Statements made by leaders were different than what was discussed in June 24 meeting: Bukhari

Says nobody talked about dialogue with Pakistan, invitees promised about participation of leaders from registered political parties in delimitation exercise

Srinagar, Jun 29: Apni Party president and former minister Syed Altaf Bukhari on Tuesday said that the statements given by the leaders after All Party Meeting on June 24 in New Delhi, were contrary to what was discussed inside.

Addressing a presser, Bukhari as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that nobody in the meeting talked about the dialogue with Pakistan. “There was no such discussion in the meeting. Every leader present on the occasion can tell you that nobody has talked about it,” he said.

Bukhari said that the discussion in the meeting was different than what was expected.

About Article 370 abrogation, he said, “I don’t believe that there will be any consensus in the parliament now, but, we have demanded that the matter should be expedited in the Supreme Court (SC).”

He said that he has sought constitutional guarantee regarding protection of lands and government jobs in Jammu and Kashmir. “We already met the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 8 in which I raised the apprehensions of people in Jammu and Kashmir regarding demographic changes following which the government issued an order regarding the protection of land and jobs. I thanked PM and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for taking the steps. Besides, I demanded constitutional guarantees in this regard in the recent meeting,” he said.

About the delimitation exercise, he said that he has demanded that the process should be postponed like other States till 2026, but added that the Union Home Minister didn’t agree to the suggestion in wake of the J&K re-organization act. “However, after raising apprehensions, the chair has assured us that the associate members will be from all the registered political parties, who have fought the recently held District development Council (DDC) polls to ensure transparency in the exercise,” he said.

“After assurances, we have started working on it and will present solid case to ensure justice to both the divisions,” he said—(KNO)