Mehbooba Mufti urges focus on Kashmir’s core issue, not just statehood

ISLAMABAD   -  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti, in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir(IIOJK), has underscored that the Kashmir issue transcends the immediate political focus on assembly elections and statehood. According to Kashmir Media Service, addressing reporters at the PDP office in Srinagar, Mufti criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for narrowing the Kashmir conflict, which has caused immense loss of life and suffering – to a series of political steps, namely the restoration of statehood and assembly polls. “The BJP has reduced the Kashmir issue for which thousands have died, thousands have orphaned and we suffered losses of billions to the mere conduct of assembly elections,” Mufti asserted. She emphasized that the BJP’s approach has been to diminish the complex and deep-rooted Kashmir issue to a mere focus on Article 370 and statehood, which is now being linked solely to the upcoming polls. Mufti further criticized the growing chorus among political parties calling for the restoration of statehood following the elections, equating it to “looking for shoes after amputating the feet.” She argued that such a narrow focus on statehood fails to address the larger and more critical issues facing Kashmir. “Limiting the issue just to statehood is an injustice to the people of Kashmir,” she said.

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