PDP launches signature campaign for complete ban on liquor

The bills have been submitted by a PDP legislator from Kupwara Fayaz Mir, AIP legislator from Langate Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh and NC legislator Ahsan Pardesi

As the clamour for an alcohol ban grows in Valley, the daughter of former J&K chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti on Saturday began a signature campaign to garner support for the ban even as three legislators submitted private bills in the J&K assembly in support of the same.

Peoples Democratic Party leader Iltija Mufti kicks off a signature campaign to ban Liquor in Srinagar on Saturday. (ANI)

The bills have been submitted by a PDP legislator from Kupwara Fayaz Mir, AIP legislator from Langate Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh and NC legislator Ahsan Pardesi.

Traders in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir are also demanding an alcohol ban.

Iltija, while starting the signature campaign from the party office, sought support from other political parties, including the National Conference (NC) and BJP.

“Our member from Kupwara Fayaz Mir has moved a bill in the J&K assembly seeking a ban on the sale of alcohol. Kashmir is known as the Valley of saints so I request other political parties be PC, NC or the BJP to support this bill as drugs and alcohol are ruining our young generations,” Iltija, who was accompanied by several party leaders and workers, told media.

Earlier the PDP was scheduled to launch the campaign from Sher e Kashmir Park, however, police didn’t allow PDP workers to function inside the park.

Iltija, appreciating the police action against drug issues, asked the police to launch a similar campaign against alcohol.

“Police should act the same way against the use of alcohol and they have been doing good work to curb drug menace across J&K,” Mufti said if Bihar and Gujrat can be dry states what’s the problem with J&K also becoming a dry state?

On Friday, traders in Lalchowk and other markets had raised hoarding and banners seeking a ban on the sale of alcohol. However, the police removed all those banners.

Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq criticises police action

“Why was this signboard seized? What exactly is wrong with urging tourists to respect local culture, avoid alcohol and use of drugs, and keep the city clean? Shopkeepers of Lal Chowk informed me about this. Is promoting moral values and decency now a crime in Kashmir,” Mirwaiz wrote on X.

J&K Police is advised not to work like colonial power: Srinagar MP

Senior NC leader and Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah also questioned police action.

“Even appealing to tourists to respect local sensitivities is now illegal in Kashmir. Will @JmuKmrPolice clarify which law was violated by the signboard? Or is the only law in place the one that silences Kashmiris? The colonial LG administration in cahoots with the security forces, has turned Kashmir into an Orwellian nightmare—where people can’t protest, safeguard their identity, or even speak for their culture.

Suppression breeds resentment. The more you push Kashmiris to the wall, the stronger their will to break it down.

Kashmiris like any other society in this country have the right to preserve and protect their culture and faith.@JmuKmrPolice is advised to not work like a colonial power but to work and behave as local police guided by law and respectful to the community and its sensitivities,” MP Srinagar said in a long post on X.

Iltija shared the private member's bill on X which a PDP legislator from Kupwara Mir Fayaz submitted in the assembly. However after the bills were submitted to the assembly, J&K NC chief spokesman, Tanvir Sadiq who is also a legislator sparked a major controversy when he said before any ban stake holders associated with the hotel and tourism industry should be taken into confidence, he also said even in Muslim majority countries there isn’t any ban on the sale of alcohol.

However, Sadiq later retracted his statement after receiving public back lash on social media saying that he too wants an alcohol ban. The J&K government earns a good amount of revenue from alcohol.