Kashmir Leaders Unite To Fight For Restoration Of Article 370, J&K Statehood; BJP Calls It Day-Dreaming

The development comes days after the Central government, earlier this week, decided to withdraw as many as 100 companies of security forces from the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.

(Image: Twitter/@JKNC_)

Srinagar: It has been a little over an year since abrogation of special status of the erstwhile state Jammu and Kashmir, and top Kashmiri leaders on Saturday once again pledged a combined effort for restoration of the pre-August 5 position of last year. As per reports,  six mainstream political parties of the valley have termed abrogation of Article 370 as a "spitefully shortsighted" and "grossly unconstitutional". A resolution termed Gupkar Declaration-II was circulated in media. It was signed by National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, J-K Congress chief G A Mir, Peoples' Conference leader Sajjad Lone, state CPM leader M Y Tarigami and Jammu and Kashmir Awami National Conference senior vice-president Muzaffar Shah. This is the first combined statement issued by the political parties after more than a year.

Party's Provincial President Nasir Aslam Wani, Party Treasurer Shammi Oberoi, Political Advisor to Dr Farooq Mushtaq Guroo were also present.

— JKNC (@JKNC_) August 22, 2020

The statement, acknowledging the difficulties in bringing out a resolution of all political parties, further stated that the signatories to the Gupkar Declation-I, signed on August 4, 2019, "have barely managed to establish basic level of communication with each other" in the face of a series of prohibitive and punitive curbs imposed by the government, aimed at impeding all social and political interactions. The limited confabulations held within the constraints imposed have resulted in this unanimous resolution, the statement added. These leaders had met on the eve of August 5, 2019 at the Gupkar residence of Abdullah and a statement, also known as 'Gupkar Declaration', had asked people to maintain calm and peace and urged the Centre not to alter the constitutional status of the erstwhile state. However, the very next day the government moved a resolution in Parliament and announced abrogation of Article 370, a provision giving edge in residency and jobs to local people, and also bifurcated it into two union territories -- Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir. “We all reiterate that we are bound, wholly, by the contents of the Gupkar declaration and will unwaveringly adhere to it. We are committed to strive for the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A, the Constitution of J&K and the restoration of the State and any division of the State is unacceptable to us. We unanimously reiterate that there can be ‘nothing about us without us’”, the joint statement said. The national and regional political parties termed the changes made in the state in August last year as "unfortunate" which have unrecognizably changed the relationship between Jammu and Kashmir and New Delhi. It said the measures undertaken last year were "grossly unconstitutional" and in reality measures of disempowerment and a challenge to the basic identity of the people of J-K. "The measures attempt to redefine who we are. These changes were accompanied by repressive measures meant to silence people and coerce them into submission, and continue unabated," it said. The political parties also expressed their gratitude to the people of India, political parties, intelligentsia and other civil society groups for opposing the unconstitutional measures of last year and standing with the people of J-K in this crises and appealed to them to continue with their "unstinted support to our just cause" till the unconstitutional measures of are undone and the special status restored. Touching upon the situation along Line of Control with Pakistan and Line of Actual Control with China, the resolution said, "We exhort leadership of the subcontinent to take due notice of the ever increasing skirmishes at the LAC and LoC resulting in casualties on both sides and unabated violent incidents in J-K and work for enduring peace in the region." The development comes days after the Central government, earlier this week, decided to withdraw as many as 100 companies of security forces from the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina on Saturday said the Kashmir-based politicians are day-dreaming for the restoration of Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution which is next to impossible . He claimed the controversial Articles were like a wall of hatred which did nothing except digging an ocean of misunderstandings and retarding the growth and development of the erstwhile state. Reacting to the statement, Raina said "the restoration of Articles 370 & 35(a) is next to impossible. Due to these Articles, J&K has suffered for decades and they gave rise to terrorism, separatism and flared up the Pakistani agenda and as such, they won't be restored at any cost". (With inputs from PTI)