PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti
SRINAGAR: Accused of promoting “land jihad” through her proposed land regularisation bill, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti struck back Sunday — charging BJP with “embracing the Taliban” while allegedly branding Indian Muslims as extremists.“In the garb of accusing people of waging ‘jihad’, Muslims were lynched and demonised. Yet today, this government salutes the Taliban,” she told supporters at Eidgah in Srinagar. She accused BJP-led Union government of engaging with the same Taliban it once branded terrorists.“BJP once wanted to lock Darul Uloom Deoband, now takes Afghan ministers there to shower them with flowers. If it can talk to the Taliban, why can’t it talk to its own people in J&K?”Her remarks came days after the BJP’s J&K unit described PDP’s proposed J&K Land Rights and Regularisation Bill, 2025 as an act of “land jihad and legislative jihad”.PDP’s draft legislation, unveiled by Mehbooba on Oct 8, seeks to regularise land holdings of people and institutions in continuous possession for more than 30 years. It also aims to prevent arbitrary evictions and ensure ownership security — provisions BJP claims could legitimise alleged illegal encroachments.Taking to social media, Mehbooba alleged that under slogans such as “love jihad”, “land jihad”, “vote jihad”, and “cow jihad”, BJP has been targeting Muslims and vilifying an entire community. “India, which calls itself the mother of democracy, is now embracing the Taliban — the father of jihad — under BJP rule,” she wrote.Mehbooba cited India’s recent outreach to Afghanistan, including educational scholarships for Afghan students, as evidence of what she called government’s “contradictory” approach. “While maintaining good relations with Afghanistan may be strategically important, India’s own Muslim population — who have contributed to the country’s identity and progress — are being deprived of rights and opportunities,” she said.She urged government to focus on dialogue within J&K. “Building international relations is important, but peace and harmony must begin at home,” Mehbooba said.BJP has yet to respond officially to her latest remarks, but party functionaries have earlier said the proposed bill is an attempt to “legitimise illegal occupations under the guise of reform”.
