Govt gives no time frame for J&K leaders' release

The government on Friday did not spell out a timeline for the release of political leaders detained in Jammu and Kashmir even as it said that the situation in the troubled region is getting normal post the revocation of special status and bifurcation into two union territories in August.

Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs headed by senior Congress MP Anand Sharma that political leaders are being "gradually released", as he explained the measures taken to bring normalcy back in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

This was the first meeting of the panel after it was reconstituted in September and the first issue to take up was Jammu and Kashmir. The Home Secretary was called to give a briefing on the situation in Union Territories of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh.

On August 5, the Centre has revoked special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and the next day, Parliament passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act bifurcating the state into two union territories. Anticipating trouble, political leaders were put under detention and internet and other communication facilities were taken off, inviting criticism from Opposition parties.

Bhalla told the panel that the union territories are getting back to normalcy and cited the reopening of schools, sources said.

Questions were raised by MPs about the continuing detention of political leaders, including former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, and asked about the plans of their release.

To this, sources said, Bhalla told the MPs that release of political leaders are happening gradually but did not spell out a timeline for completing the process.

The MPs were told that these leaders are detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA), which can be challenged in a designated tribunal. They can approach the High Court if they are not satisfied with the tribunal order.

On the curbs on internet services in Kashmir valley, the MPs were informed that this was done to checkmate the use of cyberspace to spread rumours and carry out subversive activities by terrorists.

There were 71,254 terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir in which 14,049 civilians, 5,293 security personnel and 22,552 terrorists were killed since 1990, the MPs were told.

The panel was also informed about the setting up of a committee for the division of assets and liabilities of Jammu and Kashmir between two the Union Territories.