First meeting of Gupkar grouping in Jammu held

Former chief ministers Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader M Y Tarigami are among those attending the meeting.

The first meeting in Jammu of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), which was formed last month to fight for the restoration of Jammu & Kashmir’s special status, began amid protests at former chief minister Farooq Abdullah’s residence on Saturday.

A delegation of the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration, including Omar Abdullah, arrives in Drass, Kargil, to meet local leaders of the region (ANI)

Former chief ministers Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader M Y Tarigami are among those attending the meeting.

The PAGD, which has held meetings in Kashmir and Kargil, is deliberating on issues including the forthcoming District Development Council polls.

Ahead of the meeting in Jammu, Farooq Abdullah on Friday said he is 85 and would not die till the rights of his people are restored.

Mehbooba Mufti also lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre for stripping Jammu & Kashmir’s special status “at the dead of night” in August 2019.

Groups like Ikkjutt Jammu, Bajrang Dal, and Shiv Sena staged protests and burnt effigies of the “Gupkar gang” in Jammu.