'Abdullah Has Potential To Create Public Disorder'

The 81-year-old Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar, under detention since August 5 when the Centre revoked the state’s special status, has also been accused of making speeches glorifying terrorists and separatists. The PSA order against Abdullah, accessed by PTI, cites seven instances from 2016 onwards when he spoke in favor of the separatist Hurriyat Conference and terror groups. Abdullah, the first chief minister to be booked under the stringent PSA, was arrested on Monday under the PSA and his Gupkar Road residence declared a jail. The National Conference chairman and three-term chief minister has been booked under the ‘public order’ provision of the PSA under which a person can be kept in jail from three to six months without a trial, officials said On repealing of Article 370 and 35-A of the Constitution, which provided special status for people of the state on jobs and residency, the PSA order accuses Abdullah of issuing statements aimed at mobilizing people against the state. It says he could have debated the issue rather than threaten the integrity of the country and glorify militancy. The order also accuses him of propagating “secessionist ideology” besides posing a threat to the life and liberty of the people. Abdullah, the order states, “has tremendous potential for creating an environment of public disorder within the district (Srinagar) and other parts of the Valley“. The PSA is applicable only in Jammu and Kashmir. Elsewhere in the country, the equivalent law is the National Security Act (NSA).