APNI Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari said on Sunday, “Although New Delhi has suffered the people of Jammu and Kashmir for years, the solution to their problems will also have to come from New Delhi – not anywhere else.”
He said, “There will be no favor to restore the rights of Jammu and Kashmir; it is the responsibility of New Delhi.”
Addressing a party worker convention in Uri in Baramulla district of North Kashmir, the president of the APNI party today made this remark. The conference was attended by leaders of URI constituency and senior party workers.
Addressing the occasion, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari urged the Center to restore people’s rights. He said, “Center – no matter what was in power – has provoked many wounds over us. However, it should restore our rights, and that too as a responsibility, not a favor.”
He urged the Center to intervene and ensure that “NHPC fulfills the conditions fixed at the time of installation of power projects – including providing benefits to the local population – and that the development fund of the area is used properly in the respective areas.”
He said, “There are children of people who have given their land for these power projects? If not, provide employment to them according to the conditions prescribed at the time of installing these projects. Similarly, we want to know if the NHPC is using the field development fund properly,” he said.
He said, “The water flowing from Jammu and Kashmir has been sold to a neighboring country under a treaty for the last eighty years. But what has been given to the people of J& with this agreement? At least, we should get free electricity from these water.”
Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari also said that New Delhi has failed to spread the benefits of democracy to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
He said, “In 1947, we had chosen to live with India so that we could enjoy the benefits of democracy, but even decades were denied. In the 1987 elections, Syed Salhuddin emerged only because he had won the election but someone else was declared a winner.
He also blamed the ruling neck of the people through fake promises.
He said, “He (Nekan) has always misled people with false promises. This time, he claimed that he would restore articles 370 and 35A and ensure Jammu and Kashmir’s return to the state. He promised to provide one lakh jobs within six months of coming to power, which they were emptying all with a certain amount of free gas and electricity.
“Despite the promise of the Chief Minister, the government has failed to provide security bunkers for the border residents living with LOC, which remain constantly weak. I assure you that I will bring the matter to the notice of Lieutenant Governor and will ensure that these bunkers are constructed as soon as possible.” Whenever the President of the APNI party is held, the people urged people to vote wisely in the ULB and Panchayat elections.
Speaking on the occasion, senior vice -president of the party Ghulam Hasan Mir urged the Center to start talks with the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He said, “This is the right time for the Center to start a dialogue with the people of Jammu and Kashmir to address their pressure and complaints. It is necessary that such talks are to keep Jammu and Kashmir on the path of continuous peace, permanent prosperity and development.
Mir reiterated his demand for immediate panchayat and ULB pole in Jammu and Kashmir. He said, “Panchayat and urban local bodies (ULB) elections should be held without further delay so that people can get permission to hold elections at the ground level. These elections will strengthen democratic system and also empower common citizens.”
Ghulam Hasan Mir emphasized the need to create employment opportunities in Jammu and Kashmir. He said, “Increasing unemployment is a matter of serious concern here, and our youth are suffering from the challenges caused by unemployed.
Mir said that the primary agenda of the APNI party is to free people from politics of political harassment, exploitation and emotional slogans.
Apart from Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari and Ghulam Hasan Mir, the party’s chief leader, party district president Burmarla Shabir Ahmed Shah, senior Vice District President Burmula Mahmood Bukhari, Uri Choundary Mashtak, District Committee member Bermulla Maahakasad were included in the constitution area.
