Srinagar, Nov 14 (JKNS): PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Friday said that her party’s victory in the Budgam bypolls cannot be celebrated fully as the country continues to mourn the lives lost in the recent Delhi tragedy.
During her visit to Budgam, Mehbooba told reporters, as per JKNS, that she was deeply thankful to the voters for placing their faith in the PDP and in the newly elected representative, Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi. She said the people stood by the party “despite being neglected by the government and its 50 legislators.”
She prayed for strength and wisdom for the new MLA, describing Aga Muntazir as an educated and accessible public figure whose “doors will remain open for all” and who, she said, would “serve the constituency with sincerity.”
However, the PDP president added that the shadow of the Delhi incident is being felt strongly across Kashmir. She said widespread searches and detentions have created an atmosphere of unease among ordinary residents.
Mehbooba clarified that the PDP has no objection to strict action against those actually involved in the attack but said that sweeping crackdowns, arrests of acquaintances, and demolition of houses of elderly family members “fall outside the ambit of law” and only deepen public distress.
Referring to the Home Minister’s earlier remarks that the law will take its own course, she said enforcement must remain within legal boundaries and should not turn into punishment for the innocent.
Mehbooba urged authorities not to use the Delhi tragedy as a pretext for measures that intimidate common citizens in Kashmir, saying such actions risk widening the divide instead of healing it. (JKNS

