PDP’s Iltija Mufti leads protest over "apartheid reservation" policy in J&K

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti on Saturday (September 19, 2026) led a street protest in Srinagar over the reservation policy in Jammu and Kashmir , alleging that it had reduced opportunities for open-merit aspirants and demanding that the report of a Cabinet sub-committee examining the policy be made public.

Ms. Mufti climbed over the gate of the PDP office in Srinagar after allegedly being locked out by the J&K police. She later came out and addressed the protesters, describing the reservation policy as “reservation apartheid” against open-merit students in Kashmir and alleging that it is keeping “meritorious students from Kashmir out of selection lists”.

“There is a shrinking share of opportunities available to open-merit aspirants. We demand transparency in the process of reviewing the existing reservation framework,” said Ms. Mufti.