by Yawar Hussain

SRINAGAR: Amid the ongoing quitting spree in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the party recently removed former minister and two-time lawmaker Abdul Haq Khan from the post of general secretary along with sidelining two parliamentarians Mir Mohammad Fayaz and Nazir Laway who are all conspicuously absent from all party events.

PDP President Mehbooba Mufti addressing a maiden press conference on Friday, October 23, 2020, after her release of detention. KL Image by Bilal Bahadur

Sources within the party reveal that the trio are likely to part ways with the party in the coming days which is already facing resignations by senior leaders on various accounts since the fall of its government on June 19, 2018.

Khan who was a cabinet minister and the general secretary was dropped last week by the party during its restructuring process in which Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura was retained on the post while Surinder Choudhary, Amreek Singh Reen and Arshid Malik were made general secretaries.

It is pertinent to mention here that both Khan and Fayaz were not part of the last month’s worker’s convention of the PDP in Kupwara which was presided over by Mehbooba Mufti herself

Mir Mohammad Fayaz who recently completed his Rajya Sabha term has also been skipping key party meetings while being openly critical of the Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) of which the PDP is a part.

Also, PDP Monday nominated a new face, Mohammad Afzal Wani as district president Kupwara.

Nazir Laway, who also completed his Rajya Sabha term as PDP member, was also missing from a similar party convention for workers in his native south Kashmir district of Kulgam which Mehbooba Mufti presided over.

Laway has been maintaining his distance from the PDP since August 5, 2019, while being critical of the PDP’s official stand

Laway was expelled from the party, when PDP President Mehbooba Mufti was under detention, for attending the swearing-in ceremony of first Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Girish Chandra Murmu days after the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A.

However,  Laway, who wasn’t detained like other J&K politicians had then stated that he can’t be expelled as Mehbooba Mufti was under detention.

“I am not aware of any decision of expulsion from the party. I don’t know who can expel me when the party president is in jail. I am still part of the party,” he had said.

Contrary to his own statement, Laway hasn’t been attending party meetings and functions while keeping a distance from the party.

The PDP on its part has kept the issue in cold storage with rumours rife that the three are likely to part ways with the party.

It is pertinent to mention here that the PDP hasn’t included the trio in its Political Affairs Committee which was also reconstituted last week.

Till now 10 former cabinet ministers of the PDP have left the party including Haseeb Drabu, Basharat Bukhari, Imran Reza Ansari, Choudhary Zulfiqar Ali, Altaf Bukhari, Khalil Bandh, Abdul Majeed Padder, Muzzafar Hussain Baig, Mohammad Ashraf Mir, and Javaid Mustafa Mir.

Also, 12 former legislators parted ways including Abid Ansari, Abdul Rahim Rather, Qamar Choudhary, Shah Mohammad Tantray, Javaid Hassan Baig, Noor Mohammad Sheikh, Mohammad Abbas Wani, Saifuddin Bhat, Asgar Ali, Yawar Dilawar Mir, and Yasir Reshi.

The party also lost some senior leaders including Rafi Ahmed Mir, Raja Aijaz Ali, Mohuidin Muntazir, Dilawar Mir, Peer Mohammad Hussain and Peerzada Mansoor Hussain.

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