‘Out Of Circulation'

Almost 42 days after he was restricted to his Gupkar home, the government finally arrested Dr Farooq Abdullah formally under Public Safety Act. The arrest of five-time Chief Minister and five-time MP is not an ordinary development in Kashmir history,

- Masood Hussain

On September 16, morning Safiya Abdullah, one of the three daughters of Dr. Farooq Abdullah, left her home to drop her kids at the army school when she saw the staff of her father on the road. Once back, she enquired and was shocked to know that Dr. Abdullah has been detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA). The orders had been served to him at around 11:30 pm, on September 15.

After a lot of insistence, Safiya told Rising Kashmir, she was permitted to talk to her father on intercom. Hearing her father’s voice, she said she broke down. Later, she met her brother, Omar, being held in Hari Niwas, who had already come to know of the development. It started Safiya’s struggle to meet her father, who is unwell for a long time. They are neighbours to each other, separated by just a porous wall.

Safiya went to see Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, who had gone to the secretariat. She also went there. “The last time, I had visited the civil secretariat was with my grandfather (Sheikh Abdullah),” she told the newspaper. “Today, I was made to walk from the main gate and I had no idea who to approach.”

Finally, she met her father. She saw the grounds of detention and terms them ridiculous. “Despite receiving abuses from common people, Omar and Farooq sahib always stood by the side of the Indian state,” Safiya told the newspaper. “All their lives they believed in the ‘idea of India’. They always pitched for Kashmir resolution within the ambit of the Indian constitution. Today, they feel betrayed.”