Iltija Mufti’s X account withheld, says ‘attempt to silence her’

The social media handle of Iltija Mufti, daughter of former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti, was blocked by X in J&K on Monday (May 11, 2026) “in response to a legal demand”. Ms. Mufti termed it an attempt to “silence her”.

X withheld Ms. Mufti’s social media handle with the message: “In response to a legal demand”.

“It’s an attempt to silence me. My handle was blocked hours after I addressed media over how Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, in his statement, condoned consumption of liquor in J&K. Earlier, an FIR (First Information Report) was lodged. I do not rule out a joint attempt by the government and security agencies to silence bold voices, which raise important questions, like sidelining the Urdu language that defines out collective identity,” Ms. Mufti said.  

Withholding the account of “a prominent JKPDP leader, who consistently speaks on critical and important issues concerning Jammu & Kashmir, raises serious concerns about freedom of expression and suppression of democratic voices,” a PDP spokesperson said.

“Transparency and accountability are essential in a democracy. Silencing voices will not silence the issues,” the spokesperson said.

The move came days after the J&K Police lodged an FIR against unidentified individuals “promoting separatist ideology and propagating false information, with an intent to incite unlawful activities prejudicial to the peace, sovereignty and integrity of India”.

On April 29, Ms. Mufti posted a video of the late Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on X. “May not concur with Geelani Sahab’s ideology but this old video of him stressing on the importance of Urdu very well makes sense in addition to other reasons. Worth a watch,” Ms. Mufti said while posting it online in the context of the J&K government dropping the language from the revenue services in the Union Territory.

The video went viral with around 157K views and over 168 re-posts on X. In the video, Geelani highlights the importance of Urdu for India, Pakistan, Kashmir, and Muslims.