I am free today, will go to Delhi to attend Parliament: Farooq Abdullah after his release from detention

SRINAGAR: Former J&K chief minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Friday (March 13, 2020) said that he was much relieved after the Centre revoked the Public Safety Act (PSA) against him and set him free from months-long detention.

‘’Today I don't have words. I am free today. Now, I will be able to go to Delhi and attend the Parliament and speak for you all,’’ the NC veteran was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The NC leader further said, '''I'm grateful to people of the J&K and all leaders and people in the rest of the country who spoke for our freedom. This freedom will be complete when all leaders are released. I hope the GoI will take action to release everyone.''

He, however, refused to speak on political matters. ''I will not speak on any political matter till the time everyone is released,'' he added. 

It may be noted that the J&K Administration on Friday revoked the Public Safety Act against former chief minister Farooq Abdullah and released him from house arrest. In an order, J&K Home Secretary Shaleen Kabra said that the PSA invoked on Abdullah on September 17 and further extended on December 13, has been revoked.

The order comes into force with immediate effect, the order said. His party National Conference also welcomed the decision. 

Farooq Abdullah's release from detention will be a right step for the restoration of a genuine political process in Jammu and Kashmir, the party said in a statement on Friday. The NC said the process will receive a further fillip when party vice-president Omar Abdullah and other political detainees are set free. 

"We urge the government to do so at the earliest," it said. "As the pre-eminent political party of Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference has played a key role in strengthening the voice of the people through democracy and will continue to do so," the statement said.

Farooq Abdullah’s daughter Safia too expressed happiness over Twitter and said, "My father is a free man again."

The three-term chief minister of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state was under house arrest for months. Several mainstream leaders in Jammu and Kashmir, including Farooq`s son Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, have been also put under house arrest following the abrogation of Article 370 in August that granted special powers to the region.