Cases of political prisoners to be followed after statehood restoration: Omar Abdullah

Srinagar, Nov 22: Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Friday said the resolution of special status passed in the Legislative Assembly recently has not been rejected and the door is still open. He, however, said as far as the release of political prisoners is concerned the government has to wait for the restoration of statehood first.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event at Polo View, Srinagar, Omar Abdullah while replying to a query about the fate of special status resolution said: “The resolution was passed by the majority of members in the Legislative Assembly. Congress members were also present in the house. It is alive and has not been rejected. The door is still open. Let us get the statehood first we will pursue the matter further.”

In reply to a question about release of political prisoners, chief minister Omar Abdullah said that “Law and order, security continues to remain the domain of centre. Despite this scenario, we have managed to ease the verification process. I made a speech in the Legislative Assembly stating that verification has been weaponised. Steps were taken to ease it out and more progress is on cards in this regard.”

He said some people criticised the government stating that the resolution had nothing in it. “If there was nothing in the resolution, why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah talked about it frequently,” Omar asked.

He said once the J&K gets statehood, the government will follow the cases of political prisoners and ensure their release.

About today’s cabinet meeting, Omar said that the important decision taken in today’s meeting was to constitute a cabinet sub-committee comprising three members that would take a holistic view in the backdrop of Supreme Court directives. “The Committee will submit a report to the cabinet and we will see how far we can go to rationalise the reservation policy,” Omar said as per KNO.

To a query about alleged torture of civilians in Kishtwar, the Chief Minister said that he has seen people dying during tortures in police and security forces camps in the past. “Thank God here, nobody has died. I urge the army to probe the case thoroughly and if any misconduct by the soldiers is found, the guilty should be court martialed and punished sternly,” Omar said.

To a query whether there would be improvement in power curtailment in winters, Omar said he has directed the power department to ensure less curtailment in the areas where there is less theft. “I am hopeful to see improved power scenario in Kashmir this winter,” Omar said.