New Delhi, March 9: All political detainees, especially the three former Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir - Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti - should be released immediately, said eight opposition parties in a joint resolution on Monday. Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have been under house arrest since August 5 when the Centre moved to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir's special status, granted under Article 370. Jammu And Kashmir: Apni Party Launched by Syed Altaf Bukhari, 31 Leaders From PDP, NC, Congress to Join.

The joint resolution sent to the BJP-led central government is endorsed by former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, former Union Ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie, CPI leader D Raja, CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury and RJD lawmaker Manoj Jha. The leaders, in the joint resolution, opined that "democratic dissent is being muzzled" under the Modi government. Jammu & Kashmir: Govt Lifts Ban on Social Media Websites in Valley, Move to be Effective Till March 17, 2020.

"We demand the immediate release of all political detainees in Kashmir, especially the three former Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir (Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti). Under the Modi government, democratic dissent is being muzzled by coercive administrative action," read the joint resolution. Omar has been in detention at Hari Nivas since August 5, 2019. His father Farooq Abdullah has been kept at his Gupkar Road residence in Srinagar.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti too has been detained in a government building on MA Road. Several other political leaders, including bureaucrat-turned-politician Shah Faesal, have been in detention. Many of them, including Omar, Farooq Abdullah, Mufti and Faesal, are booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 09, 2020 03:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).