All belong to Nationalist Conference and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
On Monday, five political leaders who had been under detention in Jammu and Kashmir were released by the administration. They have been identified as Ishfaq Jabbar and Ghulam Nabi Bhat (NC) and Bashir Mir Zahoor Mir and Yasir Reshi (PDP). Interestingly, Reshi has openly rebelled against Mehbooba Mufti in the past and it remains to be seen if that might have played a part in securing his release.
Several top Kashmiri political leaders were placed under detention around the time Article 370 was abrogated. These include three former Chief Ministers of the erstwhile state; Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti. While Farooq Abdullah is in detention at his residence, Mehbooba Mufti was recently shifted to a government accommodation in Srinagar from a tourist hut located at the foothills of the Zaberwan Range. Omar Abdullah is being detained at another as yet undisclosed location. His last tweet was on August 5, 2019, just before the state was plunged into a communications blackout.
The release of these five leaders comes after the November 25 release of Dilawar Mir of the PDP and Ghulam Hassan Mir of the Democratic Party Nationalist, both former MLAs and residents of Baramullah. Two other former MLAs Ashraf Mir and Hakeen Yaseen, were on the same day, shifted to their homes but remain under detention. 34 others who were previously being detained at the Centaur Hotel were recently shifted to the MLA hostel.