SRINAGAR (KIMS) — Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has declined an invitation to participate in the proposed protest at Jantar Mantar seeking the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, saying that limiting the movement to the demand for statehood alone would undermine the larger struggle for restoration of Article 370 and constitutional guarantees.
In a letter addressed to National Conference president Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti thanked him for inviting the PDP to join the proposed protest but said that, after consultations with her senior colleagues, the party had decided not to participate.
She stated that a protest focused solely on statehood would, in her view, legitimise the BJP’s narrative on Article 370 and risk “whitewashing” the constitutional changes introduced on August 5, 2019. She described the abrogation of Article 370 and the downgrading of Jammu and Kashmir from a state to a Union Territory as the central political issue that should remain the focus of any collective movement.
In the letter, Mehbooba alleged that the National Conference government had gradually reduced the broader political struggle to a demand for statehood and accused it of normalising the BJP’s agenda. She also raised concerns over issues including the dismissal of government employees, detentions, restrictions on socio-political organisations, and other policy decisions affecting Jammu and Kashmir.
Calling for a united political initiative, the PDP chief urged Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to convene an all-party meeting involving political parties and representatives of civil society to prepare a roadmap for addressing what she termed the “disempowerment” of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
She suggested that such an initiative should also seek the release of political prisoners, revocation of the ban on socio-political organisations, including Jamaat-e-Islami, and restoration of the constitutional guarantees that existed prior to August 5, 2019.
Mehbooba reiterated that the restoration of statehood should not be treated as an isolated objective, asserting that demanding anything short of Article 370 would amount to compromising the political aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Despite declining to participate in the protest, she extended her best wishes for the proposed Jantar Mantar demonstration. — (KIMS)