J&K: Farooq Abdullah released from detention after 7 months
What's the story
A little over seven months later, National Conference's senior leader Farooq Abdullah was released by the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Friday.
The former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of J&K was charged under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA), and it now stands revoked.
He was detained on August 5, 2019, when J&K's special status, rewarded under Article 370, was scrapped.
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Abdullah was detained under law his father introduced
83-year-old Abdullah's house on Gupkar Road was transformed into a subsidiary jail. He was charged under PSA, a strict law that allows the administration to detain anyone without a trial.
Ironically, this law was introduced by his father Sheikh Abdullah to keep a check on timber smuggling.
Abdullah's son Omar and their political adversary, Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP, are also detained under PSA.
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Abdullah is now a free man
The order read, "In exercise of powers conferred under Section 19(1) of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA), 1978, the government hereby revokes the detention order bearing No. DMS/PSA/120/2019 issued by District Magistrate, Srinagar."
Twitter Post
Naturally, the news elated his daughter
My father is a free man again.
— Safia Abdullah Khan (@safiakhan71) March 13, 2020
Looking back
In August, Abdullah's absence from Parliament created an uproar
The last time Abdullah spoke to media was on August 6, when his absence from Lok Sabha was questioned by Supriya Sule of the NCP. Seeking answers from Home Minister Amit Shah, she said the MP from Srinagar sat next to her.
Shah said Abdullah wasn't detained and didn't show up willingly.
When Sule asked about Abdullah's health, Shah said he wasn't a doctor.
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Abdullah asked why would he stay at home by choice
Dismissing Shah's statements, Abdullah asked why would he stay inside his home willingly.
He said he had to argue with security officials to come out of his house and address media. "I told them (the security) that the home minister says I'm not detained. Who are you to detain me?" he had said back then, and added the decision hurt him.
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BJP was accused of launching crackdown on opposition
This week, a couple of opposition leaders said the three former CMs of J&K must be released immediately. The politicians accused the saffron party of muzzling voices.
A statement, posted by NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Monday, read, "It is our bounden duty to demand the immediate release of the three former Chief Ministers of J&K and all the other political detainees."
What he said
Separately, another NC leader reminded Vajpayee respected Abdullah
Recently, MP from north Kashmir and senior NC leader, Mohammad Akbar Lone, said the Central government reversed gains of the past two decades by denigrating mainstream politics of Kashmir.
Lone reminded that BJP veteran late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee held Abdullah in high regard and called him "the third party to Kashmir", and it was disrespectful that the Kashmiri leader was in confinement.