Ishfaq-ul-Hassan
SRINAGAR—Tightening noose, the Jammu and Kashmir government has asked former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti to vacate her official Fairview residence at Gupkar Road.
Estates Department has served a notice to Mehbooba asking her to vacate the residence as soon as possible.
Fairview bungalow served as the official residence of Mehbooba’s father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed till his death. Later Mehbooba retained this residence after she became the chief minister.
Post abrogation of Article 370, the Centre amended the law that permitted former chief ministers to occupy official residences for life.
Earlier former chief minister Omar Abdullah too was also evicted from his official residence on the Gupkar Road last year.
Mehbooba Mufti confirmed to the local news agency that she has been asked to vacate the accommodation.
The government has offered Mehbooba Mufti alternate residence given the fact that she is one of the most protected persons in Jammu and Kashmir.
Before converting Fairview into a VIP residence, it served as an infamous interrogation centre for security forces. Codenamed PAPA-2, it also finds mention in the best-seller `Curfewed Night’ by Basharat Peer.
Till 1989, it served as an official guest house. The building was occupied by the Border Security Forces in 1990. It continued to function as an interrogation centre till 1996. Later Ashok Jaitley, former Chief Secretary of the Farooq Abdullah government used it as his residence. In 2003 it was renovated and served as the residence of the then Finance Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig.
Mehbooba has been a vocal critic of the BJP-led Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir government. Just a few days back she posted a stinging tweet against the police over killings.
“Using dubious nomenclature – hybrid militant & chance encounters to justify civilian killings has become the norm in Kashmir. Imran Ganai arrested by the police & then killed in their custody allegedly by another militant defies logic & deserves a thorough investigation,” she tweeted.
Before moving to Fairview, Mehbooba and her father were putting up at Nowgam residence in the Srinagar outskirts. Originally hailing from Bijbehera in Anantnag, they have been living in Srinagar because of security reasons. After her father became chief minister, they were asked to move to a safer location because of security reasons.
