Farooq Abdullah meets son Omar after 7 months of detention

Seven months after being detained, National Conference party chief Farooq Abdulla met his son Omar Abdullah in the sub-jail in Srinagar.

The 82-year-old former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister was released on Friday (March 13) after being detained under the draconian Public Safety Act. He requested the Jammu and Kashmir authorities permission to visit his son who was also detained since August 2018 at nearby Hari Niwas.

It was an emotional meeting when the father and son met for the first time after seven months of separation. Reports said that they embraced each other warmly. The meeting lasted for about an hour.

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Earlier Farooq Abdullah visited his father and former chief minister Sheik Abdullah’s grave, on the banks of Dal Lake upon his release.

Farooq Abdullah’s daughter Safia Abdullah was the first family member to react on his release. “My father is a free man again,” she tweeted, which was retweeted by her brother and former chief minister Omar Abdullah.

Speaking to reporters after his release, Farooq Abdullah said he was “grateful to everyone who prayed for us” but added that “freedom was not complete”.

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“Freedom will be complete when leaders like Omar, Mehboobaji and others who are still detained are released. I hope the government will take action soon,” he said.

Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and other leaders, including another former chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti, were detained on August 5 last year, the day the Centre withdrew special status of the erstwhile state.