Poonch Civilian Killings: Mehbooba Mufti Prevented From Visiting Surankote, Put Under House Arrest

 SRINAGAR — Days after three civilians were found dead in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, former chief minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti Monday was put under house arrest in order to prevent her from visiting Surankote.

Three of eight civilians picked up by security forces Friday morning for questioning in connection with a militant ambush the previous day on two Army vehicles in J&K’s Poonch district, were found dead in the night in the Topa Pir area.

The ambush, which took place on Thursday evening, resulted in the death of four soldiers.

On Sunday, Mufti had taken to social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), and said that the “ground reality” punctured the narrative of peace in Jammu and Kashmir. “Five jawans martyred in a militant ambush, three innocent civilians tortured to death in custody by Army, many still battling for their lives in hospitals and now a retired SP killed. Innocent people have become collateral damage to maintain the facade of normalcy touted by GOI,” she said.

“Every life in J&K is in peril and GOI wants to brush everything under the carpet only because the ground reality will puncture their fake narrative,” Mufti added.

“How long will this go on before the country wakes up?”

Earlier, on Saturday, she had alleged the Army had picked up locals for questioning and “the tortured bodies of three of those people” had been found near the encounter site.

She further alleged that 12 others from Topa Pir village in Bafliaz were admitted to a hospital at Surankote after being tortured. — (The Indian Express)