Mehbooba Mufti

Some Lesser Known Facts About Mehbooba Mufti

• She was born in a rich Kashmiri Saeed family in Akhran Nowpora, J&K.

• She was a brilliant student and was the topper of her school.

• Initially, Mehbooba had no interest in politics. However, she came into the limelight after the kidnapping of her sister Rubiya Saeed in 1989. At that time, her father, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was the Union Home Minister in the V. P. Singh Government. She became famous in media at that time because she was giving lots of interviews to the media.

• Her sister was released when, after a hectic drama for a few days, 5 terrorists were released in exchange of Rubiya. 

• It was in 1996 that she actively involved in the politics. Her father had joined the Congress and Congress gave her a ticket to fight Assembly election from Bijbehara, which she won comfortably.

• However, 3 years later, Mufti Mohammed Saeed quit Congress and formed his own party- PDP. He appointed Mehbooba the Vice President of the party.

• Mehbooba’s mother is also a politician and had contested the 1996 J&K Assembly elections. However, she had lost that election.

• Her brother, Mufti Tasaduq Sayeed, has no interest in politics and is working as Cinematographer. His work was appreciated in Vishal Bhardwaj‘s films Omkara and Kaminey.

• Mehbooba doesn’t enjoy a successful marriage life as she is a divorcee. She has 2 daughters, Irtiqa Iqbal and Iltija Iqbal. Irtiqa works in London at the Indian High Commission while Iltija is involved in the Indian Film Industry.