Zuhaib Yousf Mir, senior leader and spokesperson of the Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (JKPDP), described Kashmir as a “depressed society”.

Pointing out that the growing drug menace and unemployment have created widespread despair in the region, he said Kashmir is gradually turning into “Udta Kashmir”, referring to the growing trend of drug abuse in the society. He, however, had no clue to the origins of the drugs. “It has become a very huge menace. A lot of people die of overdose. This owes it to the depression among a lot people in the society.”

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Speaking exclusively to The Statesman, Mir, who is also the general secretary of the Party’s Youth Wing, said the root cause of the demand for drugs in the region is prolonged conflict. “Kashmir, because of this conflict from the last 30 years, has become a depressed society. Seeing your own kith and kin dying, slapped with Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) incarcerations, unemployment, armed men at every 30 meters on the road, create a psychological disorder,” he said, adding, “This has generated the demand for drugs. Proliferated in the country, Kashmir is an extension to it.”

Addressing the issue of growing unemployment in the region, the JKPDP leader said many young people are opting not to pursue education beyond class 12, believing it to be a waste of time due to limited job opportunities. “They think it is better to engage in some work and add wealth to the family. They feel their future is not very safe with education, which is retrogressive thinking,” Mir said.

He further pointed out that young people have become disillusioned by the recruitment scams over the past few years. “Having seen a lot of scams in recruitment in the past four years, a person is bound to feel that his education is a complete waste of time. Somewhere he gets deluded which is again a reason for depression,” he added.

Reflecting on the recent Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections, Mir, who contested and lost from the Lal Chowk Constituency, mentioned that the PDP’s 2014 alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) negatively impacted their chances. He noted that the alliance, initially formed by the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was intended to be conditional. The conditions included the assurances that the BJP won’t alter Article 370, engage with Hurriyat, or change the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

“After the death of Sayeed and Mehbooba Mufti’s tenure as chief minister, the BJP kept going back on their words. They were making continuous assaults on the functioning of the government. They had this plan to obliterate Article 370. The fact that we aligned with the BJP was something that emotionally hurt the people,” Mir said.

He added that the alliance not only emotionally defeated the people in Kashmir but also alienated the youth, who were teenagers at that time. “The youngsters, who were teens at that time, have been consistently told that BJP’s alliance with the PDP has paved the way for the removal of Article 370. Now, as voters, they started to have an antipathy towards the PDP,” he explained.

Mir also castigated the BJP for exploiting Kashmir’s diversity to deepen regional divide. “What they have done ensured that Jammu people are convinced that Kashmiris are against their interest and vice versa,” he said, accusing the BJP of weaponizing these divisions.