Sajad Lone (front row, third left) addresses a press conference with other leaders during the launch of new alliance.
Credit: PTI Photo
Srinagar: Amid Jammu and Kashmir’s already fragmented and turbulent political terrain, three Valley-based parties announced the formation of a new alliance on Monday, aiming to present a united front in a region long torn by conflict, competing ideologies, and electoral unpredictability.
The newly-formed coalition, named the People’s Alliance for Change, brings together three distinct political forces -- the Peoples Conference (PC) led by Sajjad Gani Lone, a former separatist turned mainstream politician and sitting MLA; the Peoples Democratic Front (PDF), headed by veteran politician and former legislator Hakim Mohammad Yasin; and the Justice & Development Front (JDF) -- a recently floated party comprising former members of the now-banned Jamaat-e-Islami.
The alliance was formally announced during a press conference held in Srinagar, where JDF President Shamim Ahmad Thoker laid out the collective vision of the new grouping.
“We must unite to serve the people,” Thoker said. “This alliance is the beginning, not the end. We will reach out to other like-minded parties to join us in our pursuit of change. This platform seeks to unite those who have endured pain and exclude those who have inflicted it.”
The announcement was accompanied by the release of a founding charter titled the ‘Declaration for Change’, which lays out the alliance’s core objectives and political roadmap.
Chief among them is the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A, which granted special constitutional status to Jammu and Kashmir, along with the reinstatement of full statehood.
The declaration also commits the alliance to exploring all peaceful political avenues to achieve these goals.
In a pointed critique of the current political setup, the declaration denounced the existing reservation policy in the Union Territory as “discriminatory” against the people of Kashmir.
It further called for a comprehensive general amnesty for political detainees, incarcerated youth, and others affected by years of conflict and state action.
“Healing and reconciliation require courage,” the document reads. “We choose inclusion over exclusion.”
The alliance also took aim at the long-practiced duality in political discourse—where regional leaders often tailor their messaging differently for Delhi and for the people of Kashmir.
The declaration condemned this as a betrayal of public trust, asserting that the new alliance would maintain transparency and consistency in its political messaging.
While the PC and PDF have, in the past, walked independent political paths, their decision to come together with JDF—seen as a platform for Jamaat’s ex-cadres—signals a significant recalibration of Kashmir’s political currents, especially amid rumors of restoration of statehood and new assembly elections.
The alliance also reflects a broader shift in strategy among smaller regional parties who have often struggled to assert themselves against larger political formations.