Family members allowed to meet Omar, Mehbooba

Srinagar, Sep 2 (IANS) The family members of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti on Monday met them for the first time as the two continued to remain under detention in Srinagar since the last 29 days.

Sources said Mehbooba's sister Rubaiya Sayeed and elder daughter Irtiqa Javed met her at the Chashma Shahi hut where she has been kept under detention.

Rubaiya was abducted by militants in 1990 when her father the late Mufti Mohammed Sayeed was the Union Home Minister.

Authorities had swapped seven top militant commanders to obtain her release. The move had been been severely criticised by opposition parties in 1990.

Mehbooba's younger daugheter Iltija Javed had claimed last week that despite the family's best attempts, authorities had not been allowing then to meet the detained PDP chief.

Reports also said Sofiya Abdullah, sister of Omar, met the National Conference leader at the Hari Niwas guest house where he is under detention.

Sources said Omar has been growing a beard since he was detained on August 5.

PDP leader Naeem Akhtar's wife Asmat Jan and daughter Shehryar Khanum also met him.

Family members of other mainstream leaders of various parties have been meeting them on a regular basis since they were detained at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) here.

SKICC, Hari Niwas guest house and the Chashma Shahi hut have been declared sub-jails by the authorities for detaining the two ex-Chief Ministers and nearly 40 other politicians since the Centre revoked Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.