National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has demanded the unconditional release of all those detained or arrested in the state since August 5 for any political process to begin in the state, the party said on Monday.

A delegation of the party had met Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah on Sunday for the first time since their detention.

“It was made very clear to the visiting party delegation by the incarcerated leaders that no political process can take place until and unless certain actions are undertaken by the government of India straightaway,” the spokesman said.

Block development council elections in the state are scheduled for October 24. The National Conference has said it will be not be able to participate if its leaders are kept in detention.

The party demands the release of all political detainees, traders and civil society members that have been arrested on “false grounds”, the spokesman said, as well as that of students and children taken into custody.

“People have rejected the abridgement of their rights following the unilateral abrogation of Article 370. It is indeed high time for the government of India to restore the dignity of the people by undoing the steps that were taken on the 5th and 6th August,” he said.

In New Delhi, Union home minister Amit Shah told probationers of the 2018 batch of the Indian Police Service that Jammu and Kashmir would not remain a Union Territory forever and that statehood would be restored once the security situation improves.

Shah also said “not a single bullet has been fired or not a single person has died” after August 5.

The local administration has, however, acknowledged one civilian fatality at the hands of the security forces since the August 5 lockdown — that of Asrar Khan of Srinagar — after the medical report cited pellet injuries as the cause of death. Initially, the government had tried to pin the death on stone-throwers.

Written with PTI report