SRI NAGAR: After a picture of detained former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference working president, Omar Abdullah sporting a long white beard went viral on social media, his party claimed that the “growing beard” is a mark of protest.
“I will not call it (Omar’s picture) demoralising for the party. However, it depicts a sad moment for J&K and the country that a former chief minister and Union minister is kept in such kind of detention for no fault of his,” NC spokesman Imran Nabi Dar said.
The picture of Omar, sporting a long white beard, went viral on Twitter last week with netizens criticising his detention. Omar along with his father and three-time former chief minister Farooq Abdullah and other top mainstream leaders are in detention since August 5.
Omar, 49, is presently undergoing solitary confinement at the government quarters at Hari Niwas Palace in Srinagar.
Refusing to compare Omar’s picture with former Iraqi president Saddam Hussain after his capture by US forces, Imran said, “Omar is smiling in the picture.”
"His spirits are high in detention and this can be made out from the picture itself."