Hurriyat Chief Urges Statehood Protest to Address Broader Issues

SRINAGAR: Hurriyat Conference chairman and cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is among 52 political leaders invited by J&K’s ruling party National Conference (NC) for statehood protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, has asserted that that protest should go beyond statehood and include restoration of Articles 370 and 35A, rights of political prisoners, and peaceful conflict resolution. In his Friday sermon at historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, Mirwaiz confirmed that he has received an invitation from NC president Farooq Sahib for attending the statehood protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. The NC is planning a protest on the first day of parliament’s monsoon session at Jantar Mantar New Delhi to press for restoration of statehood to J&K. The party has invited 52 leaders of the country including Mirwaiz for the protest. The NC has applied for the permission for the protest and is yet to get go ahead. Referring to abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A and downgrading and bifurcation of erstwhile J&K state by centre, Mirwaiz said after the 2019 unilateral changes brought by the Government of India, the State of Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded to a Union Territory and its constitutional safeguards snatched from the people, leaving them vulnerable and disempowered. The Hurriyat chairman said any effort by any political alliance, organisation or individuals working for the restoration of the usurped rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir , if based on sincerity , is the need of the hour.