Jammu And Kashmir Administration Revokes Former CM Farooq Abdullah’s Detention Under Public Safety Act

Former Chief Minister and Lok Sabha member, Farooq Abdullah was set free on Friday (13 March) after authorities said his detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA) had been revoked.

Rohit Kansal, spokesman of the Union Territory administration said on Friday that the PSA detention order of Farooq Abdullah has been revoked.

The order said, "In exercise of powers conferred under section 19 (1) of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act 1978, the government hereby revoked the detention order issued by District Magistrate, Srinagar, which was extended for a period of three months and further extended by three months, with immediate effect."

Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar Sahid Chaudhary said, "The PSA has been revoked and there are no restrictions on him anymore."

However, a top official told IANS that the PSA against Abdullah has been removed, but the order will take some time to be executed.

Abdullah was kept under detention in his high-security Gupkar Road residence in Srinagar city after Article 370 was abrogated and the state divided into two Union Territories of Ladakh and J&K.

Meanwhile, two other former chief ministers, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti are still under detention and there is no official indication that the detention of these two leaders would also be revoked soon.

Apart from the three former chief ministers, PSA was also slapped on National Conference general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar, former NC MLC Bashir Veeri and PDP leader Sartaj Madni (maternal uncle of Mehbooba Mufti) soon after their release from MLA Hostel Srinagar, reports India Today.