Days after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah led a protest in New Delhi seeking restoration of J&K’s statehood, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday announced Jammu and Kashmir-wide protests on 5 August in support of the party’s demand for restoration of Articles 370 and 35A alongside statehood and also “resolution of the Kashmir issue”
Speaking on the eve of the PDP’s 27th foundation day in Srinagar, Mehbooba also sought to end the controversy over her Jantar Mantar remarks on pellet gun use in Kashmir by expressing regret and saying a missing word had altered the meaning of her statement.
Mehbooba has chosen to organise the protests on 5 August as it was on this day in 2019 that the Modi government abrogated the Articles 370 and 35A. The J&K state was also downgraded and split into two Union Territories—J&K and Ladakh.
The protests will be held peacefully at all 20 district headquarters, she said.
A resolution adopted at the meeting stressed that a meaningful engagement with the people of Kashmir was only the way forward.
The resolution reiterated the party’s unwavering commitment to the peaceful and constitutional resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir issue. It reaffirmed the PDP’s continued democratic struggle for the restoration of Article 370, Article 35A and the constitutional guarantees that protected the unique identity and special status of Jammu & Kashmir.
The resolution also called for immediate release of political prisoners and detainees, an end to the misuse of preventive detention laws, and the restoration of democratic rights, civil liberties and the rule of law.
With militancy having significantly declined in many areas, the continued presence of security forces in civilian habitations must be reviewed, and the Army should progressively return to barracks wherever the security situation permits.
She also called for reopening of traditional routes connecting the divided Kashmir (J&K and PoK) and urged the Centre to allow Kashmiri Pandits to undertake pilgrimages to the Sharda Peeth shrine across the Line of Control (LoC).
Mehbooba apologised for her 23 July controversial remarks on the use of pellet guns by security forces in Kashmir, saying an “incomplete sentence” and a “slip of tongue” during a recent media interaction had caused hurt and misunderstanding.
Explaining her position, Mehbooba said she had unintentionally omitted a crucial word while speaking to the media. “I have spent 30 years of my political career reaching out to people who were targets of Ikhwan and other forces”, she said. “I left out the word ‘bahana’ while speaking about the use of pellet guns in Kashmir during one TV byte”.
She said that the video was genuine but argued that her statement had been interpreted without the missing word, which changed the meaning of the sentence. “Today I say the video is right, but I have been misquoted because one word was left out”, she said.