Kashmiri politician's release spotlights other detainees awaiting freedom
Farooq Abdullah, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and current member of parliament, as seen Mar. 13 as he was released by the Indian government from house arrest. He was under “preventative detention” since Aug. 5, 2019. Photo by Basit Zargar.
SRINAGAR, Kashmir — A law that allows detention without trial introduced in Kashmir in 1978 by its then-chief minister to deter timber smugglers has returned to haunt the top Kashmiri political leadership.
The PSA or Public Safety Act permits detention without a trial for up to two years “in the case of a person acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the state” and up to year where “any person is acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of law and order.” In 2015, the Indian government reported that more than 16,000 people had been detained under PSA since 1988, nearly all from Kashmir.
On. Mar. 14, in a surprise move, the Indian government revoked the PSA on three-time former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and current Member of Parliament, Farooq Abdullah. He had been detained more than seven months inside his home in Kashmir, since Aug. 5, 2019 when the Indian government revoked Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status.
Abdullah said he is thankful to those in and outside India who talked about his freedom.
“I thank Allah that today I am a free man before all of you. But this freedom is incomplete as many of our leaders are still in detention,” he told a posse of journalists at his residence soon after his release. “To set them free is very important.”
“I hope the government of India will act soon to release everyone if they want that the people of the state should have freedom to live as free people,” he added.
Home Minister Amit Shah had denied that Farooq Abdullah was under detention.
Thousands of Kashmiri politicians and youth were arrested and jailed under “preventive detention” since August and throughout the past seven months. Many were booked under PSA charges.
Sources close to the Farooq Abdullah’s family said that they learned about the development from an Instagram post by the government. “We are happy that PSA has been revoked on Farooq Abdullah, we are now looking forward at the release of Omar Abdullah,” one of his family members said. Omar Abdullah, the other detained former chief minister is the son of Farooq Abdullah.
Kashmir acceded to India at the time of India’s independence in 1947 rather than merging with a Muslim Pakistan under a constitutional provision called Article 370 that allowed a semi-autonomous rule in Kashmir.
Nearly seven million people live in the Kashmir Valley, 97 per cent of them Muslims. About 47,000 people have been killed in conflict, mainly between Indian security forces and Kashmiri militant separatists in the last three decades, according to government figures. In the 1990s, many Kashmiri Hindus fled for their lives and settled outside the valley.
Revoking Article 370 was a longstanding demand of Hindu nationalists in India and a campaign promise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s. Its revocation in August 2019 was largely applauded by Indians outside Kashmir.
Article 370 also prevented non-Kashmiris from settling or owning businesses and property in Kashmir. Kashmiris fear the move could pave way for the settlement of non-Kashmiri Hindus in Kashmir and change its Muslim-majority culture.
According to the Union Minister of state G. Kishan Reddy speaking to the parliament on Mar. 11, 7,357 people have been detained under PSA since August 2019, but now only 396 people remained detained on PSA charges out of a total 451 detained in Jammu and Kashmir.
While the other two former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were charged under PSA on Feb. 7 after being detained under preventive detention since Aug. 5, Farooq Abdullah was charged under PSA on Sept. 16, just days before a plea was filed before the Supreme Court that demanded that he be produced before the court.
Farooq Abdullah’s party colleague and Member of Parliament Hasnain Masoodi said the lifting of PSA on Farooq is a good beginning towards the release of all the detainees. “I hope this will lead to the release all the political detainees,’’ he said.
The ending of detention of Farooq is a significant as both the U.S. and E.U. leaders have been constantly demanding his and other detainees’ release.
The U.S. and E.U. envoys who were brought to Kashmir by the Indian government had demanded access to the three former chief ministers, which was denied.
A day before Article 370 was revoked by the Modie government, Farooq had presided over a meeting of all parties in Kashmir and adopted a declaration that they will not accept any tinkering with Article 370.
Zaffar Iqbal is a journalist based in Kashmir India. He has reported for 18 years on armed encounters, environmental issues, crime, politics, culture and human rights. He’s formerly the bureau chief of Jammu and Kashmir for NDTV.