mosque Profiling Intimidation, Dares Govt to Extend Exercise to Temples, Gurudwaras, Churches

New Delhi, Jan 14: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday said that if religious places are to be profiled, the process should begin with temples across the country.

Addressing reporters at her party headquarters in Srinagar, she was reacting to the Jammu and Kashmir Police’s directive seeking details of mosques, their management committees, and imams.

“Let them seek the details about priests in temples, and in which temple shudras can go and in which Brahmins can go. Authorities should also seek information about the money that is paid for entering temples,” she said, while daring the government to carry out similar profiling of gurudwaras and churches.

Mufti described the police exercise as interference in Muslim religious affairs and intimidation of the community. She said the five-page proforma circulated by police makes imams and mosque committee members appear as “over ground workers” rather than religious figures.

“The way OGWs are harassed and asked to give all their details in a police station, in the same way, details are being sought from mosques as if these are crime scenes,” she said, adding that the profiling could be extended across the country.

“First, they laid their hands on waqf properties, and now they want to lay their hands on mosques which are not even waqf properties. Mosques are open for all irrespective of sects. It is not like Dalits cannot enter,” she added.

PDP president accused the Omar Abdullah government of silence on major issues confronting Jammu and Kashmir despite having 50 MLAs and three Rajya Sabha members.

“They have a habit that wherever they fail, they say this was done by PDP and Mufti. They have no answer to any question,” she said, while questioning Omar Abdullah’s silence on issues affecting J&K, including the controversy around Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University.

She also questioned the dismissal of five government employees without trial or investigation.

“People are arrested or terminated from employment just based on accusations. Has it been proved in any court of law or through investigations? Did they get an opportunity to present their case that they are innocent?” she asked.

Mufti criticized calls for suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, saying stopping the flow of water amounted to weaponizing it.

“Weaponizing water is against humanity. I think it is against humanity to stop water flow to any country,” she said. “Omar wants to toe the same line as that of the BJP on the Indus Water Treaty. But I want to ask Omar about our power projects which were given by Farooq Abdullah to the NHPC because of which we are suffering huge losses. Will the government of India compensate us for those losses?” she asked.

On demands by some BJP leaders for a separate Jammu state, Mufti said such a move would harm Jammu itself. “When Darbar Move was suspended in 2019, they felt restless. When they seek a separate state for Jammu, Jammu will suffer the most,” she said.

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