Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday called for political unity in Jammu and Kashmir, urging all parties to come together on the lines of the joint movement launched by leaders in Ladakh.
Talking to reporters in Srinagar, Mufti said the Centre had started making “course corrections” following the decisions taken in 2019.
“And they started it from Ladakh. Whether it is the people of Leh or Kargil, the local leadership there rose above regional and religious interests, held 20 to 22 rounds of talks with the Centre and managed to achieve something. For this, they deserve congratulations,” she said.
Referring to the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), formed in 2020, Mufti said the alliance reflected the PDP’s belief that engagement was the only way forward.
She said all political parties in Jammu and Kashmir should once again unite on a common platform under the PAGD framework.
“When we formed the PAGD, the Centre was compelled to call us for an all-party meeting. There was pressure both from within and outside. But later, we became trapped in electoral politics. The people of Leh and Kargil did not get distracted by electoral politics. They had no Assembly, yet they managed to achieve so much. If we come together, it is not difficult for us to achieve a great deal as well,” Mufti said.
Appealing to all parties to unite, she stated, “Like the people of Leh and Kargil, we too should set aside our differences — whether regional, religious or political — and work together to achieve something meaningful. We should once again try to unite because we have seen that even though the government has 50 MLAs and representation in both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, it has not been able to persuade Delhi to initiate in Jammu and Kashmir the same process that was started in Ladakh.”
