Srinagar, July 16: Apni Party president Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Sunday said Jammu & Kashmir is destined to be with India and the solution to all its problems will come from New Delhi.
“Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India not because of the country’s army but because of the people of this land who chose to be associated with it in 1947. History stands witness to the fact that Kashmiris bravely resisted and pushed back the attackers by using sticks and stones against them,” Bukhari said while addressing a party workers’ convention at Batagund Tral in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
“The prevailing peace and harmony should be credited to the common people rather than the ruling party or the administration, as the people of this land have played a significant role in fostering peace in recent years,” he said.
Altaf Bukhari added, “Apni Party is committed to honesty and integrity and will not resort to falsehoods or make empty promises to the people. Therefore, unlike other conventional parties, we do not falsely promise the moon and stars. Instead, we promise that Apni Party, when given the mandate, will ensure the protection of the rights of Jammu and Kashmir people and bring prosperity and development to the region.”
“Over the past 75 years, traditional politicians and political parties have “misled” the people with their “deceitful narratives and emotionally charged slogans such as Rai Shumari, Autonomy, Self-Rule, and more. Time has proven all these slogans to be fake and deceptive. The political parties and their leaders used these alluring slogans only to attain power and remain in power,” he said, adding, “They also made people believe that they were for the protection of Article 370. Now, since this article stands abrogated, the same party and its leaders are trying to deceive people by claiming that they will get this abrogation undone. In reality, their sole objective is to attain power by using these deceptive slogans to secure votes from the public.”
While talking about the “real issues” the people of Jammu & Kashmir are facing, the Apni Party chief said, “We strongly believe that the solutions to our problems are with New Delhi. We are committed to ensuring that the central government addresses all the issues that are causing hardship for the people here. We are determined to work towards effective resolutions and seek the support and cooperation of the central government in addressing the challenges faced by our region.”
Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari appealed to people to stop falling prey to deceptive political narratives and emotional sloganeering by these politicians. He said, “It is your responsibility to tell these political mimickers that enough is enough. You should not trust those who have been deceiving you continuously for decades. You ought to hold these politicians accountable for their actions and words.”
He promised the people that the Apni Party would ensure equitable development across Jammu and Kashmir once the party got the mandate to serve the people. He reiterated his demand to the administration for the release of prominent religious leaders which he said “could play an important role in helping eradicate social evils, including drug abuse, in the valley”.
