Speaking after his release, Farooq Abdullah said “freedom was not complete”, referring to the detention of his son, Omar Abdullah, and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti
Agencies
Srinagar, March 14:
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, released yesterday after being detained for over seven months under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA), met his son, Omar Abdullah, today in a Srinagar sub-jail.
After his release on Friday, Farooq Abdullah had asked J&K authorities for permission to see his son for the first time since the two were detained seven months ago. Today he drove from his residence in Srinagar to the nearby Hari Niwas, where his son is held.
The two embraced warmly, according to news agency PTI.
Earlier Farooq Abdullah visited the grave of his father, former Chief Minister Sheikh Abdullah, which , is located on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar. Dressed in a black kurta, a traditional ”Karakuli” cap and sunglasses, he was accompanied by his wife Moile and grandson Adeem as he offered prayers.
Speaking to reporters after his release, Farooq Abdullah said he was “grateful to everyone who prayed for us” but added that “freedom was not complete”.
“Freedom will be complete when all leaders – Omar, Mehboobaji and others who are in prisons of the state or outside the state are released. I hope government will take action soon,” he said.
Farooq and Omar Abdullah, along with another former Chief Minister – the PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti – had been taken into custody on August 5, hours before the centre’s decision on Article 370.
Both Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti remain in custody and have also been charged under the Public Safety Act. In September, Farooq Abdullah, 83, was charged with “disturbing public order” under the PSA.
It marked the first time that law, which is normally used against terrorists or separatists, was used on a mainstream politician, especially an MP and a three-time Chief Minister.
Under the Public Safety Act an individual can be detained for three months without trial. This detention can be extended multiple times.
The veteran politician was one of several leaders to speak out against the move on Article 370. He had accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of lying in parliament about him not being detained.
“They divided regions, will they divide hearts too? Will they divide Hindus and Muslims? I thought my India was for all, everyone who believes in secular, unity,” the National Conference leader told NDTV on August 6.
That was the last time he was heard in public before being placed under house arrest.
Earlier this month eight opposition parties sent a joint-resolution to the BJP-led central government, demanding the release of all political detainees in Kashmir.
Under the Narendra Modi government, “democratic dissent is being muzzled by coercive administrative action, which has threatened basic ideals as enshrined in our Constitution,” the resolution read.
