Peoples Democratic Party demanded on Wednesday the immediate release of hardline Hurriyat Conference spokesperson Ayaz Akbar on humanitarian grounds so that he could attend his wife who is suffering from a life-threatening disease.
"Akbar's wife is battling serious ailment and needs her husband by her side at present," PDP state secretary Noor Mohammad Sheikh said in a statement.
Sheikh said the entire family of Akbar was reeling under trying circumstances and had already appealed to Governor Satya Pal Malik to release the incarcerated separatist leader.
Akbar was arrested last year by the National Investigation Agency in connection with its probe into terror funding in the Kashmir Valley.
"The government should release Akbar on humanitarian grounds at an earliest so that his family, which is in absolute perturbation at present, could heave a sigh of relief," the PDP leader said.
Sheikh said there was enough space available in the law of the land to take a holistic view of the issue and address it on humanitarian grounds.
"Releasing Akbar from prison will send a positive signal across and contribute in creating a conducive atmosphere for making peace permanent in the otherwise strife-torn state," he added.