‘We can release prisoners since we have mandate’

Sayeed, who spoke on the sidelines of district development board meetings here, also rejected Advani’s idea of setting up screening committees for vetting the cases of detained political prisoners.

‘‘Why is there a hue and cry over the release of prisoners now and not earlier when Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Yasin Malik were released by the earlier state and central governments? When there was no need for the screening committees then, why the need for them now?’’, Mufti said.

The state government, he said, was carefully monitoring all cases of political detainees. Some, he said, had been released by the courts after about 12 years in custody and he would not interfere in matters of the judiciary.

Mufti also said he expected, as this was a democracy, the released prisoners to hold public gatherings and say whatever they had to say. ‘‘Democracy is basically a battle of ideas. Let those released express their views and we will fight them politically’’, he said.

Yet even as the BJP central leadership voiced concern, the party’s Valley unit today welcomed the PDP-Congress government’s action and suggested the Centre declare a ceasefire to help solve the Kashmir problem.

‘‘We welcome the measures of the new government, including release of detainees, as the initiatives can lead to the restoration of peace and prosperity in the state’’, BJP Kashmir unit convenor Fayaz Ahmad Bhat said here.

Observing that the people needed ‘‘healing of their wounds’’, he appealed to the state and central governments to announce a ceasefire again.