Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari, on Thursday, said people have rejected the divisive politics in Jammu and Kashmir which was responsible for seven decades of suffering.

Addressing party activists here, Altaf Bukhari said people have accepted the politics of development and rejected the politics of hate and division.

Claiming that the people of J&K remained victims of traditional political parties which promoted divisive politics and resorted to emotional sloganeering, the Apni Party president asserted, “We promise what is achievable without misleading the people to gain their support. We believe that the issues of Jammu as well as Kashmir Regions are similar and their concerns must be addressed equally by providing them equal opportunity with regard to development and employment.”

He said while there is a pressing need to address the unemployment which has grown in the last several years before it is too late, the Lt Governor’s administration has failed to tackle the issue. He observed that the faith of the youth has shaken in the recruitment agencies, which he claimed is creating hurdles in the way of development, recruitments turning out to be major scams.

He contended that these anomalies can be fixed only when there is a popular government in J&K. In this context, he said called for early assembly elections and restoration of statehood to J&K.

Pointing out that the people in Kathua, Samba, Jammu and other districts have objections to outsiders grabbing their natural resources, contracts and other sectors due to which they have lost their source of earning, Bukhari reiterated his party’s committed to protect the rights of people and the natural resources of Jammu and Kashmir for the local residents.

“Employment must be reserved for unemployed local youth in the industrial sector in J&K and accordingly required skills should be provided to them so that the growing unemployment issue can be addressed,” he said.

In this direction, he demanded advertisement of all the vacant posts in various government departments for fast-track recruitment and special on-the-spot recruitment drives for the border residents of J&K in security forces.