J&K leaders in a huddle after govt’s call for meet
PDP calls a meeting today to discuss the offer, Congress says will attend if invited
SRINAGAR: After receiving a call from the Centre to participate in an all-party meet with leaders of Jammu and Kashmir next week in New Delhi, several local parties are conducting meetings with their cadre on the key issues.
The People’s Democratic Party on Sunday called a meeting of its Political Affairs Committee (PAC). PDP spokesperson Suhail Bukhari said, “Our party president has been informed about an all-party meeting to be held in Delhi. There has been lot of such news in last many days, though there wasn’t any formal invitation but our party president was informed about the meeting via phone.”
He added the PAC of the PDP will be meeting on Sunday.
Late on Friday, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, too, confirmed receiving the invite. “Yes, I have received a call but not a formal invitation yet. I am holding a PAC meeting tomorrow to discuss the same and take a decision on whether to participate or not in the meeting,” she said.
“There is no agenda for the meeting, but I was conveyed that the meeting is being called to review the general situation and how to take the political process forward. There is no clear-cut agenda,” she added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to chair a meeting with all political parties from Jammu and Kashmir on June 24 as part of the Centre’s initiatives to bolster political processes, including holding assembly elections, in the union territory, according to officials.
The Centre has also begun the process of inviting National Conference (NC) chief Farooq Abdullah, Altaf Bukhari of the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP), and People’s Conference head Sajjad Lone for the discussions, officials said. Asked about the prospect of talks with the Centre, CPI(M) leader and spokesperson of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) M Y Tarigami said there has been no word from Centre, but added that if it happens, it would be welcomed. “We have never closed our doors for engagement with the Centre. Though I have no information about any dialogue, if it happens, it will be welcomed,” Tarigami said.
The PAGD is an alliance of some parties in Jammu and Kashmir, including the NC and the PDP, which was formed in the aftermath of the Centre’s August 2019 decisions.
Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief GA Mir said he has not received any information regarding the all-party meet with PM Modi. “We have not received any information regarding the all-party meet with PM. If we get an invitation for the round table meeting, we will convey it to the national leadership. There will be a consultation and we will attend the meet,” he said.
Mir also said that the party appreciates the Centre’s gesture of dialogue, be it with any group of leaders, to promote employment, peace, and harmony in the UT. General Secretary of J&K’s Apni Party, Rafi Ahmad Mir also said that the party did not receive an invitation for the meeting. “We have not received any formal invitation yet. We are waiting for the invitation. In case we receive it, I think it is a good opportunity for the people and political parties to raise the issues we are facing,” he added.
However, the party led by former minister Altaf Bukhari has also called meeting of its powerful group on Monday in Srinagar to discuss important developments related to the J&K in past few weeks.
“Our party leadership will be meeting in Srinagar on Monday and all the developments related to Kashmir will be discussed,” Bukhari said.
He said that his party was always for the restoration of statehood and guarantees vis-avis land and the job rights.
The meeting -- the first such exercise since the Centre announced the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and its bifurcation into union territories in August 2019 -- is likely to be attended by Union home minister Amit Shah and other central leaders.