SRI NAGAR: Two of Jammu and Kashmir’s major regional parties – National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – on Monday held their first political meetings ever since the scrapping of Article 370 and bifurcation of J&K state into two Union Territories (UTs) by the centre on August 5.
The NC’s second rung leadership held a meeting of the party’s provincial committee at the party headquarters in Srinagar.
The meeting was chaired by the party’s provincial secretary Showket Mir and was attended by the party’s district president and former MLA Pir Afaaq.
Party spokesman Imran Dar was also among those present.
At the meeting, the party strongly condemned the detention of its leaders and sought the release of all its detained leaders including former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah.
“The continuous confinement of political voices in J&K is not in anybody’s interest,” Dar said and demanded that all the incarcerated leaders be released unconditionally.
He said the participants also condemned implementation of NRC and Citizenship Amendment Bill and termed it as a crushing blow on India’s secular countenance and pluralistic ethos.
PDP leaders also held a meeting at party headquarters in Srinagar. The meeting was chaired by party secretary Abdul Hamid Kohsheen and attended by party’s second-rung leaders.
Talking to this newspaper, Kohsheen said the party leaders discussed the prevailing situation in the Valley.
“We will be approaching the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir to seek official permission to meet detained party president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. We have decided to meet Divisional Commissioner as Deputy Commissioner Srinagar has refused us permission to meet Mehbooba,” Kohsheen told this newspaper.
Ex-CMs still detained
Many mainstream leaders including three former CMs – Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti – and former ministers and legislators were detained immediately after scrapping of Article 370 on August 5.