Senior politician and National Conference (NC) chief Farooq Abdullah condemned the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) custodial arrest of separatist leader Yasin Malik for the charges of raising, receiving and collecting funds through various illegal means, including hawala transactions and funding separatist and terrorist activities in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Yasin Malik is also the chief of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), an outfit which was banned last month by the Union government under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Also Read: NIA Takes Separatist Leader Yasin Malik Under Custodial Remand, Brings Him To Tihar Jail

Abdullah expressed grief over the arrest and defending Malik, he warned the Union government that the more these people (separatists) will be 'tormented' the more of disturbances will be fomented in the valley.

Further defending the chief of banned outfit JKLF, Abdullah retorted, "One can have differences, but that doesn't give one the right to arrest people who differ from you. This is not the Indian way."

Abdullah has recently been in the news for giving instigating speeches about separating Kashmir from India if Article 370 and 35A are repealed. Similar statements were uttered by PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and senior leader of NC, Omar Abdullah who had asked for Jammu and Kashmir to have a separate Prime Minister than the rest of India.

In this light a PIL was filed against them at Delhi High Court, which today (10 April 2019) sent the PIL seeking Election Commission to ban Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah from participating in Lok Sabha elections to another bench which will be hearing the matter on 12 April.