Jubilee Post News & Views
Jubilee News Desk
Lucknow: Defence minister has said that since the situation in Kashmir has been peaceful and is improving now decision upon release of politicians, who are under detention shall also be taken. He categorically stated, ‘The government has not tortured anyone,’ in an interview to a news agency.
The statement in particular has a connect with former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti who have been booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) without charges. Singh also said that he prays that once they (the politicians) are out, they work and contribute towards improvement of the Kashmir situation.
Singh said, “Kashmir has been peaceful and along with the improvement, these decisions (release of politicians from detention) will also be finalized.”
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti who were under preventive detention for the past six month, were booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) on February 6 without charges, a few hours before their arrest was to end.
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Under PSA a person can be kept under detention without trial for up to two year. Farooq Abdullah was slapped with PSA on September 17, 2019 which was reviewed by authorities on December 15, 2019. Several political leaders were picked up from their residences on August 5, 2019 the day the Centre had withdrawn the special status given to J-K under Article 370 of the Constitution and divided the state into two Union Territories — Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. Around 400 politicians including former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah were placed under house arrest.
The Supreme Court on February 14 issued notice to the Jammu and Kashmir administration on a plea of Sara Abdullah Pilot, sister of Omar Abdullah, challenging his detention under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA), 1978.
The top court also asked the J-K administration to file a reply by March 2. The court has fixed March 2 as the next hearing on the matter and declined to list it before 15 days.
Other political leaders who have been charged under the PSA are Ali Mohammed Sagar, Naeem Akhtar, Sartaj Madani, Hilal Lone and former civil servant and chief of Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement (JKPM), Shah Faesal.
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