Valley’s powerhouse Sheikh family suffers meltdown

Azhar Qadri
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, September 18

As Farooq Abdullah, the patriarch of Kashmir’s oldest political powerhouse dynasty, and his tech-savvy son Omar Abdullah are in separate makeshift jails, the Sheikh family suffers an emotional meltdown and National Conference faces an existential crisis.

Farooq, the three-time former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, was detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) earlier this week. He had been earlier under detention at his home in the city here since August 5 when Article 350 was abrogated.

His posh home on the Gupkar road has now been declared a jail. “He is very angry and bitter. He has refused to talk to anyone and he is not meeting anyone,” a government official said.

The octogenarian leader, who has been flamboyant in his life and politics, had cried when he last faced the camera more than a month ago. Farooq’s detention is one of the most surprise developments in the Kashmir region as he was considered to be the most powerful and deeply connected politician of the state.

Omar, vice-president of the National Conference and also the state’s former Chief Minister, has been under arrest at a state guest house — a short distance from his home on the Gupkar road – since the abrogation of Article 370.

The arrest of the two most powerful leaders of the National Conference, along with the loss of the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir and the abrogation of Article 370, has also pushed the region’s oldest political party towards an existential crisis.

The National Conference has championed itself for the inclusion of Article 370 and had made it their slogan during campaign rallies. With the law trashed into history, the party stares at an uncertain future.

Mohammad Akbar Lone, one of the only two senior leaders of the National Conference who are still free, had last week told The Tribune that the party would now contest the elections when the statehood was restored.