Apni Party Urges United Political Fight For Restoration Of Statehood & Constitutional Rights

SRINAGAR : Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party on Tuesday called upon all political parties to unite and jointly press for the restoration of statehood and other constitutional rights of Jammu and Kashmir that were revoked after August 5, 2019, saying stakeholders must adopt a coordinated strategy and engage with the Centre in one voice.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in Srinagar, Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari said that the party’s Political Affairs Committee had recently met to deliberate on the prevailing political situation, particularly the demand for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
“We observed that some political parties are trying to derive political mileage from this serious and sensitive issue,” he said.
Referring to the ruling National Conference (NC), Apni Party president said, “NC has announced that it will hold a protest at Jantar Mantar in the national capital on the opening day of Parliament’s Monsoon Session, demanding the restoration of statehood to J&K. Through this move, the NC is trying to reduce a broader issue to a party-specific demand, whereas the matter is far more important and requires collective efforts to persuade New Delhi to restore statehood and other constitutional rights of J&K.”
“I had recently said at a convention in Jammu that the way the leaders and representatives of Ladakh and Kargil set aside their differences and united to pursue their demands with New Delhi, we too must unite to raise our genuine demands. Apni Party has always been of the opinion that whatever has to be received will come from New Delhi, not from anywhere else,” he said.
“But, we have to speak in a united voice while urging the Centre to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood and the other constitutional rights and guarantees that were taken away on August 5, 2019, and thereafter. Let all stakeholders come together to identify and prioritise the issues, formulate a roadmap, and then engage with the Centre in a coordinated and constructive manner. A confrontational approach towards the Centre will not serve our interests,” he added.
He said that Apni Party would support any joint effort to raise genuine issues with the Centre, no matter who initiates such an effort.
Bukhari also urged the Centre to initiate a dialogue with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially the youth, as had been promised by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister themselves.
“The people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially our youth, are grappling with a range of serious challenges. There are lakhs of educated young people suffering due to unemployment. Corruption, deeply rooted in the system, has made the common man’s life miserable. We have a large number of people in prisons who deserve a pardon so that they can live normal lives with their families,” he said.
He further said, “Statehood is our top priority, but at the same time, our other constitutional rights also need to be restored as soon as possible. Like, there should be a reversal of the merger of the J&K IAS and KAS cadres with AGMUT. All other rights that were taken away from us should also be restored.”  (Agencies)