Ex-BBC staffer joins PDP

A former radio newsreader with the BBC, Nayeema Ahmad Mahjoor, joined J&K’s main opposition People’s Democratic Party in presence of its patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed here on Thursday.

On the occasion of her joining, Nayeema, daughter-in-law of Kashmiri Poet Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad Mehjoor, said the situation in the state “be it political, economical or societal, has gone from bad to worst over the years.”

“My joining the party is to see a change in the governance discourse, peace and accountable system in the state,” she said.

The former BBC newsreader who spent decades in the UK said the environment of suspicion has increased manifold and even people are suspecting each other. 

“And to challenge and change the situation people need to come into politics and by mourning over the situation they can’t change anything,” she said. 

“I can’t overlook the pathetic economic situation around and can’t remain silent to the sufferings of people and I have come forward for the woman who is helpless to the situation, and for the young girl who is feeling insecure and for the young man who is looked down upon by suspicion both in and outside the state,” she added. 



At a press conference at his Gupkar residence, Mufti Sayeed said the emergence of Aam Aadmi Party in New Delhi is a good omen for the politics of the country and has given a hope that people with ideas and missionary zeal can help in creating a new political environment.

Welcoming Nayeema into the party-fold, Mufti said the appearance of the PDP on the political sphere of Jammu and Kashmir changed the political discourse in the state and helped a great deal to end the monopoly of a single party. Mufti said it helped competitive democratic exercise that not only provided people an alternative but resulted in generation of hope and reduction of distress in a substantial measure.