NC DELEGATION TO MEET ABDULLAHS

81-yr-old Farooq Abdullah is under house arrest at his Srinagar residence while his son Omar is detained at a state guest house

NEW DELHI: The Jammu and Kashmir administration has allowed a delegation of National Conference (NC)

leaders from Jammu region to meet the party President Farooq Abdullah and vicepresident Omar Abdullah in Srinagar on Sunday. The move is observed as precursor to political activities in the Valley since abrogation of Article 370.

A 15-member National Conference delegation led by Jammu provincial president Devender Singh Rana will meet both father and son, who are under house arrest in Srinagar, on Sunday morning. While 81-year-old Farooq Abdul

lah is under house arrest at his Srinagar residence after being booked under the Public Safety Act, Omar has been detained at a state guest house.

Party spokesperson Madan Mantoo said that “the delegation comprising former party legislators will leave by Indigo flight from Jammu on Sunday morning”.

He further said that they had made representation before Governor Satya Pal Malik to allow a delegation of senior party leaders from Jammu to meet their party leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah.

Mantoo also said that they were anguished over the continued detention of senior leaders as also the other top leaders of the mainstream political parties.

He has said the decision to meet the Abdullahs was taken at a meeting of senior functionaries and district presidents of the Jammu Province two days ago after restrictions on the movement of Jammu-based National Conference leaders were lifted. He also said that they want political dialogue to begin in the Valley in peaceful manner.

The government has also detained most of the political

leadership of Kashmir, including Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti and Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference chairman Sajjad Lone.