‘Not just Statehood’: PDP chief lists conditions for joining NC’s Delhi protest

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the principal Opposition in Jammu and Kashmir, on Saturday indicated that it may skip the National Conference (NC)-led protest demanding Statehood at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on July 20 unless the ruling party includes issues such as restoration of Article 370, release of political prisoners and lifting of the ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami in its agenda.“Any movement confined solely to the demand for Statehood would amount to legitimising the abrogation of Article 370. Limiting the political struggle to Statehood echoes the BJP’s narrative by pushing Article 370 into the background and risks whitewashing the illegal and unconstitutional actions of August 5, 2019,” PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said in a letter to NC president Farooq Abdullah.Thanking the NC for extending an invitation to the PDP, Ms. Mufti said, “The people of Jammu and Kashmir continue to carry the collective humiliation and dehumanisation inflicted after the abrogation of Article 370 and the downgrading of the erstwhile State into a Union Territory.”‘Article 370 restoration’She said the constitutional guarantees that formed the basis of Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to India were removed “in a single stroke”. “Both the PDP and the National Conference had promised the restoration of Article 370 in their 2024 Assembly election manifestos, and the overwhelming mandate received by the NC reflected the people’s faith in that promise,” Ms. Mufti said.“The NC has remained a mute spectator to several developments, including the dismissal of government employees, action against Jamaat-e-Islami and its affiliated institutions, arbitrary detentions, restrictions on literature and environmental degradation,” she added.She urged Mr. Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to convene an all-party meeting involving regional political parties and civil society to formulate a common road map for addressing the political and constitutional issues confronting Jammu and Kashmir. Published - July 19, 2026 12:56 am IST