New Delhi, Feb 08: After about nine months of detention under public safety act, Jammu and Kashmir government today ordered the release of former Hurriyat Confernce chairman and senior Jammat-e-Islami leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on parole considering his health condition.

Official sources said the decision to release Geelani, presently undergoing treatment at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumabi, was taken after chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed apprised deputy prime minister L K Advani about the health condition of the senior separatist leader. Geelani was arrested on June 9 last year following a series of raids conducted by income tax department and police to put an end to funding of militant outfits in Jammu and Kashmir. He was taken to Birsamunda Jail at Ranchi from where he was flown by a state aircraft to Mumbai for specialised treatment.
Geelani who is suspected to be suffering from cancer will be operated on Monday in Mumbai. The sources said on the request of Geelani, the state government has deputed Dr Khurshid Iqbal Kousger to assist Mumbai doctors in the operation of his left kidney.
Geelani is the second important Huriyat leader who has been released on parole by the state government on health grounds. Earlier, JKLF chairman Yaseen Malik was released.
His relatives have left Srinagar to attend him in the hospital.
Bureau Report