Srinagar, Jun 2 : Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has written to political and civil society leaders across the Union Territory, calling for a united outreach to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to seek the resumption of dialogue on issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir.
In separate letters, Mufti urged leaders across party lines to set aside political differences and work towards a common platform to represent the aspirations and concerns of the people of Jammu and Kashmir before the Centre.
Addressing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Mufti said recent developments in Ladakh demonstrated that dialogue could lead to meaningful outcomes and that Jammu and Kashmir required a similar collective effort.
She said the region was facing a sense of despair and disillusionment and called for a broad consensus cutting across political and partisan lines to address the situation.
“The time has come to make a united outreach to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister and prevail upon them to initiate a sustained dialogue with the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” she said in the letter.
Mufti urged leaders not to treat the initiative as an exercise in political credit-seeking but as a collective effort aimed at restoring the dignity, security and constitutional rights of the people.
She also requested Abdullah to convene an all-party meeting to build consensus and formally engage with the Central government.
According to the PDP, Mufti reached out to Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, J&K Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra, CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, People’s Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone, MP Engineer Rashid, AAP leader Mehraj Malik, PDF chairman Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen, Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh and representatives of various community organisations.
Mufti said a united political effort was necessary to articulate the grievances and aspirations of the people and ensure meaningful engagement with the Centre on Jammu and Kashmir-related issues. (KNS).
