Farooq holds 1st meeting of leaders after Art 370 move
SRINAGAR: National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah met senior party leaders at his residence at Gupkar Road in Srinagar on Thursday. The move came in the backdrop of the Jammu and Kashmir administration denying in court the NC’S contention that several party leaders were in illegal confinement at their homes.
Abdullah said the meeting — the first since the nullification of Article 370 on August 5, 2019 — was called to find out whether his party colleagues could come out of their homes. NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar and former ministers Mohammad Shafi Uri, Abdul Rahim Rather and Nasir Aslam Wani attended the meeting.
Baramulla MP Mohammad Akbar Lone, Anantnag MP Hasnain Masoodi and NC treasurer Shammi Oberoi, too, were seen entering the residence of Abdullah, the Srinagar MP.
“Today, they came out from their homes and came here. I am hopeful this is not for just one meeting. They should now be free people,” Abdullah said.
Abdullah also said all detained leaders should be set free. “...when all the leaders are set free, we will sit and discuss all the things, and then media will be briefed on future plans about J&K.”
On July 13, Abdullah and his son, Omar Abdullah, filed a habeas corpus petition in the high court, contending that several NC leaders were being held in “brazen violation” of constitutional guarantees of the right to liberty. The party decided to convene Thursday’s meeting after the administration told the court that none of the 16 leaders, who the party said were in illegal confinement, were detained.
“How sad that we have normalised this illegal detention! That we have to be “allowed” to meet freely in spite of the government claiming in court that none of these leaders are detained is a blot on Indian democracy & rule of law,” Omar Abdullah tweeted.
An NC spokesperson said the party president chose to call “all the incarcerated leaders in batches of four to meet him at his residence” keeping in mind Covid-19 protocols.
As part of the programme, five other party leaders — Mubarak Gul, Choudhary Mohammad Ramzaan, Shameema Firdous, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi and Basharat Bukhari —will call on the party president on Friday, the spokesperson said.
The government nullified Article 370, which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, last August and split the erstwhile state into two Union territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.