Jammu and Kashmir: Omar Abdullah released; says ‘lot happened but coronavirus bigger problem’

Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah was released from detention after nearly eight months. He was detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA).  

Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah was released on Tuesday after nearly eight months of detention. His release order was issued after charges under the Public Safety Act (PSA), slapped on him in February, were revoked.

"232 days after my detention today I finally left Hari Niwas. It’s a very different world today to the one that existed on August 5, 2019," Omar Abdullah tweeted on Tuesday along with his photo.

In his first reaction post release, Omar Abdullah said a lot has happened since August, but a bigger problem needs to be dealt with first.

"A lot has happened since August, people have suffered a lot and I am going to talk about all that at length but right now the bigger problem is corona in front of us," Omar Abdullah said.

Abdullah, who turned 50 on March 10, had spent 232 days in custody since the government announced abrogation of the special status of the erstwhile state on August 5 last year.

The National Conference leader was initially detained under preventive custody and later slapped with the PSA on February 5.