Car Bomb Threat: J&K Administration Disallows Mehbooba Mufti's Youth Convention

The Jammu and Kashmir administration today disallowed a youth convention by the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Srinagar. Party workers protested the move and accused the administration of a partisan approach and selective banning of political activities. 

The police said that besides the Covid protocol, the convention was disallowed because they had intelligence information about possible car bomb attacks targeting civilians and high-profile installations. 

The youth convention was called by Mehbooba Mufti at her residence on Gupkar road. The former Chief Minister walked past hundreds of empty chairs in the lawns at her residence to show how the government barred the convention in the name of Covid protocol. She alleged that the government is pushing the youth to the wall by denying them political space in Kashmir. 

"These empty chairs reflect the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Our meeting with young people was sabotaged by this government on the pretext of Covid, but no such excuse is employed when other parties hold public meetings,'' said Ms Mufti in a video message. 

"I wanted to talk to our youth. They sabotaged it. They (union government) find new ways to deny rights to the youth. Youth of this place is kept away from democracy and pushed to violence so that it becomes easy for them to kill, beat or imprison them. That's what they have been doing," she added.  

The police claimed that there was a serious threat of attacks, and allowing the convention at the high profile Gupkar road would have jeopardised security. 

"There are credible inputs of vehicle-bound IEDs being used to target civilians and high-security installations. The Gupkar Road houses high-security buildings of various organisations, security-sensitive establishments, and intelligence agencies. Allowing a large number of vehicles to be parked in this high-security zone would have jeopardised the security in the area," the police said. 

"Given the prevalent Covid situation and larger security implications of allowing such a large number of people and accompanying cars and vehicles into a high-security zone, it was not advisable to allow such a large flow of people and unchecked vehicles," police said.

PDP workers were seen protesting and shouting slogans like "restore democracy and stop state terrorism" at various places in the city.

The National Conference has been holding a series of meetings in the region. Today, Omar Abdullah held a party convention in Anantnag. Yesterday, Mr Abdullah was in Baramulla district where he addressed a party convention. 

Although both PDP and National Conference are part of Gupkar Alliance - seeking restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's special status that was scrapped in August 2019 - Ms Mufti's allegation of selective approach by the administration explains discomfort within the alliance.

Recently, Omar Abdullah had blamed the PDP for the situation in the Union Territory because of its alliance with the BJP in 2015. 

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference has also accused the administration of a partisan approach. A spokesman of the party said they have been denied permission to hold a party meeting in the Kupwara district for the last few weeks.