Owaisi Slams Omar Abdullah Over PSA Remarks: “Realisation After All Is Lost Means Nothing”
AIMIM chief criticises former J&K CM for failing to repeal the PSA during his tenure, calling it a source of rights violations.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi has sharply criticised National Conference leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over his recent comments on the controversial Public Safety Act (PSA).
Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Owaisi reposted Omar Abdullah’s remarks and wrote, “What is the point of realising after losing everything? What use is lighting a lamp during the day?”—a poetic jab aimed at highlighting what he called Abdullah’s delayed concern.
Owaisi pointed out that the PSA, first introduced by Sheikh Abdullah in 1978 to curb timber smuggling, has since been misused by almost every administration in J&K both elected and appointed. He listed former Chief Ministers including Farooq Abdullah, G.M. Shah, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mehbooba Mufti, and Omar Abdullah himself, stating that all had the power to repeal the PSA but chose not to.
According to Owaisi, the law has enabled widespread abuse, with over 20,000 individuals reportedly detained since 1978 without formal charges, fair trial, or proper legal recourse. “Some detentions have even lasted between 7 to 12 years,” he said, adding that the PSA has been routinely used to detain separatists and other dissenting voices under questionable legal grounds.
He further criticised the timing of Omar Abdullah’s new stance. “Now that there is a small elected government in place, suddenly there is talk of repealing the PSA,” he said, questioning the sincerity and political will behind the move.
Omar Abdullah, while speaking to journalists on Saturday, had reiterated his party’s promise to repeal the PSA, stating, “We have mentioned in our manifesto that we will scrap the PSA in Jammu and Kashmir. For that, we need the restoration of statehood. The day we get control, I won’t even wait for the Assembly session. we will repeal the PSA through an ordinance.”
The PSA has long been criticised by human rights groups and activists for enabling preventive detentions without sufficient legal protections.
