3 min readSrinagarAug 7, 2026 08:07 PM IST
PDP leader Iltija Mufti was summoned to a police station in Srinagar on Friday with regard to an FIR in a case of alleged assault on a police officer earlier this week.
On August 4, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by its president and former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti, held a protest demonstration at its headquarter to mark the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370. Mufti’s daughter, Iltija, was attempting to walk on the main street outside the party office with a placard in hand when she was stopped by the police, resulting in a confrontation.
In their FIR, the police have alleged that the PDP workers, led by Mehbooba and Iltija, “turned aggressive and attacked the police party.” They accused the party workers of pushing and manhandling their officers, resulting in injuries to one of them.
Both Mehbooba and Iltija have been booked for allegedly assaulting the police officer.
For her part, Iltija has also accused the police of manhandling her, stating that she was injured in the scuffle with the personnel on the night of the protest.
After she presented herself for questioning at the Kothibagh Police Station, Iltija said, “I am not anti-national. I am not committing an act of sedition.”
She said that PDP is the only party that is focussed on the restoration of special status of J&K, adding that this is what has driven the “crackdown” against the party. “While the BJP is allowed to celebrate August 5, we are not allowed to express our resentment. PDP is very clear: We will continue to protest against the decisions of August 5, 2019,” she said.
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‘No entitlement or luxury’
As Iltija reached the police station, scores of party workers accompanied her to the gates of the premises.
Stating that a peaceful protest is a matter of right as an Indian citizen and not one of “entitlement or luxury”, Iltija said, “I have told them (the police) that we are happy to cooperate with them.”
She said, “I want to tell the Indian government that what I am doing is not illegal. I will continue fighting for every citizen of J&K. If they want to send me to jail for it, I am ready. For every Kashmiri, arbitrary detention has become a rite of passage.”
Iltija also lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that it “wants us to beg for statehood. We will not do that, we will take back Article 370, our flag and our Constitution.”