Farooq Abdullah's detention revoked but won't attend Parliament on health grounds

Seven and a half months later, the government gave a nod to release detained Farooq Abdullah, however, the National Conference (NC) president will not be attending the ongoing Parliamentary proceedings. On March 13, Jammu and Kashmir government revoked the detention order of the Srinagar MP, Farooq Abdullah. 

Despite his immediate release, Farooq Abdullah will reportedly remain absent from the ongoing Lok Sabha proceedings over health grounds. The 82-year-old politician had undergone cataract surgery and reportedly has been advised by the doctors to not travel for a week.  

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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.

In September last year, Abdullah was then booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA).  Rohit Kansal, the principal secretary of Planning, Development and Monitoring Department of Jammu Kashmir, posted a letter on Twitter on Friday, stating the government order. The order said that the government has decided to revoke the PSA imposed on senior Abdullah with immediate effect.

Kashmir leaders in detention

Earlier on February 6, the J&K administration slapped the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) against Mehbooba Mufti and former CM Omar Abdullah, reportedly a day before their detention was supposed to end. Previously on December 14, Omar's father Farooq Abdullah's detention was extended by another three months by the Jammu-Kashmir administration. On Friday, the Supreme Court has issued a notice to the administration on a plea by Abdullah's sister - Sara Pilot challenging Omar's detention.

Under the Public Safety Act, an individual can be detained for up to two years, without a trial. Incidentally, the act was introduced by Farooq Abdullah's father, Sheikh Abdullah in 1978. Despite being detained under the Public Safety Act, oddly, the 81-year-old mainstream politician was recently included in a 21-member consultative committee on defense by the government. While several minor politicians have been released in a phased manner by the administration, political leaders Ali Mohammed Sagar, Naeem Akhtar, Sartaj Madani, and Hilal Lone have been charged under the PSA along with Omar Abdullah and Mufti.

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