Srinagar: The Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on Monday asserted that Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir should be held after full restoration of its statehood.
Expressing disappointment over the outcome of the recently held all-party meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, the PAGD said that it will reach out to other political parties in J&K seeking a common position on restoration of statehood before the Assembly polls.
The statement by the PAGD comes a day after its leaders met at the residence of the alliance chairman Farooq Abdullah on Gupkar road.
PAGD spokesperson Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami on Monday said that the alliance met on Sunday evening under the chairmanship of Dr Farooq Abdullah at his residence in Srinagar. “This meeting, which was attended by vice-chairperson Mehbooba Mufti, M Y Tarigami, Justice(retd) Hasnain Masoodi, Javed Mustafa Mir and Muzaffar Ahmed Shah, was called to discuss the recent meeting chaired by the Prime Minister in Delhi on June 24,” he said.
He said the PAGD reiterated its commitment to fight together to reverse the unconstitutional and unacceptable changes foisted on the people of J&K on August 5, 2019 using all constitutional, legal and political means at its disposal. “PAGD's struggle for undoing these changes will continue as long as it takes while striving to achieve this objective as early as possible,” he said.
Mr Tarigami said all the members of the PAGD expressed their disappointed at the outcome of the Delhi meeting especially at the absence of any substantial Confidence Building Measures such as releasing political and other prisoners from jails & taking concrete steps to end the siege & atmosphere of suppression that has choked J&K since 2019.
“This would have initiated the much needed process of reaching out to the people of J&K who are the biggest stakeholders & sufferers of the J&K problem,” he said.
He said as far as restoration of statehood is concerned, it has been BJP's commitment on the floor of the Parliament & they must honour their word. “So any assembly election must be held only after restoration of full statehood for J&K,” he said. (UNI)