SRINAGAR: The leaders of six parties in Jammu and Kashmir, who are signatories to the August 22 'Gupkar Declaration' vowing to fight for Article 370 restoration, will be meeting for the first time on Thursday evening to decide on the future strategy and roadmap on how to carry forward the struggle for restoration of J&K's special status, abrogated by the Centre on August 5 last year.
The National Conference president, three-time former J&K Chief Minister and sitting Lok Sabha MP Farooq Abdullah has called a meeting of all Gupkar Declaration signatories Thursday evening at his Gupkar residence to discuss the way forward for the struggle on Article 370 restoration.
The signatories of "Gupkar Declaration-II" on August 22 included Farooq Abdullah, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, J&K Congress chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir, CPI (M) State secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, People's Conference chairman Sajjad Gani Lone and Awami National Conference vice president Muzaffar Shah.
On August 5 last year, the Centre scrapped Articles 370 and 35A, which granted special status and special privileges to J&K residents, and bifurcated J&K into two Union Territories (UTs) – Jammu and Kashmir (with legislature) and Ladakh (without legislature).
A day before the revocation of Article 370, the J&K parties had joined hands on August 4 and signed the "Gupkar Declaration" and vowed to protect J&K's special status. After abrogation of Article 370, all mainstream leaders including three former CMs were detained.
The crucial meeting of party leaders on Thursday evening is being held two days after the release of PDP chief and former chief Mehbooba Mufti after an over 14-month-long detention. She was the only mainstream leader still under detention under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) till her release on Tuesday evening.
The meeting is likely to chalk out the next steps in the struggle for the restoration of Article 370.
The political leaders will discuss whether to carry forward the political struggle along with the legal battle for the restoration of J&K's special status and its position as it had been till August 4, 2019.
It is expected that the parties may discuss roadmaps on how to take the struggle forward and whether to involve the public by launching a public agitation to influence the central government to change its stand.
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This meeting of J&K's political leaders will be keenly watched across the J&K and the rest of the country too. The meeting assumes significance as it will decide how the future will shape up, especially in the militancy-hit Valley.
An overwhelming majority in Kashmir want the restoration of Article 370 and the August 4, 2019 position and the public opinion in Jammu has also changed since August 5 last year when J&K's special status was scrapped. Now people and parties in Jammu are also concerned about the jobs and the status of land of the locals and will want some constitutional safeguards to protect the interests of J&K residents.
Like parties in Kashmir, some Jammu-based parties too are critical of the domicile law introduced by the Centre in J&K after the revocation of Article 370. Besides, the Jammu-based parties are not happy with downgrading of J&K state into a UT and want the restoration of J&K's statehood.
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