PDP condemns extending Naeem Akhtar’s PSA detention

Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the authorities’ move to extend the detention of its senior leader Naeem Akhtar who is detained under Public Safety Act since August last year.

In a statement, Firdous Tak, former legislator and party spokesperson, said extending the detention of Naeem Akhtar for another three months is an “indication of BJP’s political vendetta against the mainstream political leadership of Kashmir.”

The party added that the Kashmir “chaos theory” of ruling BJP was “not only bound to fail but will have serious ramifications on the ground.”

Tak said the PDP leadership has always stood against “nefarious designs of Sangh Parivar” and now the ruling party was finding it appropriate to “settle its political vengeance”.

“It is now clear that the Union government was not willing for any kind of political outreach in Jammu and Kashmir as such it is continuing with the illegal and unjust detentions of mainstream leadership in the erstwhile state,” Tak said.

The party, he said, has time and again reminded those at the helm of affairs in New Delhi that there cannot be any alternative to political outreach and public sentiments cannot be curbed by force.

“The continued detention of senior political leaders including former Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti and senior leaders including Shah Faisal, Sartaj Madani, Peerzada Mansoor and house arrest of others will not help the BJP’s proxies to expand its roots in Kashmir politics,” he said.

He said BJP was working on implementation of chaos theory in Kashmir under which the mainstream political leadership were either to be discredited or silenced, media arm-twisted, democratic institutions smashed and administrative machinery hijacked.

“Under this agenda aspirations of people are to be curbed and new political aspirations pushed,” he said.

“The theory is itself chaotic and has proved counterproductive so far,” he said, adding the misconceived policies and attitude of vendetta and vengeance was only adding to alienation of people.