Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 5: Apni Party (AP) has urged the Central Government to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir before the forthcoming assembly elections are held.
Addressing a huge party rally at Keller Block in south Kashmir’s Shopian district, AP president Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, said, “Since the Union Government has committed that it will restore the statehood to J&K, it will be a great initiative if the commitment is fulfilled before the forthcoming elections.” Statehood is something that the people of J&K feel a longing for since it was snatched away on August 5 in 2019, he added.
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Bukhari also demanded that the young Kashmiris who are currently behind the bars should be given a chance to get back into the national mainstream. “We cannot overlook the fact that they are our own kids, thus, the Apni Party would suggest that the Government should form a committee to look into the cases of these young people and see if they are willing to get a chance for a peaceful life,” the AP president asserted.
He said Shopian is one of the few places in whole J&K that the Almighty has bestowed with tremendous natural resources and full potential for enormous economic growth but the political parties who ruled J&K for decades never tried to harness the potential of this place. Bukhari said Apni Party will change the scenario of this district for the better if it is elected in the forthcoming elections.
While explaining his party’s vision for J&K, he said, “Our policy is very clear. We want sustained peace, durable prosperity and development of J&K, and economic empowerment of its people.”
Prominent party leaders present at the venue include senior vice president Ghulam Hassan Mir, chairman of the party’s political affairs committee Mohd Dilawar Mir, vice president and district president Shopian Zaffar Iqbal Manhas and chief coordinator Abdul Majeed Padder.
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