An adviser to Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Thursday said that the political leaders detained in Kashmir after the state lost its special constitutional status will be released in a phased manner, ANI reported.

Reports on Wednesday had said that detained political leaders in Jammu were released, while those in Kashmir remained under detention or house arrest. Leaders of the National Conference, Congress and J&K Panthers Party from the Jammu region were allowed to move freely.

“Yes, one by one after analysis of every individual, they will be released,” Farooq Khan, adviser to the governor, said in response to a question about when politicians in Kashmir will be freed.

This development came days after the state Election Commission announced elections to block development councils. On Monday, Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary Ram Madhav had said “only 200 to 250 people” were still in preventive detention in the state. He claimed these leaders were living “in five-star guest houses, some in five-star hotels”.

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According to some estimates, almost 400 top politicians in the state were detained following the Centre’s crackdown. Former Chief Ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, and Kashmiri bureaucrat-turned-politician Shah Faesal were taken into custody or put under house arrest. National Conference President Farooq Abdullah is in detention at his home in Srinagar. He has been charged under the “public order” section of the Public Safety Act, which allows authorities to detain a person for six months without trial.

Last month, Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti had sought information on detentions in the state on behalf of her mother. She also asked for details of detenues moved out of the state, the number of deaths, people booked under the Public Safety Act, and areas that are still under prohibitory orders.

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