PDP Demands More Than Statehood: Lists Conditions for Joining NC Protest

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the principal opposition in Jammu and Kashmir, has indicated it may not participate in the National Conference (NC)-led protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on July 20 unless the ruling party includes issues such as the restoration of Article 370, release of political prisoners, and lifting the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami in its agenda.

In a letter to NC president Farooq Abdullah, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said, 'Any movement confined solely to the demand for Statehood would amount to legitimising the abrogation of Article 370. Limiting the political struggle to Statehood echoes the BJP’s narrative by pushing Article 370 into the background and risks whitewashing the illegal and unconstitutional actions of August 5, 2019.'

Thanking the NC for the invitation, Ms. Mufti added, 'The people of Jammu and Kashmir continue to carry the collective humiliation and dehumanisation inflicted after the abrogation of Article 370 and the downgrading of the erstwhile State into a Union Territory.'

She stressed that both the PDP and NC had promised the restoration of Article 370 in their 2024 Assembly election manifestos, and the public mandate reflected faith in that promise. She also criticised the NC for remaining silent on the dismissal of government employees, action against Jamaat-e-Islami and its institutions, arbitrary detentions, restrictions on literature, and environmental degradation.

Ms. Mufti urged Mr. Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to convene an all-party meeting involving regional political parties and civil society to formulate a common road map for addressing political and constitutional issues facing Jammu and Kashmir.