NC condemns arbitrary confinement of Dr Farooq, Omar Abdullah

Srinagar, February 14, 2021: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Sunday denounced locking-up of Party President, Member of Parliament from Srinagar Dr Farooq Abdullah and Vice President Mr. Omar Abdullah at their residence terming the measures arbitrary and gross intrusion of fundamental rights.

In a joint statement Party General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar, Additional General Secretary Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamal; Provincial Presidents Nasir Aslam Wani, Devender Singh Rana; Party MPs Muhammad Akbar Lone, Hasnain Masoodi; Senior leaders Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan, Muhammad Shafi Uri, Abdul Rahim Rather, Mian Altaf Ahmed, Sakina Itoo, Shameema Firdous; Mir Saifullah, Irfan Shah, Rattan Lal Gupta, Ajay Sadhotra, SS Salathia, Ali Mohammad Dar, Bashir Veeri, District Presidents, Spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar, YNC Provincial President Salman Ali Sagar, Women’s Wing, Minority and Legal wing functionaries have denounced the arbitrary detention of the party president and vice president at their residence in Srinagar.

“Confining party leaders to their homes exposes the iron fist approach towards Jammu and Kashmir. The measure is the gross violation of human rights and is highly condemnable. Previously also at various instances, the leaders were debarred from moving out from their residences exclusive of any reason. The undue measure marks a new low in the curtailment of fundamental rights of people of Jammu and Kashmir. The measures reveals abnormal is the new normal in this part of the world,” they said.

“Such harsh and unwarranted measures would further alienate the people and delay restoration of normalcy in Kashmir, which has been reeling under fear psychosis and a sense of insecurity since August, 2019.”

Marking a new, and dangerous low in the GoI Kashmir policy, the leaders said the disdain with the political leaders who kept the political process alive in Kashmir braving all odds and threats was appalling. “The amorality of the government’s treatment towards mainstream leaders is certainly dispiriting, but dangerous as well on account of the political vacuum it will create. Having a sitting MP, former chief minister and former union minister Dr Farooq Sahib’s stature confined will prove a bad bet. Therefore we impress upon the incumbent government to refrain from such bullish and high-handed measures,” they said. (PTK)