Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, June 30: Former Chief Minister and acting president of the opposition National Conference, Omar Abdullah, today issued a directive to the party that no one except the president, acting president and general secretary of the party are authorized to issue political statements.
The directive was issued in the party meeting held here today to discuss the issue of NC statement issued against PC chairman Sajjad Lone. The senior NC leaders distanced themselves from the statement issued by the party on their behalf against Peoples Conference chairman Sajjad Lone.
Omar had sought explanation from leaders about how the statement without the consent of leaders has been issued.
A joint statement was issued by the NC media cell attributing it to senior leaders Chaudhary Mohammad Ramzan, Mir Saifullah, Mohammad Shafi Uri, Mohammad Akbar Lone, Qiaser Jamshed Lone, Kafil-ur-Rehman and Nasir Khan, in which NC had lashed out at Sajjad Lone for his defense of RSS ploys and secret plans in Kashmir. It had said it is in stark contrast to what Sajjad Lone, his family and his party had been saying during the two decade long turmoil in Kashmir.
However, next day Mohammad Shafi Uri, Shareef-ud-Din Shariq, Mir Saif-ullah, Akbar Lone and Qaiser Jamsheed Lone distanced themselves from the statement saying that they had not issued any such statement.
Reports said that the meeting which was attended by all these leaders resolved the issue and Omar issued a directive in which he authorized that president, acting president and general secretary can only issue the political statements.