Detained Politicians To Be Released "Soon": Amit Shah To New J&K Party

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured that the political leaders still under detaintion in Jammu and Kashmir will be released "very soon", the newly formed Apni Party's president Altaf Bukhari said in Delhi on Saturday, days after former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was released.

A 24-member delegation of Jammu Kashmir Apni Party led by Altaf Bukhari held detailed discussions with Amit Shah in the presence of top officials of the Home Ministry.

The delegation had met prime minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.

After emerging from the meeting that lasted nearly two hours, Mr Bukhari told reporters that the release of the remaining political leaders was among the topics discussed with the home minister.

"Yes, we did discuss about the detention of remaining political leaders and others, and the home minister said it is a process and we will be releasing them very soon," Mr Bukhari said.

Many political leaders, including former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, were detained by the government after the abrogation of special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 last year.

National Conference president and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was released on March 13 after being kept in detention for 221 days.

According to a home ministry statement, Mr Shah allayed the apprehensions of the delegation on restrictions and said all decisions on relaxations are based on ground realities and not due to any pressure.

"Even political prisoners will be freed in times to come as the main objective of the government is that not a single person should die, be it a common Kashmiri or security personnel," the home minster said.

Mr Shah also assured the delegation that Jammu and Kashmir's statehood will be restored at an "early opportunity" and no changes will be made to the demography of the region.

Expressing confidence that "visible changes will be seen on the ground in the next few months, the home minister also assured the delegation that the NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take all steps for the overall development of Jammu and Kashmir".

The political delegation was the first one to meet central leaders after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.