Altaf Bukhari, Iltija, Tarigami welcome Omar’s release 

Srinagar, Mar 24: Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) president Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Tuesday welcomed the release of former chief minister Omar Abdullah, and demanded that all other political detainees including former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti be also released at an earliest in view of COVID-19 outbreak.

In a statement issued here, Bukhari termed the revocation of PSA against Omar Abdullah a significant move that will help in making the situation more conducive in Jammu and Kashmir. He demanded the other chief minister—Mehbooba Mufti besides hundreds of political activists currently detained in and outside Jammu and Kashmir jails be freed especially in view of the Coronavirus pandemic.

“It has been our consistent demand that all the political activists and leaders including former chief ministers be released to ease up the sufferings of people. Their release has assumed more significance in light of the COVID-19 outbreak that has paralyzed the whole world,” Bukhari observed.

He said that hundreds of political activists who are presently detained in outside Jammu Kashmir jails like Ambedkar Nagar, Lucknow, Allahabad, Agra, Rai Bareli, Agartala and Tihar need to be shifted back to their native places immediately so as to ensure their safety from the pandemic.

Iltija Mufti, daughter of PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, also welcomed the release of Omar Abdullah.

However, Iltija, whose mother remains under detention, said for all their talk of nari shakti and women emancipation, seems like this regime fears women the most.

”Glad he will be released. For all their talk of nari Shakti & women emancipation, seems like this regime fears women the most (sic),” Iltija wrote on Mehbooba Mufti’s Twitter handle.

The comment was in reference to her mother being under detention since August 5, when Centre abrogated Article 370 and Article 35 A. Mufti has been tweeting from her mother’s handle ever since the former chief minister was detained.

She also retweeted, tweets of various political leaders, including Congress’s Shashi Tharoor and CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury, demanding the release of the PDP president.

Senior CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami while welcoming Omar’s release, demanded release of other political detainees, including PDP president Mehbooba Mufti.

‘CPI(M) welcomes the release of Omar Abdullah. But we have been urging upon the Centre to release political leaders of all shades, particularly all those persons who have been put in different jails across the country, including in J&K,’ Tarigami told UNI.

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