Jammu and Kashmir’s six-party grouping, the Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), will meet on Tuesday to decide on their “joint strategy” over the invitation for an all-party meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 24.
“Everybody (from the alliance) is likely to attend this meeting in which the alliance leadership will take a decision about the invitation,” PAGD spokesman Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami said on the all-party meeting in Delhi that could possibly be the first step to starting the political process in Jammu and Kashmir.
The alliance leaders will also adopt a joint strategy after holding consultations, he said. The meeting will be held on Tuesday morning at the Srinagar residence of National Conference president and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah.
Fourteen leaders including former chief ministers and deputy chief ministers have been invited for the meeting, besides heads of the mainstream political parties.
The all-party meeting will be PM Modi’s first interaction with political parties of Jammu and Kashmir since August 5, 2019, when the central government abrogated the state’s special status and bifurcated it into Union Territories. The PAGD, a conglomerate of six political parties, was formed a year later, in October 2020, to fight for the restoration of Kashmir’s status pre-August 5, 2019.
The PDP has already authorised party president Mehbooba Mufti to take the decision on the invitation from Delhi while National Conference president and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah has convened a meeting of senior party leaders from Jammu on Wednesday. In the consultations that Farooq Abdullah has held so far, the majority view is that the NC should participate in the all party meeting and put across its stand, particularly on the revocation of Article 370 and the state’s autonomy.
{{/usCountry}}The PDP has already authorised party president Mehbooba Mufti to take the decision on the invitation from Delhi while National Conference president and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah has convened a meeting of senior party leaders from Jammu on Wednesday. In the consultations that Farooq Abdullah has held so far, the majority view is that the NC should participate in the all party meeting and put across its stand, particularly on the revocation of Article 370 and the state’s autonomy.
{{/usCountry}}Besides Farooq Abdullah, the National Conference will be represented by two of the parliament members - Mohammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi. Tarigami has also been invited as the general secretary of the CPI(M).