Sajad Lone alleges pressure on PC to allow ‘safe passage’ in Kupwara

Srinagar, Sept 16: People’s Conference (PC) chairman Sajad Gani Lone on Monday claimed his party is under pressure from “certain forces” to grant “safe passage” to individuals in the Kupwara assembly segment.
Addressing a press conference here, Lone firmly said that neither he nor his party would yield to any form of intimidation.
“Whether these pressures come from government or non-government entities, directly or indirectly, we will not grant safe passage to anyone in Kupwara,” he asserted. “No matter what happens, such attempts will not succeed. They are wasting their time.”
The PC chief said the resilience of his party made it clear that threats or coercion would not sway their resolve. “We are not afraid, and we will not bow to any pressure,” he declared, adding that even the reopening of old cases would not intimidate his party. “We remain unconcerned by such tactics,” he added.
In a strong appeal to the central and local administrations, Sajad Lone urged them to avoid repeating the mistakes of the 1987 Kashmir elections, which he described as a tragedy for the region. “I appeal to the central government and local authorities to remember the events of 1987 and avoid any repetition. It would be a tragedy if those events were to recur, directly or indirectly,” he said. “The Kashmir region, unlike Jammu, seems to be overrun by agencies, and nothing is clear anymore. We no longer know who is aligned with whom or what is happening.”
Lone criticised the situation as a “poorly executed plan from Delhi”, saying, “It’s a very badly managed operation from Delhi, with so many obvious clues and missteps that it’s hard to comprehend.”