Farooq Abdullah calls a meeting today

SRINAGAR: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has called for a meeting of senior party leaders on August 20, as the administration informed the J&K High Court that all the party members were free to move around.The National Conference issued a statement in Srinagar, stating that the party relied on the government’s reply in the high court, where the administration had unequivocally submitted that no leader was under detention and that they were free to move subject to necessary security arrangements.Earlier, Abdullah, who represents Srinagar in the Lok Sabha, had called an all-party meeting on the first anniversary of the abrogation of the special status of the erstwhile state of J&K, which the administration did not allow. Some politicians were not allowed to move out of their homes while others were stopped outside Abdullah’s residence on Gupkar road in Srinagar.The administration, in response to the petition filed by Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah regarding continued detention of party leaders, informed the high court that none of the 16 leaders that the party claimed were in illegal confinement, were detained and that they were free to move around.“Now relying fully on the stand of the government before the HC that the members are free to move and expecting no hogwash on part of the government, the party president Farooq Abdullah has invited senior party members including Ali Mohammad Sagar, Abdul Rahim Rather, Mohammad Shafi Uri and Nasir Aslam Wani for a meeting at his residence on 20.8.2020 at 5 pm,” said a NC statement.The statement said the party was mindful of the pandemic and accordingly the meeting with various leaders would be done in batches of four members per meeting. “The party is hopeful that the liberty of the members under detention is now absolute and the meeting will be held successfully on the appointed day,” it said.Abdullah and his son Omar were among 7,300 people the government had detained in J&K in the wake of the abrogation of special status of J&K and downgrading of the erstwhile state into two UTs through J&K Reorganization Act passed in Parliament on August 5-6 last year.

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