The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday released three middle and lower-rung Kashmiri politicians who were detained more than two months ago on 5 August when Article 370 was abrogated by the Modi government.
These politicians were released after they gave an undertaking that they will not attempt to disrupt peace.
Among those released are, Yawar Mir, Noor Mohammed, and Shoaib. While Mir is a former Peoples Democratic Party legislator, Lone contested on a Congress ticket from North Kashmir and later resigned as district president of the party and Mohammed is a National Conference worker who had been managing the party’s affairs in Batmaloo area of Srinagar.
However, former CMs Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah continue to remain under detention, while National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah has been detained under the Public Safety Act. The J&K administration had earlier released Imran Ansari of the People’s Conference and Syed Akhoon of the National Conference on health grounds on 21 September.
Iltija, the daughter of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, slammed the Jammu and Kashmir administration for their “rudderless approach” in releasing three politicians under detention since 5 August on the condition of signing a bond, stating that several leaders including her mother had categorically refused to sign them.
“Reports say detainees released today were forced to sign bonds. Under what law is their release conditional as their detention was illegal itself? Many including Ms Mufti have categorically refused to sign these bonds. The government with its rudderless approach is tying itself in knots,” Mufti’s daughter tweeted on her mother’s behalf.
Reports say detainees released today were forced to sign bonds.Under what law is their release conditional as their detention was illegal itself? Many including Ms Mufti have categorically refused to sign these bonds. The govt with its rudderless approach is tying itself in knots
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) October 10, 2019
The government had earlier released from house arrest politicians of Jammu including National Conference’s (NC) Devinder Singh Rana, Surjit Singh Salathia, Javed Rana and Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo, the Congress party’s Raman Bhalla and Waqar Rasool, and Harsh Dev Singh of the Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party.