People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Mehbooba Mufti has stressed a collective fight for the restoration of statehood and Article 370. Mufti chaired a meeting of the party Sunday afternoon in Srinagar, hours after receiving a formal invitation from Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla for an All-Party meeting on June 24 which will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
‘We have stressed for a collective fight and hence People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) will send two representatives for the meeting in New Delhi’, said a senior leader who attended the meeting on condition of anonymity.
‘Mehbooba ji has not decided to boycott the meeting. We are for a political process but it’s a collective fight and hence we will all meet to decide who all should represent us in the meeting and convey the aspirations of the people.’, the senior leader stressed.
PDP is likely to stress for statehood to be restored immediately in Jammu & Kashmir as a major confidence building measure ahead of the assembly polls.
“A meeting of PDP’s Political Affairs Committee was held today (ahead of all-party meet of all J&K parties, in Delhi). All members have decided that the final decision regarding this will be taken by Mehbooba Mufti, all members have authorised her: A meeting of People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration will be held in two days. This matter will be discussed there too,” PDP Spokesperson Suhail Bukhari told media persons on Sunday after the meeting.
Sources within National Conference have indicated that former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah would be representing the party at the meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. ‘Farooq Sahab could be accompanied by Mehbooba ji or Tarigami. Final decision will be taken within next two days’, a source familiar with the internal talks indicated.
An All-Party meeting on Jammu & Kashmir will be held on Thursday morning in New Delhi chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Several former Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers of J&K have been invited to the meeting. The meeting is being seen as an outreach from New Delhi for the beginning of a fresh political process in J&K ever since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5th, 2019.
