Srinagar, Oct 19 : People’s Conference president Sajad Gani Lone on Sunday termed the Public Safety Act (PSA) a “draconian law” and said every chief minister and governor of Jammu and Kashmir has used it without restraint.
Reacting to a post by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Lone said no government in Jammu and Kashmir tried to repeal the PSA when they had the power to do so.
“They never repealed this draconian law when they could. They never will,” Lone wrote on X.
He said the PSA has been invoked freely by both elected governments and central rule administrations. “The PSA is a draconian law. It has been used with impunity by all Kashmiri chief ministers and all governors whenever J&K was under central rule,” he said.
Owaisi had criticised all governments in Jammu and Kashmir since 1978 for allegedly misusing the PSA, while reacting to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s recent statement that he would revoke the law through an ordinance if he returned to power.
Lone welcomed Owaisi’s remarks, saying, “I have to say it is for the first time that someone from the rest of the country has called a spade a spade.”
He also criticised the existing police verification system in Jammu and Kashmir, calling it “retributive” and unjust.
“Additionally, the notorious police verification system based on retributive justice and collective punishment was used by all during their tenures,” Lone said.
He added that even in 2025, rules remain in place that punish people for the actions of their relatives.
“In the year 2025, we have a law from the Stone Age, wherein a daughter or a son is punished for a crime committed by the father or mother; or a father is punished for a crime committed by a son or a daughter. The list of relationships impacted is long. Cousins are punished for a crime committed by a cousin,” he said.(KNS)
