IIOJK: With the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) scheduled to meet Tuesday, intra-party consultations in Jammu and Kashmir continued for a second day Monday to discuss the centre’s invitation for an all-party meeting with Narendra Modi on June 24.
The PAGD — a six-party alliance of mainstream parties which came into existence after the centre revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 — will meet at National Conference president Farooq Abdullah’s residence Tuesday to discuss the invite.
While the PDP has authorised its president Mehbooba Mufti to take a final call on the party’s participation in the all-party meet, the grouping is expected to come up with a joint strategy after the meeting.
The National Conference (NC) said on Monday it was good that the centre had realised that things will not work in IIOJK without the local mainstream.
“We have been saying that nothing has changed on the ground for the last two years. It is good that they have this realisation that things will not work here without the local mainstream. All their huge promises have turned hollow on the ground and nothing has been achieved,” NC provincial president, Kashmir, Nasir Aslam Wani, told reporters.
Wani said the change from “demonizing” the mainstream parties in J&K to inviting them for talks was good”.
“It is a good change. As much and how much you can demonise the mainstream of J&K, you cannot do without it because the mainstream in J&K has always proven.
“For that matter, the NC, being the premier political party of the erstwhile state, has that grassroots reach, without its involvement in such kind of dialogues and such kinds of conference, you cannot go ahead,” he said.
Other PAGD constituents — the CPM, CPI, People’s Movement and Awami National Conference — have not said much about the meeting.
Peoples Conference’s Sajad Lone, who has had a ”blow hot blow cold” relation with the centre since 2019, welcome the Prime Minister’s initiative, expressing hope the engagement would evolve into something much bigger and facilitate a return to democracy and empowerment of the people of the Union Territory.
After a meeting on Monday, the party said there is a need for involving all stakeholders to script a new social contract between Delhi and the people of J-K.
A party spokesman said the meeting discussed in detail the overall political scenario and ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir besides emphasizing the need for the political class to play a constructive role vis-à-vis ending the prevalent logjam and finding durable and democratic solutions to all the challenges facing the people of IIOJK.
