Jammu and Kashmir leaders Sajjad Lone and Waheed Parra released from preventive detention, placed under house arrest, say reports

Two mainstream politicians from Jammu and Kashmir —People’s Conference chairman Sajjad Lone and  PDP leader Waheed Parra were released from the MLA hostel in Srinagar, after being held under preventive detention for over 180 days, officials told PTI. However, reports indicated that Lone and Parra, who is a close aide of detained former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, were put under house arrest at their respective residences. [caption id=“attachment_5696891” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Sajjad Lone. News18[/caption] After the release of Lone and Parra, 13 political leaders now remain detained at the MLA hostel in Srinagar which has been temporarily converted into a subsidiary jail. Since Sunday, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has released a total of eight leaders from preventive custody. While four politicians — Abdul Majeed Bhat Larni, Ghulam Nabi Bhat and Dr Mohammed Shafi (all from J&K National Conference) and Mohammed Yusuf Bhat of the PDP — were released on Sunday, two leaders — Aijaz Ahmad Mir, former PDP MLA from Wachi in south Kashmir, and trade leader Shakeel Ahmed Qalandar, who is former president of the Federation Chamber of Industries, Kashmir — were released on Tuesday. These leaders were among the mainstream politicians, activists and trade leaders who were placed under preventive detention after 5 August last year when the Centre withdrew the special status of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into Union territories — Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir. Among the prominent leaders who are still under detention are J&K National Conference leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti. While Farooq has been kept at his Gupkar house, his son and J&K National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah has been detained at Hari Niwas. Mufti, who was initially lodged at Chesmashahi huts, has been shifted to a government building in the heart of Srinagar. The senior Abdullah was slapped with the stringent Public Safety Act on 17 September which was further renewed for a period of three months on 16 December. With inputs from PTI