After two months, India allows Kashmiri leaders to hold political meeting

Farooq Abdullah, son Omar - both former chief ministers of IOK - have been under detention since August 5

NEW DELHI: Two months after political leaders were detained in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), the state administration has granted permission to a delegation from the National Conference (NC) party to meet their top two leaders on Sunday, according to a party official.

The meeting with party President Farooq Abdullah and Vice President Omar Abdullah will take place in Srinagar, the state’s capital. Both were detained after the Indian government scrapped occupied Kashmir's special status on August 5.

"The delegation led by provincial head Devender Singh Rana and including former party legislators will fly from Jammu tomorrow morning," National Conference spokesperson Madan Mantoo told news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) on Saturday.

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Mantoo said the Indian government granted permission after Rana made a request to Satya Pal Malik, the governor of occupied Kashmir.

Hundreds of people including political leaders from IOK have been put under detention following the scrapping of the state’s special status.

In addition to Farooq and Abdullah, former chief minister and People's Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Mehbooba Mufti is another prominent leader put in detention by the Indian administration.

IOK has been under a near-complete lockdown since the Indian government’s revocation of its special status.

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Since then, New Delhi has blocked communication access and imposed restrictions on movement.

Rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have repeatedly called on India to lift restrictions and release political detainees.

India claimed that 93% of the restrictions have been eased in the conflict-ridden region, a claim that Anadolu Agency could not independently verify.