Srinagar, Dec 21: Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Front (J&K PDF) and former minister, Hakeem Muhammad Yaseen on Thursday said that leaders in Jammu “carrying a burden of blunders of the past” have a golden opportunity to secure guarantees on the restoration of constitutional rights for Jammu and Kashmir from the INDIA Alliance Opposition bloc and its partners.
In a statement issued here, Hakeem urged J&K leaders to prioritize the implementation of the 1975 accord signed by the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi with the late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, placing greater emphasis on this than merely seeking seat-sharing arrangements for two or three Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir.
Highlighting that the people of J&K would repose faith in their leaders only if they seek guarantees for the restoration of the constitutional position of Jammu and Kashmir, as outlined in the 1975 Indira-Abdullah accord, Hakeem said that seeking constitutional safeguards from successive Central governments could have prevented the scraping of the constitutional position enjoyed by the erstwhile J&K state under Article 370 and Article 35 A.
He called upon the J&K leaders to seek constitutional rights of Jammu and Kashmir on land, jobs, law-making and the status of a full-fledged state from the INDIA Alliance Opposition Bloc.
The PDF chairman advised against forming alliances with the country’s mainland opposition solely for seat-sharing and power. Instead, he urged leaders to enter into an agreement with the INDIA Alliance Opposition bloc to ensure the restoration of constitutional rights for Jammu and Kashmir, akin to those enjoyed by several other states in the country.
