J&K admin release 4 politicians from house arrest; Farooq, Omar, Mehbooba still detained

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has released from house arrest four politicians one each from the National Conference, PDP, PC, and Congress -- after keeping them in detention for over five months following the revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution, officials said on Friday. The four politicians released late Thursday night include a former minister and a former deputy Speaker of the last Assembly of the erstwhile state.

"Former minister Abdul Haq Khan from PDP, former deputy Speaker Nazir Ahmad Gurezi, former MLA Mohammad Abbas Wani from Peoples Conference and former MLA Abdul Rashid from Congress have been released from house detention," the officials said.

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Politicians detained in J&K

Nearly a month after the detention of former chief ministers of the then state of Jammu and Kashmir--PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, were permitted to meet with their families. Omar Abdullah’s sister, Safia and her children, were granted 20 minutes of visiting time on September 1. Meanwhile, father Farooq Abdullah's request to meet his son back in September was repeatedly rejected.  Mehbooba Mufti’s mother and sister were granted permission to meet her at Hari Niwas in August. 

Meanwhile, Farooq Abdullah, booked under PSA has been placed under house arrest. While there is no bar on meeting relatives and friends, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister will continue to stay in his house. In December, Farooq Abdullah's detention was extended by another three months by the Jammu and Kashmir administration. The three-term Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and Srinagar MP will be confined in his Srinagar residence, which is now declared as a sub-jail. Under the Public Safety Act, an individual can be detained for up to two years, without a trial. Incidentally, the act was introduced by Farooq Abdullah's father, Sheikh Abdullah in 1978.

The 82-year-old Abdullah, who became the first chief minister against whom the stringent public safety law was invoked, has a heart pacemaker implanted and had undergone a kidney transplant a few years ago. The PSA has two sections -- 'public order' and 'threat to the security of the state'. The former allows detention without trial for three to one year and the latter for two years. Omar Abdullah, the J&K National Conference (NC) Vice President, was reportedly shifted to his Gupkar residence in Srinagar on January 15. The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, who was shifted to a government guest house ever since the abrogation of Article 370, has now been moved back to his personal residence. 

(With PTI inputs) 

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