PDP Chief Mehbooba urges united J&K outreach to PM, HM for dialogue

Srinagar, June 2: People’s Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti has reached out to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and leaders across the political spectrum in Jammu and Kashmir, calling for a united outreach to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union Home Minister Amit Shah to push for peace and renewed dialogue in the region.

In separate letters addressed on June 1 to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, BJP leader and Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, J&K Congress President Tariq Hameed Karra, and several other political and civil society leaders, Mehbooba said Jammu and Kashmir finds itself “yet again at a crossroads in its history where the pervasive feeling of despair & disillusionment has gripped the state.”

She advocated a joint delegation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union Home Minister Amit Shah to seek the resumption of sustained dialogue on Jammu and Kashmir.

The PDP chief said a collective and coordinated voice was essential to represent the aspirations, grievances, and concerns of the people of the union territory at the national level.

The former Chief Minister Mehbooba said the recent “breakthroughs’ achieved by the Leh Apex Body & Kargil Democratic Alliance with the Centre offer an important lesson that only dialogue can deliver meaningful outcomes.

“We have to keep our disagreements & contrarian views on the back burner to unite for the common good & collective welfare. This cannot become a matter of appropriating political credit or point scoring. Rather, it must become a moment of unification in the largest interest of people we all claim to represent,” Mehbooba said in the letter to Omar Abdullah.

“I therefore urge you as head of state to initiate the much-needed process of bringing all parties together through an official meeting. This will set the ball rolling for us to formally reach out to the central government. Given the fact that disagreements & squabbling between regional parties have been detrimental to the collective interests of J&K, a reasonable consensus, especially post-2019, is the only solution. If Ladakh could do it, so can we,” she said.

“However, your support is a prerequisite for the success of this political platform. Genuine unity in these difficult, unprecedented times can lead us towards restoring our rights and dignity of our people guaranteed by the Indian Constitution,” she said.

Mehbooba has sent a letter also to CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, People’s Conference Chairman Sajad Lone, MP Engineer Rashid, AAP President Mehraj Malik, PDF Chairman Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen, J&K National Panthers Party President Harsh Dev Singh, Shiv Sena (J&K unit) President Manish Sahni, Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti President Sanjay Tickoo, and Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee Chairman Jaspal Singh.