India has freed a former chief minister of Kashmir who was detained 14 months ago along with thousands of others when New Delhi imposed direct rule on the disputed region with a huge security clampdown.
Mehbooba Mufti was released late Tuesday after remaining in custody since August 2019 when the Indian government imposed emergency laws, snapped all communications and sent thousands of extra troops into the Muslim-majority state.
Mufti, 61, was arrested along with three other former chief ministers and other top politicians under the Public Safety Act that allows authorities to keep people in custody for up to two years without charge or a trial.
The other three former chief ministers have since been released but many of the roughly 8,000 other detainees, including some politicians, remain in custody.
Mufti’s detention order was revoked late Tuesday, without authorities providing any explanation, just a day before India’s Supreme Court was scheduled to hear a petition in her case.