Srinagar: Senior People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader, Sartaj Madni, has been released from six-month-long detention on Saturday, officials said. "He has been released today. I can't share more details with you now," a police official said. Meanwhile, PDP spokesperson Suhail Bukhari too confirmed the release of Madani.
The latest development comes hours after PDP president Mehbooba Mufti received an invitation from the Centre for talks with Jammu and Kashmir's regional political parties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to chair a meeting with all political parties from Jammu and Kashmir on June 24 as part of the Centre's initiatives to bolster political processes, including holding assembly elections, in the union territory. Mufti confirmed that she has received the invitation but said the party's political affairs committee (PAC), of which Madni is also a part, will take a call on whether to participate or not in the Centre's meet.
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Madni was detained on December 21 last year, a day ahead of the counting of votes of the District Development Council elections. Several leaders of the PDP and the National Conference, including Naeem Akhtar, Peer Mansoor and Hilal Ahmad Lone, were detained that day. They were shifted to the MLA hostel, from where they were gradually released later.
Have a look at August 2019 developments
In August 2019, the Centre abrogated Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and also bifurcated the erstwhile state into two union territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 was notified by the government on August 9, 2019, paved the way for the creation of two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir, which will have a legislature and Ladakh, without it.
The Act provides that the number of seats in the legislative assembly of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir shall be increased from 107 to 114, and delimitation of the constituencies will be determined by the Election Commission.
(With inputs from agencies)
