A day after Mehbooba Mufti’s ‘resist to exist’ call, E.D. summons her mother for investigation in an alleged money-laundering case

Mehbooba Mufti, former Chief Minister, Jammu and Kashmir, and president, People’ Democratic Party, with party leaders during the protest on the 2nd anniversary of abrogation of Article 370, in Srinagar on August 5.

Gulshan Nazir, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s mother, has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (E.D.) in an alleged money-laundering case. The E.D. issued a notice to her on August 6, stating that her attendance was necessary in connection with the investigation of the case.

The agency has asked Gulshan Nazir to appear before the E.D’s Srinagar office on August 18.

The notice comes a day after Mehbooba Mufti led a protest by her People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to mark the second anniversary of the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status on August 5. On the occasion, Mehbooba Mufti had remarked that the people of the erstwhile State had no choice but to “resist to exist”. She had described the Centre’s handling of the Jammu and Kashmir issue as heaping “gross injustice” on the people of the State.

According to sources in the PDP, the E.D. has not provided any details regarding the case “despite written and repeated requests from Gulshan Nazir, represented by her lawyer”.

In July, Gulshan Nazir had received a similar E.D. summons seeking her personal appearance on July 14 in Srinagar in a money-laundering case. The PDP at the time had alleged that the E.D. summons was a reaction to the party’s decision to boycott the Delimitation Commission members’ visit to the Union Territory.

Following the latest E.D. notice, Iltija Mufti, Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter, alleged that there was a pattern in such summons. She told Frontline: “It is no coincidence that there is an E.D. summons every time PDP registers a protest against Government of India’s iron hand approach towards Jammu and Kashmir and its people.”

According to media reports, the criminal case filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is linked to the recovery of at least two diaries by the E.D. after raids on an alleged associate of Mehbooba Mufti. The diaries supposedly contain information of some purported payments made from the Chief Minister’s discretionary fund in alleged contravention of rules.