Mr. Akhtar, who served as the State’s Education and Public Works Minister, has become the fourth top regional leader, after Sartaj Madani, Ali Muhammad Sagar and Ms. Mufti, to face extension of detention under the PSA. Earlier this year, National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah were released by the administration. All these leaders were arrested in August last year as the Centre ended J&K’s special status after over seven decades.
