Farooq released, says his ‘freedom still incomplete’
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah was on Friday released from a 32-weeklong detention after the authorities revoked the order issued by Srinagar’s deputy commissioner in last September imprisoning him under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA).
Before being formally detained under the PSA, 82-year-old Abdullah had spent 41 days in house arrest. He and hundreds other J&K politicians and activists of various trade and civil society groups and lawyers were detained by the authorities ahead or soon after the Centre stripped the state of its special status and split it into two union territories (UTs) on August 5 last year.
Soon after his release, Mr Abdullah while speaking to reporters from the patio of his home along Srinagar’s Gupkar Road — declared a “subsidiary jail” last September — said that his “freedom is incomplete until and unless all other political prisoners are also released from detention”.
He said, “This freedom is incomplete... It will be complete when Omar (Abdullah), Mehboobaji (Mufti) and all others who are in prisons, either in the state or outside it, or (detained) in MLAs hostel and various other buildings or put under house arrest are also released.”
“I hope the Government of India will soon take action to release everyone if it wants the people of the state to live as free people,” he added.
Flanked by his wife Molly Abdullah and daughter Safia Khan and her children, Mr Abdullah refused to make ■
■ Continued from Page 1 any political statement and said, “I will not answer any questions or speak on any political issue till everyone is released”. He added that the future course of action by him would be devised only after “everyone is free”.
Expressing his gratitude to those who raised their voice against his detention, Mr Abdullah said, “I’m grateful to the people of the state and all the leaders and the people of the rest of the country who spoke for our people and prayed for our freedom. I’m also thankful to Allah. I want to express my gratitude to media also which reported about our plight and passed on our word to the people and also told them about the problems faced by us.”
Under the The Public Safety Act introduced in J&K in 1978, initially to deal with timber smuggling but later used by successive governments including that headed by Mr Abdullah against their political opponents, a person can be detained for a period of six months to two years without the authorities seeking a formal trial.
The authorities slapped The Public Safety Act against Mr Abdullah, a sitting member of the Lok Sabha, on September 15 last year, hours before the Supreme Court was to hear a petition by Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) leader and Rajya Sabha member Vaiko demanding his release so that he could attend an event in Chennai.
His detention period was extended by three months under a fresh order issued by Srinagar’s district magistrate Shahid Iqbal Choudhary on December 13 last year.
On completion of the detention period, an order issued by the principal secretary to Jammu and Kashmir government (home department), Shaleen Kabra, read, “In exercise of powers conferred under Section 19(1) of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, the government hereby revokes the detention order bearing No DMS/PSA/120/2019/date d 15-09-2019 issues by the district magistrate Srinagar, extended for a period of three months vide government order number Home/PB-V/340 of 2019 dated 13-12-2019 and then extended for a further period of three months of Dr Farooq Abdullah, son of Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah with immediate effect.”