After days of suspense, the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on Tuesday announced that they will attend the Prime Minister’s all-party meeting on Jammu and Kashmir on June 24 in New Delhi, but “there will be no compromise on the Article 370 issue.”
“Our stand is clear and all of you know what our stand is. Since New Delhi has invited the leaders individually, we have decided that all those invited will attend the meeting and put forth their points on J&K,” National Conference president Farooq Abdullah told reporters here after chairing a meeting of the PAGD leaders at his Gupkar residence.
He said they will put their stand before the Prime Minister and (Union) Home Minister and when the meeting will end, “we will brief you about what we said and what was the response.”
Firebrand PDP president and former chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti said the agenda of their meeting is to demand restoration of what was snatched “illegally and unconstitutionally” on 5 August 2019 by the Centre.
“We are not against dialogue. I believe New Delhi should have released all political prisoners for creating an atmosphere for talks but it didn’t," she said.
CPI (M) senior leader, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, who is also the spokesman of the PAGD, said that there should be no “mistaken belief that we are going to sign on the agenda of New Delhi.”
“We are going to see what New Delhi’s offer is and if it is in the interest of the people of J&K, then only we will proceed. Otherwise there is going to be a big no from us,” he told reporters.
Awami National Conference (ANC) vice-president Muzaffar Shah, who is nephew of Farooq Abdullah, said there will be no compromise on Article 370 and Article 35 A.
The leaders of eight political parties — the NC, PDP, BJP, Congress, Apni Party, CPI (M), People's Conference, and the Panthers Party — were telephonically invited by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla for participation in the meeting to be held at the prime minister's residence in the national capital at 3 pm on Thursday.
The PAGD — an alliance of NC, PDP, CPM, Peoples Movement and ANC — formed in October last year by Kashmir-centric leaders with the pledge towards restoration of the special status of J&K revoked by the Center in August 2019 – had called a meeting today to discuss its strategy.
Sources privy to today’s meeting told DH that as soon the leaders assembled, Mehbooba was in favor of sending only Farooq Abdullah to attend the PM’s meeting on behalf of the PAG. “However, Tarigami and Abdullah convinced her by saying they should not repeat the mistake Hurriyat Conference leaders did in 2016 by refusing to talk to a Parliamentary delegation,” they revealed.
It was finally decided that Abdullah, Mehbooba and Tarigami will be attending the meeting on behalf of the PAGD.