Restore J&K statehood before Assembly polls: PAGD

Srinagar, July 5 The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on Monday said that the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir must be held after restoration of Statehood.

In a statement, the PAGD said the alliance members met on Sunday evening under the chairmanship of National Conference President Farooq Abdullah at his residence in Srinagar.

The meeting, attended by PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, CPI-M leader 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.

"The PAGD reiterated its commitment to fight together to reverse the unconstitutional and unacceptable changes foisted on the people of J&K on 5th August, 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," the statement said.

The statement further said that all the members of the PAGD expressed their disappointment 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 and taking concrete steps to end the siege and 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," the statement said.

"As far as restoration of statehood is concerned, it has been BJPs commitment on the floor of Parliament and they must honour their word. So any Assembly election must be held only after restoration of full statehood for J&K. To this end the PAGD has decided to reach out to other political parties in J&K with a view to take a common position on the issue."

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