‘J-K leaders must unite in call for bringing back all detainees’: Farooq Abdullah

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Sunday asked all political parties in Jammu and Kashmir to jointly appeal to the Centre to shift all those detained since last year back to the Union territory on “humanitarian” grounds.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah was released on Friday after the government revoked the Public Safety Act (PSA) against him.

Abdullah was placed under detention with several others, including his son Omar Abdullah and the chief of Peoples Democratic Party Mehbooba Mufti, last year, when the Centre scrapped the special status to Jammu and Kashmir and imposed massive security restrictions and a communication lockdown.

The 82-year-old leader released a statement on Sunday, saying he has been avoiding making any political statements since he was released from detention.

Abdullah said he advocated for a “free and frank exchange” of political views in order to take stock of the “momentous changes” that Jammu and Kashmir has seen since August 5 last year.

“We are still some way away from an environment where such political discourse will be possible. This is especially so considering the number of people detained in August last year who remain in jails outside J-K,” he said.

The NC president called for unity among Jammu and Kashmir’s political leaders before “we allow politics to divide us”.

“I appeal to all political leaders in the state to unite behind the call to the Union government to bring back all detainees from Jammu and Kashmir from prisons outside the Union territory pending their release,” the former chief minister said.

“While we would like to see them all released as soon as possible, pending that they should be shifted to J-K. This is a humanitarian demand and I hope others will join me in placing this demand in front of the government of India,” he said.

The member of Parliament, who represents Srinagar in the Lok Sabha, also pointed out he has been “far more fortunate” than the hundreds of Kashmiri families, whose relatives are under detention.

“I was detained at home and my family had access to me. Yesterday, when I went to meet my son Omar, also detained under the Public Safety Act, I had to travel a kilometre from my home to be able to see him,” he said.

Farooq Abdullah was referring to his meeting with Omar Abdullah on Saturday for the first time since both were detained last year.

Abdullah was accompanied by his wife Molly Abdullah and daughter Safia Abdullah to Hariniwas in Srinagar, where Omar Abdullah, also a former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, has been detained.

Omar Abdullah was slapped with PSA last month after a six-month-long preventive detention beginning August 5 ended.

He pointed out it has not been as easy for the families of most of the detainees.

“Their loved ones have been detained in jails spread across a number of states. They get two visits a month for which they have to spend large amounts of money they can ill afford travelling to and staying in the vicinity of these prisons,” Farooq Abdullah said.

The NC leader said the financial burden on them is made worse by the health risk they now face because of coronavirus.

“At a time when people are being advised not to travel, these families are being forced to put their lives at risk in order to meet their loved ones for a few short but very precious hours,” he said.

Farooq Abdullah had said after his release that he would not make any political statements immediately and will rather speak for the people of Jammu and Kashmir in Parliament.

He, however, demanded the immediate release of his son Omar and Mehbooba Mufti along with other political leaders still under detention.

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