J&K people demand immediate return of statehood: Hakeem

Srinagar, Mar 04: People’s Democratic Front (PDF) chairman and former minister, Hakeem Muhammad Yaseen on Tuesday said further engagement with stakeholders for the restoration of J&K’s statehood is unnecessary.
In a statement, he said the decisive mandate given in the 2024 Assembly elections to a particular political party was explicitly for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional guarantees, particularly the return of its statehood.
Hakeem urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to set a clear timeframe for restoring statehood to J&K, saying any delay would be seen as a deliberate attempt to prolong the current proxy administration.
The former minister said that Jammu and Kashmir was a thriving state until 2019 but was “unjustly downgraded” and divided against the will of its people.
Hakeem asserted that the people’s desire for statehood was clearly reflected in the assembly elections, where a particular party received a decisive mandate based on its commitment to restoring J&K’s constitutional position.
He appealed to the Centre to respect the 2024 mandate and take immediate steps to reinstate statehood, rather than engaging in prolonged discussions with so-called stakeholders to delay the process.
The PDF chief said that since the Supreme Court, while directing the Centre to conduct assembly elections in J&K, had categorically supported the restoration of statehood, there is no justification for further delays.
He reminded the Centre of its repeated commitments, made by both the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, regarding the return of statehood.
Hakeem also warned that any unnecessary delay in the process would be perceived as a calculated move to continue the Centre’s direct rule in Jammu and Kashmir for political considerations.