Hurriyat welcomes Centre's move to release detenues

Srinagar, Mar 16: The moderate Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has welcomed the Centre's decision to release some of the detainees from Jammu and Kashmir lodged in different jails of the country.

''It is a welcome step. We were initially skeptical about the release of detainees, but are now optimistic that all detenues from Jammu and Kashmir would soon be released,'' the amalgam said in a statement here.

''We had raised the issue of withdrawal of troops from civilian areas, repealing of black laws, immediate end to human rights violations with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during our meeting in September last year and are hopeful that these too will soon be implemented,'' the Hurriyat said.

UNI