Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Farooq released from house arrest after 20 months

Mirwaiz has been under house arrest since August 2019 when the Centre scrapped special status of J&K under Article 370 and split the erstwhile state into two Union Territories.

Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has been released from house detention after almost 20 months, official sources said. Mirwaiz has been under house arrest since August 2019 when the Centre scrapped special status of J&K under Article 370 and split the erstwhile state into two Union Territories. While several reports had claimed that he was released on Wednesday, people close to the Hurriyat leader said police vehicles were still deployed outside the main entrance of Mirwaiz's Nigeen residence. Former J&K chief minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti welcomed Mirwaiz's release from "arbitrary detention". "Good to hear about Mirwaiz's release from arbitrary detention. I hope that hundreds of Kashmiri men languishing in jails in and outside J&K will also be released soon. Its time they returned home to their families," Mufti tweeted.