Mehbooba Mufti demands PM's intervention in Kashmiri students' arrest for celebrating Pak win in T20 World Cup match

"Such punitive actions laced with contempt will only further the sense of mistrust and alienation between the younger generation and rest of the country," she wrote.

She requested Prime Minister Modi to intervene so that the "future of these young bright minds is not destroyed".

"I write to you with a deep sense of disappointment and concern about the alarming situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Not too long ago when you presided over an all-party meeting in Delhi you expressed your intention to remove "dil ke doori" between Delhi and J&K.

"In my capacity as the President of PDP, I suggested a few confidence-building measures that would have provided a sense of relief & breathing space to the people of J&K," she wrote.

She said they had been waiting for the rollout of a policy to address the hearts and minds of people, especially youth.

"While the spree of raids, arrests, killings continue unabated the level of repression and state intolerance has touched a new low," she observed.

She said there were expectations that Home Minister’s recent visit to J&K would have led to a meaningful reach out.

"Especially after his statement about engaging with the youth here. Instead what followed was shocking & worrying. A friendly cricket match between India & Pakistan that was solely a source of entertainment for people here bruised by incessant lockdowns, Internet gag & restriction of the movement led to booking youngsters under the draconian UAPA for simply choosing to cheer the winning side.

"Our brightest young people pursuing professional courses like MBBS have been targeted and slapped with anti-terror laws. While within Kashmir youth are no strangers to the state excesses, three students in Agra, too, have been arrested & charged with sedition for the same reasons. This despite the college’s own admission that they didn’t engage in any activity that might be construed as anti-national," Mufti said.

"Patriotism & sense of loyalty has to be cultivated with compassion & can’t be forced by wielding the baton or by the barrel of a gun. Such punitive actions laced with contempt will only further the sense of mistrust & alienation between the younger generation & rest of the country," she added.

Political parties & their fortunes will wax & wane over the course of time. But what matters most is the future generation that will have to carry the burdens of the past yet strive to fulfill the expectations of a better tomorrow. Especially when it comes to a state like J&K steeped in its history of repeated betrayals & past wounds, she said.

"Wisdom deems it prudent for this government to engage with them, understand their aspirations & goals. I fervently request you to intervene so that the future of these young bright minds is not destroyed," Mufti added.

Mufti also told reporters that India is a huge democracy where people are free to support any country. She added that her party was not allowed to take out a protest march against the arrests.

Notably, the J&K Police has registered two FIRs against hostel wardens, management and students of two medical colleges in Srinagar where students created a ruckus and raised anti-India abusive slogans after Pakistan won the match against India in Dubai on Sunday, media reported.

Multiple videos of Government Medical College (GMC) and Sher E Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Srinagar had gone viral in which some students could be seen chanting slogans against India and in praise of Pakistan.