Omar ridicules J&K Government for detaining Separatist Leaders

Srinagar, Aug 20: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday ridiculed the orders to put senior separatist Kashmiri leaders under house arrest and their subsequent release, ahead of NSA-level talks between India and Pakistan.

“Why? No absence of coordination, centre says arrest so arrested, centre says release, so released. Perfect coordination”, Abdullah said on his widely followed Twitter account while reacting to the house arrest and subsequent release of all senior separatist leaders within less than an hour of their arrest.

Abdullah was reacting to the state government’s decision to place senior separatist leaders like Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Abbas Ansari and Muhammad Yasin Malik under house arrest in Srinagar on Thursday morning.

The separatist leaders alleged the authorities arrested them to pre-empt their scheduled meeting with Pakistan National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz on August 23 in New Delhi.

In a surprise move, authorities on Thursday afternoon decided to lift the house arrest restrictions on the separatist leaders.  (IANS)