Daily Times

Two months after political leaders were detained in India-held Kashmir (IHK), the state administration granted permission to a delegation from the National Conference party to meet their top two leaders on Sunday, according to a party official.

The meeting with party President Farooq Abdullah and Vice President Omar Abdullah took place in Srinagar. Both were detained after the Indian government scrapped IHK’s special status on August 5.

According to Hindustan Times, the delegation flew in early Sunday morning for the meeting. It was led by provincial head Devender Singh Rana and included former party legislators.

National Conference spokesperson Madan Mantoo had told Press Trust of India (PTI) a day earlier that the Indian government granted permission after provincial head Devender Singh Rana made a request to Satya Pal Malik, the occupied region’s governor.

“If the political process has to start then mainstream leaders have to be released,” said Rana after meeting the leaders, adding, “They are both well and in high spirits, of course they are pained by the developments in the state, particularly about the lockdown.”

Farooq Abdullah is under house arrest at his residence in Srinagar, while his son Omar is held at a state guest house.

The Hindustan Times further quoted NC spokesperson Madan Mantoo as saying on Saturday that the decision to hold the meeting was taken during an emergency gathering of senior officials in the Jammu region on Wednesday, “soon after restrictions on the movement of Jammu-based National Conference leaders were lifted”.

Mantoo also said that the party “was anguished over the continued detention of senior leaders as also the other top leaders of the mainstream political parties”.

Hundreds of people including political leaders from Kashmir have been put under detention following the scrapping of the state’s special status.

In addition to Farooq and Abdullah, former chief minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti is another prominent leader put in detention by the administration. The occupied territory has been under a near-complete lockdown since the Indian government’s revocation of its special status. Since then, the Indian government has blocked communication access and imposed restrictions on movement to thwart any protests in the region.

Rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have repeatedly called on India to lift restrictions and release political detainees.

From 1954 until this August 5, IHK had special provisions under which it enacted its own laws. The provisions also barred outsiders from settling in or owning land in the territory. Some Kashmiri groups in the occupied territory have been fighting against Indian rule for independence or for unification with neighbouring Pakistan. According to several human rights groups, thousands of people have been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.

Meanwhile, the lockdown continued on the 63rd consecutive day on Sunday, with all shops, main markets and educational institutions shut and public transport off the road in Kashmir valley and parts of Jammu region.

As Kashmir entered the third month of crises triggered by August 5 decision of abrogation of special status, normal life remains paralysed in the territory.

The train that runs between Baramulla and Banihal continues to be frozen for more than nine weeks now. Meanwhile, students did not come to schools, while, the Internet connectivity stood closed. The residents of IHK are also facing severe hardships due to shortage of essential commodities.