New Delhi is attempting “to rope in” the disgruntled political parties of Jammu and Kashmir, including Kashmir-based grouping Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), to engage with it, reported The Hindu.
The newspaper reported that attempts are also being made to set up meetings between the representatives of these political parties with the top leadership of the ruling BJP “in the coming weeks”.
The initiative appears to be the first major step by New Delhi to break the ice in Kashmir, where major political parties have remained muted since the abrogation of the limited autonomy in August 2019.
The Hindu in its report quoted “top sources privy to the parleys on the backchannels”.
“People mandated by the Centre are in touch with the top leaders of the regional political parties of J-K for many weeks. It included the region’s oldest political party National Conference (NC), whose president Farooq Abdullah also heads the Gupkar alliance,” the newspaper reported.
It further reported that Peoples Conference’s Sajad Lone and J&K Apni Party’s Altaf Bukhari “may also be taken on board to make a headway in Kashmir”.
“If all goes well, Jammu and Kashmir’s leaders are likely to travel to New Delhi and hold a meeting with the top BJP leadership. The talks are likely to revolve around the return of Statehood status to the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and the early Assembly election for now,” the report said.
