People’s Conference asks PM to restore credibility of institution of dialogue

People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone holding meeting of party leaders. (Pic. by Mohsin Khan)


The Sajad Lone led Peoples Conference on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restore the credibility and sanctity of the institution of dialogue and script a new social contract between Delhi and J&K to address the aspirations of the people of the union territory (UT).

Lone chaired a meeting of the party leaders in Srinagar in the context of the All Party meeting called by the Prime Minister on 24 June.

The meeting discussed in detail the overall political scenario and ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir besides emphasizing the need for the political class to play a constructive role vis-à-vis ending the prevalent logjam and finding durable and democratic solutions to all the challenges facing the people of J&K.

“The participants expressed their appreciation for the initiative of the Prime Minister and hoped that this engagement would evolve into something much bigger and facilitate return to democracy and empowerment of the people of J&K.

The participants insisted that the chairman of the party should convey unequivocally the pain and suffering of the people of J&K. However, they also emphasized the need for creative thinking to address the pain and suffering of the people of J&K and hoped that the engagement will be positive, decisive and result-oriented”, PC spokesperson Adnan Ashraf Mir said.

The participants unanimously emphasized the scripting of a new social contract between Delhi and the people of J&K to address the aspirations of the people of J&K.

“It is imperative to restore the credibility and sanctity of the institution of dialogue. There is a lot of pain and suffering prevalent in J&K. There are many harsh ground realities that the Prime Minister should be aware of. We feel that we must express and inform the PM of our pain and suffering. We believe that as political workers we are duty-bound to facilitate movement towards restoration of democracy and empowerment of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Post-August 5, there is a dire need for scripting a new social contract between Delhi and the people of J&K to address the aspirations of the people of J&K.”, he added.

The meeting was attended by senior PC leaders Basharat Bukhari, Mansoor Hussain Soharwardy, Adv Bashir Ahmad Dar, Abid Ansari, Mohammad Khurshid Alam, Raja Aijaz Ali, Mohammad Abbas Wani, Mohammad Ashraf Mir, Irfan Panditpori and Rashid Mehmood.

Meanwhile, Panthers Party chief Prof.Bhim Singh assured the party leaders that he shall convey the voice of the people of J&K to the Prime Minister in this difficult time. Issue of restoration of statehood for J&K will also be raised in the meeting, he said.

All secular, democratic parties and others stand for the restoration of statehood among other issues which shall be presented to the Prime Minister, Bhim Singh said.

The Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) is scheduled to meet on Tuesday in Srinagar to take a final decision on the issue of participation in the meeting. The PAGD members might also try to persuade PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti to attend the PM’s meeting.