Farooq Abdullah announced an alliance with his archrival Mehbooba Mufti of the People’s Democratic Party
New Delhi:
Key political leaders of Jammu and Kashmir, including the patriarch of the National Conference Farooq Abdullah, his archrival Mehbooba Mufti of the People’s Democratic Party and Sajjad Lone, gathered tonight to fight for the restoration of Article 370 and the Kashmir resolution. The newly drafted “Declaration of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar” comes more than a year after the Center ended Jammu and Kashmir’s special status granted by the constitution and forked the status into two Union Territories.
Most of the political leaders in the Kashmir Valley have been in custody for a long time; it was part of the preventive measures against violent reactions taken by the Center last August, the day before making the big announcement in parliament.
Abdullah, 82, was released in March, days before the closure of the country was announced. Mehbooba Mufti was released on Tuesday.
“Our battle is a constitutional battle, we want the Government of India to return to the people of the state the rights they had before August 5, 2019,” Abdullah said. “We will fight for the restoration of what was taken from Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh,” he added.
Abdullah also said that the alliance seeks a dialogue among all stakeholders for the Kashmir resolution.
The head of the National Conference had called the meeting at his home to chart the future course of action on the “Gupkar Declaration” regarding the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Gupkar Declaration was signed on August 4, 2019, after an all-party meeting at Mr. Abdullah’s residence on Gupkar Road. It marked a resolution to assist regional parties and Congress to protect Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status and to fight any move to dilute it.
Two days later, the Center ended the special status of the state granted under Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcated it into two Union Territories.
This August, the political parties had met again and vowed to fight for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
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