Former J-K ministers seek release of political detainees after meeting foreign envoys

Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Party (Nationalist) leader Ghulam Hasan Mir and former Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister Altaf Bukhari met a delegation of 15 foreign envoys who are on a two-day visit to the region and later said that political detainees should be released.

Mir, who is a former J-K tourism minister, said the "political prisoners" should be released and it is the government's responsibility to fix security issues.

"There might be security issues in the region but it is the government's responsibility to fix it. Political prisoners should be released. In a democracy, everyone has a right to raise their voice. Political prisoners cannot be kept there all the time," Mir told ANI.

The delegation is visiting Jammu and Kashmir to see first-hand the efforts made by the government to normalise the situation after the revocation of its special status in August last year.

"We had an interactive session with the envoys. We are merely a bridge between people and government to address grievances of people," Mir said.

Bukhari said he exchanged ideas with the envoys. "It is not that they have authority. For that we have raked the issue with the Lieutenant Governor."

"When the political leaders are released, they will rake up the issues as our grievances are common," he said.

Several leaders from the region were detained in August this year when the Article 370, which gave special powers to Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated.

Jammu and Kashmir has also been bifurcated into two union territories. .

Among those detained are three former chief ministers -- Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.