Mehbooba urges NC, BJP, Congress to unite and persuade Modi-Shah to discuss J&K's 'despair'

Srinagar: A proposal by PDP president Mehbooba Mufti seeking a united political outreach to New Delhi triggered a public exchange with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday after she made her letter to him public on social media, urging him to convene an all-party meeting on Jammu and Kashmir’s political future.

Responding on X, Omar Abdullah said Mehbooba had contacted him only recently seeking a meeting and rejected her suggestion that she had been waiting for an appointment for weeks.

The chief minister said the two had spoken on Saturday and that he had informed her he was in Pahalgam on Sunday, adding that he would get in touch on Monday or Tuesday to fix a meeting.

Omar further stated that since the correspondence had been placed in the public domain, he would respond to her proposal after consulting senior party colleagues.

The exchange came as Mehbooba reached out separately to the ruling NC, the BJP and the Congress, urging them to rise above political differences and jointly appeal to the Central government for a sustained dialogue process with the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

In letters addressed to Chief Minister, Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma of the BJP and J&K Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Hameed Karra, the PDP chief described J&K as being at a “critical juncture” marked by deepening despair, uncertainty and disillusionment nearly seven years after the abrogation of Article 370.

She said the recent engagement between the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance with the Centre demonstrated that “sincere dialogue can lead to meaningful outcomes”.

“The time has come for all of us to make a united appeal to the Hon’ble Prime Minister and the Hon’ble Home Minister, urging them to initiate a meaningful and sustained engagement with the people of Jammu & Kashmir,” she wrote.

Calling for political unity beyond ideological differences, Mehbooba said parties must keep “disagreements and contrarian views on the back-burner” in the larger public interest and warned against turning the initiative into a matter of political credit.

“I therefore urge you as head of government 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,” she wrote to Omar Abdullah.

The PDP chief’s outreach is notable for including the BJP alongside mainstream opposition parties, an unusual political configuration in the post-2019 political landscape of Jammu and Kashmir.

Political observers said Mehbooba’s move appears aimed at reviving a collective political conversation on J&K by shifting focus from electoral rivalries to a broader engagement with New Delhi.