CPI-M's Yechury to visit Kashmir tomorrow

New Delhi [India], Aug 28 (ANI): Welcoming the Supreme Court's decision permitting him to visit Jammu and Kashmir, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday said he will visit Srinagar to meet his friend and party leader Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami.

"The court gave an interim order permitting me to visit Srinagar. I am going there tomorrow. Local police authorities have been directed to facilitate this visit," he told ANI.

"We tried visiting there twice. But we were unsuccessful. After knowing about his health conditions, I will inform the court through an affidavit," he said.

Earlier in the day, the top court allowed Yechury to visit Jammu and Kashmir and meet Tarigami. However, it said that the Left leader's visit should only be to meet Tarigami as a friend and not for any political purpose.

On August 24, Yechury had filed a habeas corpus petition in the apex court for protection of Tarigami, who is allegedly under detention in Jammu and Kashmir since the central government abrogated provisions of Article 370.

Tarigami is a member of the Central Committee of the CPI(M) and has served as a four-time MLA of the dissolved Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.

The writ petition was filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, according to a statement by the CPI(M).

Yechury was also part of the delegation of Opposition leaders who had gone to Srinagar last week to see the ground situation in the region. However, they were not allowed to step out of Srinagar airport and were sent back to Delhi.