Headlines
No separatist will be released without consultation: Sayeed to Rajnath
Jammu, March 10
Jammu and Kashmir Chief
Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed on Tuesday assured Home Minister Rajnath
Singh that no separatist would be henceforth released without taking the
BJP into confidence.
Sources in the Peoples Democratic Party
said Sayeed spoke to Rajnath Singh on the phone and assured him that no
separatist leader would be released from custody by the state government
without taking the PDP's alliance partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party,
into confidence.
"This was done by Mufti sahib to clear the
confusion created by some people over Masrat Alam's release," a PDP
source told IANS here.
"The chief minister assured the union home
minister that no separatist would be released on its own by the state
government, except when it becomes necessary because of a court order."
A
serious crisis had developed between the PDP and the BJP after the
chief minister ordered the release of separatist leader Masrat Alam
without taking the BJP on board.
The PDP also clarified on
Tuesday that Alam's release was ordered by the state home department in
February when the state was under governor's rule.
"A
communication was sent by the state home department to the Jammu
district magistrate who had ordered detention of Masrat Alam under the
Public Safety Act (PSA).
"The communication sent in February said
that since the term of detention of Alam was coming to an end in March,
necessary arrangements should be made for his release," the source
said.
The PDP source said the communication was sent during
governor's rule. "We have only ensured that we don't interfere with the
legal process."