SRINAGAR: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has called on the Omar Abdullah-led government to convene a special session of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly following the arrest of AAP MLA from Doda, Mehraj Malik. The party has also appealed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to visit the detained legislator in Kathua Jail.
“Our simple appeal to the Omar Abdullah government is to convene an emergency Assembly session on the arrest of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik,” AAP spokesperson Muddasir Hassan told TNIE.
Mehraj Malik was arrested on Monday and booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) after a verbal altercation with Doda Deputy Commissioner Harvinder Singh over the shifting of a primary health centre. The MLA allegedly used abusive language during the exchange, leading to his arrest and detention under PSA, which permits detention without charge or trial for up to two years.
Hassan said the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly should pass a resolution denouncing the arrest and the use of PSA against an elected representative.
The AAP also urged the Chief Minister to personally meet Malik in Kathua Jail, as no one has been permitted to visit him since his arrest. Malik’s father has appealed for his release, expressing concern over his son’s family, which includes four daughters—the youngest being just two-and-a-half months old.
“The CM should also visit Doda and take stock of the situation in the district,” Hassan added.
Tensions have flared in Doda since the MLA’s arrest. Authorities have imposed curfew, shut down educational institutions, and suspended internet services in an effort to prevent protests. Despite restrictions, residents have taken to the streets, and many protestors have been detained.
According to Hassan, over 200–250 people have been picked up by police in Malik’s native area of Bhalessa, and the whereabouts of some remain unknown. He also claimed that more than 15 FIRs have been filed against protestors.
The AAP’s legal team is currently exploring legal avenues to challenge both the arrest and the PSA detention of the MLA.
Meanwhile, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who was detained along with other party leaders at a guest house in Srinagar and barred from holding a protest or press conference on the issue, has levelled serious allegations against the BJP.
At a press conference in Delhi, Singh accused the BJP of including former Pakistan-trained militants in its Jammu and Kashmir unit. He named several individuals with alleged militant backgrounds now holding key positions in the party, including Abdul Rehman Lone (District President, Kupwara), Fayaz Ahmad Nazar (General Secretary, Baramulla), Abdul Rehman Tikri (District President, Bandipora), and Abdul Majeed Mir (Vice Chairman, Ganderbal Municipal Committee), among others.
Singh also alleged that former Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Talib Hussain Shah, currently BJP Minority Morcha IT Cell Head, has appeared in photographs standing behind Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“The AAP will continue its fight for Mehraj Malik’s release, from the streets to Parliament, and from the High Court to the Supreme Court,” Singh asserted.