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Farooq Abdullah visits son Omar in Srinagar sub-jail after seven long months
After meeting Omar, Farooq Abdullah drove to his Gupkar residence in the neighbourhood, where he was paid an hour-long visit by the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah met his son and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, who is under detention and the leader of opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad on Saturday, a day after he was released from seven-month-long detention, but refrained from making any political comment as promised upon his release.
Abdullah was accompanied by his wife Molly Abdullah and daughter Safia Abdullah to Hariniwas in Srinagar, where Omar Abdullah, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, has been detained under the Public Safety Act. PSA was slapped on Omar Abdullah last month after a six- month-long preventive detention beginning August 5 ended.
It was the first face to face meeting between the father and the son since then.
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After meeting Omar, Farooq Abdullah drove to his Gupkar residence in the neighbourhood, where he was paid an hour-long visit by the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Azad later addressed media with Farooq on his side and said he had conveyed his anguish to Farooq Abdullah over his detention.
“After many years, the Kashmir witnessed worst cold this winter and also keeping in view his health it was wrongdoing on part of the government what they did to him. But nobody can harm any person who is protected by almighty,’’ Azad said.
Azad said leaders should not be caged like “parrots”.
“All political leaders must be released, the political process must begin in J&K, elections must be conducted following the proper procedure,’’ he added.
Abdullah was first placed under detention along with several other Kashmiri leaders, including his son Omar Abdullah and the Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti, on August 5 -- the day the Centre revoked the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and bifurcated it into two union territories.
A Lok Sabha MP, Farooq Abdullah has said after his release that he would not make any political statements immediately and he will rather speak for the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the parliament. He, however, demanded the immediate release of his son Omar and another former chief minister and the chief of Peoples Democratic Party, Mehbooba Mufti along with other political leaders still under detention.
“I am thankful to all the parliamentary members who spoke for our freedom. They spoke for my freedom; they fought for my freedom in Parliament. I will be able to go to Delhi and attend Parliament and speak for the people,’’ he said on Friday.
