 "Two months into house arrest, Farooq Abdullah meets NC leaders at Srinagar residence; flashes 'victory' sign")
A 15-member National Conference (NC) delegation met party president Farooq Abdullah in Srinagar on Sunday. Later, the delegation also plans to meet NC vice-president Omar Abdullah. Both father and son have been put under preventive detention since 5 August, when Centre abrogated Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. The delegation led by provincial president Devender Singh Rana and comprising former party legislators arrived in Srinagar on Sunday morning. “We are happy that they are both well and in high spirits, of course they are pained by the developments in the state. If the political process has to start then mainstream leaders have to be released,” Rana told ANI after meeting the leaders. Waving at the media from his residence, Farooq, clad in a grey suit and signature head gear, flashed a victory sign as he stood with the delegation and his wife Molly Abdullah.
#WATCH National Conference (NC) leaders Hasnain Masoodi and Akbar Lone meet former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah and his wife Molly Abdullah at their residence in Srinagar pic.twitter.com/G842irK9NJ
— ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2019
A National Conference (NC) delegation meets former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah at his residence in Srinagar pic.twitter.com/Ez0AeacT7T
— ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2019
Two months ago, after the Central government revoked the special constitutional status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir, the region was placed under a communications blockade and several mainstream political leaders, including the father-son duo and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, were put under house arrest. On Thursday, the NC had urged Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik to allow a delegation of senior party leaders from Jammu to meet the former state chief ministers in Srinagar, after restrictions on Opposition leaders in Jammu was lifted. Party spokesperson Madan Mantoo said that the permission to meet the two detained leaders was conveyed to Rana by a senior official in the administration on Friday evening. He further added that the party also “pledged to strive for strengthening the bonds of unity so that the pristine glory of Jammu and Kashmir is restored”. The NC also condemned the detention of Farooq Abdullah under the Public Safety Act and said that it is “notwithstanding his immense and crucial role in the democratic polity of the country and contribution in steering the state to peace, progress and development, braving all odds”. More than 400 political leaders and activists were either detained or placed under house arrest after the Centre abrogated Article 370 which gave special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two Union territories, the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Over 250 petitions have been filed against the preventive detention orders of the prominent political leaders in the Valley, noted News18. Last week, while responding to a query on the release of the Kashmiri leaders, advisor to Jammu and Kashmir governor Farooq Khan , said, “Yes, one by one after analysis of every individual, they will be released". With inputs from agencies
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