Nasir Azam
Srinagar, June 18: The administration of Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir on Thursday revoked Public Safety Act(PSA) detention orders of PDP ideologue Naeem Akther and National Conference Member Parliament Muhammad Akbar Lone’s son.
In two separate orders, J&K Home department today revoked detention orders of Akther and Hilal Akbar Lone who were detained in August last year after Centre abrogated Article 370 and bifurcated J&K into Union Territories. Akther and Lone were last political detainees lodged respectively at M-4 government accommodation on posh Gupkar road and MLA Hostel Srinagar, which were declared as subsidiary jails by the government.
After serving six months’ preventive detention under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), both were booked under PSA in February this year
It is worthwhile to mention that news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) had exclusively reported earlier this month that government would revoke PSA detention orders of six politicians including Akther and Lone.
They were released two days after J&K High Court quashed PSA of NC general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar.In its observations, the High Court said that ‘activities’ cited as grounds for Ali Mohammad Sagar’s detention were normal for a politician in a democracy
After August 5, 2019, the government detained more than 40 politicians including three former Chief Ministers- Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah- and top politicians like Sajad Gani Lone.
With today’s development, former CM Mehbooba Mufti is the lone politician who remains detained under PSA at her Fairview residence, which has also been declared as subsidiary jail. Besides, nearly 15-20 mainstream politicians including PC Chief Sajad Gani Lone remains under house detention.
