Outcome of recent meeting with PM on J&K disappointing: PAGD

Making their stand public for the first time after their meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi last month, the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on Monday expressed disappointment at the outcome of the Delhi parleys.

The PAGD leaders, who held a closed door meeting at the Gupkar residence of National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Sunday evening, said in the absence of any substantial confidence building measures, “such as releasing of political and other prisoners and taking concrete steps to end the siege and atmosphere of suppression that has choked J&K since 2019, the outcome of Delhi meeting has disappointed them.”

They reiterated their commitment to fight together to reverse the “unconstitutional and unacceptable” changes foisted on the people of J&K on August 5, 2019.

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The meeting which besides Abdullah was attended by PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, CPI (M) senior leader Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, NC leader and MM Justice (retd) Hasnain Masoodi and NC vice-president Omar Abdullah, vowed to use all constitutional, legal and political means at its disposal to restore the erstwhile state’s special status.

“The PAGD’s struggle for undoing unconstitutional and unacceptable changes of August 5, 2019 will continue as long as it takes while striving to achieve this objective as early as possible,” Tarigami, who is also spokesperson of the PAGD, told DH.

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“As far as the restoration of statehood is concerned, it has been BJPs commitment on the floor of the Parliament and they must honour their word. So any assembly election must be held only after restoration of full statehood for J&K,” he said and added to this end the PAGD has decided to reach out to other political parties in J&K with a view to take a common position over the issue.

It was the first meeting of the PAGD after meeting the PM on June 24 in New Delhi. The meeting also assumes significance as it came just two days ahead of visit of the Delimitation Commission to the Union Territory (UT).

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The PAGD is an alliance of NC, PDP, CPM, Peoples Movement and ANC - formed in October last by Kashmir centric leaders with the pledge towards restoration of the special status of J&K revoked by the Center in August 2019. Four PAGD leaders including Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and Tarigami were among 14 J&K leaders who held a meeting with the PM in Delhi on June 24.