AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has taken a swipe at J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, urging for the restoration of statehood as a prerequisite for removing the controversial Public Safety Act (PSA).
Owaisi’s pointed commentary followed Abdullah’s statement that his government intended to repeal the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA) via an ordinance. Abdullah stated, “To remove it, we must have statehood. Security, law and order, all these things should be under the control of the elected government. The day these things are ours, I won’t even wait for the assembly session.” He had previously mentioned in his party’s manifesto a commitment to remove the PSA from Jammu and Kashmir.
Owaisi’s Stance
Asaduddin Owaisi reminded Abdullah that the PSA was initially introduced by Sheikh Abdullah, Omar Abdullah’s grandfather, in 1978 to combat smuggling in the former state. Owaisi pointed out that numerous J&K governments since then have utilized the act against separatist leaders, resulting in over 20,000 detentions since 1978.
He expressed on X (formerly Twitter) that previous governments “could have easily repealed PSA & prevented untold suffering and human rights violations,” noting the act’s misuse by various chief ministers and governors in J&K.
Owaisi further elaborated that detentions under the PSA have sometimes extended for 7 to 12 years. He concluded his post with a poignant poetic jibe: “Sab kuch luta ke hosh mein aaye to kya kiya… Din mein agar chiragh jalaye to kya kiya” (What is the point of regaining senses after losing everything… What is the use of lighting a lamp in the daytime?).
Understanding the PSA
The Public Safety Act (PSA) grants authorities the power to detain individuals for up to two years without a trial. Although originally enacted to address timber smuggling in 1978, the law has subsequently been used to detain political figures and others deemed a threat to law and order, especially during the period of militancy in Kashmir in the early 1990s.
A recent instance of detention under the PSA involves Aam Aadmi Party MLA Mehraj Malik, who has been held in Kathua district jail since September 8, 2025, accused of disrupting public order and using inappropriate language towards a district deputy commissioner.