Jammu and Kashmir govt disallows first PDP meeting since revocation of Article 370

Jammu and Kashmir administration on Thursday disallowed Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from holding its first meeting post revocation of Article 370 on August 5 last year.

Several leaders of the PDP were stopped by the police from leaving their residences to attend a party meeting scheduled at 11 am.

A spokesperson of the PDP said the meeting had been called to discuss several important issues including party president Mehbooba Mufti’s continued detention under the PSA (Public Security Act). However, he said, leaders were not allowed to attend the meeting.

Senior PDP leader and former minister Naeem Akhter while sharing a video on twitter said: “Despite being free on paper and in govt submissions in HC and SC, PDP Leadership continues to be under illegal detention, without any official orders. Video from today – I wasn’t allowed to attend the PDP meeting nor were any of my colleagues.”(sic)

The party also shared a video on Twitter, where another senior leader and former minister Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura was disallowed by policemen. “Administration that brazenly lied and misled Hon’ble High Court,” PDP wrote on Twitter.

Most of the PDP leaders, including Mehbooba, were detained by the government coinciding with the Parliament revoking J&K’s special status and bifurcating the erstwhile state into two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, with legislature, and Ladakh, without legislature, last August.

While most of the leaders have been released since then, Mehbooba continues to remain under detention. Since last August, several leaders, especially former ministers and legislators of the PDP left the party and joined the newly-launched Apni Party which is believed to be a proxy of the BJP.

The other major regional political outfit of J&K, the National Conference, has held a series of meetings over political developments in J&K in the last one month. It has also announced the launch of a joint political struggle with other mainstream parties including the one-time arch rival PDP for the restoration of J&K’s special status and its statehood.