Faesal, 2 more freed in J&K; Omar demands Mufti’s release
Omar regrets Mufti’s continued incarceration
Shah Faesal, the 2009 IAS topper who quit a lucrative government job last year to join active politics but landed in prison ahead of the Centre’s crackdown in J&K in August, was freed from jail here Wednesday.
The authorities earlier revoked Mr Faesal’s detention under the stringent Public Safety Act. Former People’s Democratic Party vicepresident Sartaj Madni and former party legislator Peerzada Mansoor were also released from their 10-month detention.
Former chief minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah, in a tweet, welcomed the release of Mr Faesal and two others but said he was disappointed at the continued incarceration of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and his own party general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, and another activist Hilal Akbar Lone, the son of Lok Sabha MP Muhammad Akbar Lone. “Good to hear @shahfaesal, Peer Mansoor & Sartaj Madani have been released from their unjust PSA detention. Disappointed that @MehboobaMufti, Sagar Sahab & Hilal Lone continue to be detained. It’s high time they are set free as well,” he tweeted.
Shah Faesal, the 2009 IAS topper who quit a lucrative government job last year to join active politics but landed in prison ahead of the Centre's stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and splitting it up into two Union Territories in August, was released from a makeshift jail on Wednesday.
The authorities had earlier revoked detention of Mr Faesal who heads J&K Peoples’ Movement (JKPM), the party he had launched in March last year, under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA). People’s Democratic Party (PDP) former vice-president Sartaj Madni and a former party legislator Peerzada Mansoor were also released from their 10-month-long detention.
Taking to Twitter, former chief minister and National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah welcomed the release of Mr Faesal and two others but said he was disappointed at the continued incarceration of PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and his own party general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar and another activist Hilal Akbar Lone, who is the
son of sitting LoK Sabha MP Muhammad Akbar Lone. “Good to hear @shahfaesal , Peer Mansoor & Sartaj Madani have been released from their unjust PSA detention. Disappointed that @MehboobaMufti, Sagar Sahab & Hilal Lone continue to be detained. It's high time they are set free as well,” he tweeted.
Mr Abdullah and his father Farooq Abdullah, who is a three-time chief minister of J&K and president of the NC, too are among hundreds of politicians, trade union leaders, lawyers and civil society activists who were taken into preventive custody ahead or soon after the Centre’s contentious August 5, 2019 moves.