Farooq Abdullah’s detention order revoked after seven-and-half months of captivity; 82-yr-old Srinagar MP was under house arrest
The Government of Jammu and Kashmir, on Friday, revoked the detention order of Srinagar MP Farooq Abdullah after he spent more than seven months in captivity.
Abdullah, a five-time parliamentarian, has been under detention since 5 August when the Centre abrogated special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state.
He was the first politician from the Kashmir Valley to be booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) that enables the State to detain any person in Jammu and Kashmir for up to two years without a trial or charge, merely on the assumption that they are a threat to law and order and public safety. The detaining authority is also not required to reveal any facts “which it considers being against the public interest to disclose” regarding the detention.
The PSA 1978 of Jammu & Kashmir was first slapped against the 82-year-old MP on 17 September, hours before the Supreme Court was to hear a petition by MDMK leader Vaiko who claimed that the National Conference leader was detained illegally. Incidentally, the law was brought in by the MP’s father Sheikh Abdullah, the then prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir, ostensibly stop timber smuggling.
However, the law earned notoriety over the years as it was repeatedly employed against political opponents by consecutive governments until 1990. After the emergence of militancy, the Jammu and Kashmir government frequently invoked the PSA to crack down on separatists.
The 82-year-old Abdullah has a heart pacemaker implanted and had undergone a kidney transplant a few years ago. His Gupkar Road house was declared a sub-jail by the Union Territory’s Home Department.
With inputs from PTI
