15-member NC delegation from Jammu to meet chief Farooq Abdullah on Sunday upon release

A 15-member delegation of the National Conference (NC), led by its provincial president Devender Singh Rana, will meet party chief Farooq Abdullah in Srinagar on Sunday, NC sources said. 82-year-old Farooq Abdullah was released from his home detention on Friday after the government revoked the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) against the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister.

Besides Rana, the delegation will comprise senior NC leaders, including former ministers and legislators, the sources said, adding that Ajay K Sadhotra, Surjeet Singh Slathia, and Javed Ahmed Rana were among those who will visit Abdullah on Sunday. The prevailing political and security situation in the Union Territory is likely to come up for discussion during the meeting, they said.

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This will be the second meeting of an NC delegation from Jammu with the party president since the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state into Union territories last year. On October 6 last year, Rana had led a 15-member delegation to meet Abdullah during his detention, after seeking permission from the administration. They had also met NC vice president Omar Abdullah, who continues to be under detention.

Farooq Abdullah was booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) back in September, later the charge was extended. Upon the revocation of his detention order on March 13, Lok Sabha MP Farooq Abdullah came to the terrace of his residence at Srinagar's Gupkar Road residence and said, "Thank God this gate is open. We tried for many months for this gate to open. Today I don't have words to say how I feel today. I am free, I am free."

Farooq Abdullah meets Omar Abdullah

First visuals of Omar Abdullah, his father Farooq Abdullah and family surfaced on Saturday afternoon, as the two former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir met each other after almost eight months, since the abrogation of Article 370. In visuals, the Abdullah family was seen outside Omar Abdullah's sub-jail, wherein he has been detained since the passage of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.

In visuals, the 82-year-old Srinagar MP was seen alongside his wife, daughter Safia Abdullah Khan and Omar Abdullah. Donning his shoddy, grey beard, Omar Abdullah appeared sickly in the fourth ever picture released of him since his detention. Omar Abdullah, who was the youngest minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led Cabinet in 2000, is undergoing detention at a government guest house at Hari Nivas Palace in Srinagar. 

 Former chief ministers of Jammu & Kashmir--Farooq Abdullah, along with his son Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, and other mainstream Kashmiri leaders were placed under detention, citing 'preventive measure' on August 5, prior to the passage of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisational Bill, 2019. Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti continue to stay in detention along with other leaders including Shah Faesal and Sajad Lone. 

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(With PTI inputs)