Ex-RAW chief's revelations nothing new: Mehbooba on Abdullah's 'support' for Art 370 abrogation
Srinagar (PTI): Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday said she was not surprised by the revelations made by ex-RAW chief A S Dulat in his latest book about National Conference president Farooq Abdullah "privately' supporting the abrogation of Article 370.
"Dulat's revelations are nothing new for me. This father-son duo (Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah) went to meet them (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) on August 3 (2019). Farooq Sahib did not even go to Parliament (on August 5, 2019). He stayed back. So there is nothing surprising for me," Mufti said while addressing a PDP workers' convention here.
Article 370 granting special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was abrogated by the Centre on August 5, 2019.
Mufti also claimed that in 2014, Omar Abdullah met Amit Shah for government formation in Jammu and Kashmir.
"He told Shah not to form a government with the PDP but to go with the National Conference and that too unconditionally," she alleged.
Dulat's book, titled "The Chief Minister and the Spy", is slated to be released on April 18.
Mufti also claimed that one of the cornerstones of PDP's alliance with the BJP from 2015 to 2018 was that Article 370 will not be touched.
"In those two years and 10 months, Article 370 remained untouched," she said.
The PDP chief also spoke about the Waqf (Amendment) Act and "attacks" on mosques and shrines, saying graves were being dug up on the pretext that these were remnants of the Mughal empire.
"The signs of the Mughal empire are Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Qutub Minar and Fatehpur Sikri, which are flocked by millions of tourists every year.
"If you are looking for descendants of Mughals, they are not among us Muslims. They are somewhere around you... Because Mughals were kings and they did not marry into ordinary Muslim households but into princely states whose descendants are sitting around you," Mufti said.
Stating that the prime minister talks about the upliftment of Pasmanda Muslims, Mufti said, "I want to ask Modiji, is breaking down a madrassa in Madhya Pradesh or a 100-year-old mosque in Uttar Pradesh upliftment of Muslims?"
She also said that Muslims in the country should fight against the Waqf amendments peacefully.
"I request my fellow Muslims in India to fight against it (Waqf law) peacefully... What happened in Murshidabad was not good," she said.
On the perception that Muslims are being targeted in India, Mufti said they should not be treated in the same way as the terrorists treated Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley.
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UAE set to decline PCB request to host PSL games
Dubai, May 9 (PTI): The PCB's plans to conduct the remaining Pakistan Super League matches in the UAE may not succeed as the Emirates Cricket Board is "unlikely to approve" its request due to the border tensions between India and Pakistan.
A source close to the developments in the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) has indicated that the Board is set to reject the request from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which has already announced that the PSL would be held in the UAE.
The source has cited "security concerns potentially emanating from the rising tension between India and Pakistan."
It is learnt that the recent developments have made the Emirates Cricket Board "vary of being perceived as an ally of PCB", which it believes the act of hosting the PSL may suggest.
"The Emirates Cricket Board has enjoyed a strong relationship with BCCI in recent years having hosted the 'India' edition of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, editions of the IPL as well as India matches during ICC Champions Trophy 2025," the source further stated.
Dubai is also the headquarter of the International Cricket Council, which is currently headed by former BCCI secretary Jay Shah.
"The UAE has a diverse South Asian population which enjoys cricket. Hosting a tournament like the PSL in the midst of such tense circumstances could vitiate harmony, pose security risks and stir unnecessary friction between communities," the source said.
The PCB said early this morning that the last eight PSL fixtures, which were previously scheduled in Rawalpindi, Multan and Lahore, will now be staged in the UAE.
Schedule of matches, outlining the dates and venues, will be shared in due course, a statement said.
On Thursday, the PCB called off a scheduled match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings at the Rawalpindi stadium.
India launched missile attacks on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir a fortnight after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.
