Kashmiri IAS topper Shah Faesal from Jammu was detained in Delhi

On the occasion of 73rd Independence Day, former union minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram today paid homage to the soldiers of India who laid down their lives in the line of duty.

He slammed the treatment meted out to the Kashmiri IAS topper Shah Faesal from Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. Mr Faesal was detained at the Delhi airport on Wednesday, reportedly when he was about to fly abroad. He was sent back to Srinagar, where he was placed under house arrest under the Public Safety Act.

"Happy Independence Day! Salute the freedom fighters who braved a colonial power to win independence for the nation. Why is freedom being denied to a son of India and Kashmir, Shah Faesal? Only a few years ago, when he topped the IAS, he was celebrated as a hero, today how has he become a threat to public safety?," Mr Chidambaram tweeted this morning.

The former finance minister also raked up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers being put under house arrest and questioned, "Why is freedom being denied to three former CMs of J&K since August 6th? Why are two former CMs under virtual solitary confinement and one former CM under house arrest? Why are political leaders who fought secessionists and militants locked up?."

Mehbooba Mufti, Omar Abdullah and Sajad Lone - the three most prominent politicians from Jammu and Kashmir - have been placed under house arrest. Mobile internet and landline phone connections have been blocked in many places and public meetings or rallies have been banned.



Earlier this month, Parliament had revoked Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. It passed Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act 2019, reorganizing the state in two Union Territories--Jammu and Kashmir with Assembly and Ladakh without it.