PDP leader Naeem Akhtar booked under Public Safety Act

People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Naeem Akhtar has been booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

He has been in detention since the government abrogated Article 370 last year, which conferred special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and its bifurcation into two Union Territories -- Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti are also booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

Rajya Sabha MP Nazir Ahmad Laway criticized the central government for detaining the leaders of Jammu and Kashmir under the PSA and said that Abdullah and Mufti are not "militants or anti-nationals."

"Public Safety Act is a draconian Act. It was brought for smugglers... They (Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti) are not militants or anti-national. They were chief ministers earlier. The government needs to look into this. This is wrong," Laway said.

Both former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers were detained after the government abrogated Article 370 last year. In December last year, Farooq Abdullah's detention was extended for three more months under the PSA.