Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who has been in detention since the erstwhile state lost its special status in August, was shifted from Srinagar’s Chashme Shahi resort to another location as temperatures dropped in the Union Territory, NDTV reported.

“Mehbooba has been shifted to a house with proper heating facilities,” an unidentified official said. “She had been complaining of chilly conditions lately.”

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, however, will continue to be detained in Hari Niwas in the Valley. The official claimed that Abdullah’s family had been meeting him and that they “are satisfied”. Omar Abdullah’s father and National Conference President Farooq Abdullah will remain under detention at his home for the remainder of the season.

Around 30 other political detainees were also being moved to “warmer locations” in Srinagar, The Hindu reported. “We have decided to shift them to a multi-storey building of MLAs Hostel on MA Road,” said an unidentified official.

Meanwhile, Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and other top officials told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs that the situation in the region was getting back to normal. He reportedly said that the detained politicians would be released, however it was not specified when that would happen, PTI reported, citing unidentified sources.

India abrogated Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status on August 5. It also divided the state into two Union Territories by passing the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. Over a thousand people, including political leaders, separatists and activists, were detained after a security clampdown in August.

Earlier in the month, some areas of Jammu and Kashmir recorded snowfall. Heavy snow caused all flights to and from Srinagar airport to be halted, electricity blackouts, and major highways to be closed. More than 2,000 vehicles were stranded on the highway due to the closure.

Leaders’ detention keeps Kashmir peaceful: Union minister

Union minister Jitendra Singh on Friday said that if the detention of political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir kept the region peaceful, then it should be continued. “If the situation is peaceful, because they are detained, then it is better that they remain detained,” Singh said, while addressing officers at a conference in Jammu.

However, the Congress on Friday criticised the Narendra Modi-led government over detention of the mainstream politicians in the region. The party’s spokesperson Pawan Khera said that the Centre was treating politicians the same way it treated separatist leaders.

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