SRINAGAR: Former Pahalgam MLA Rafi Ahmad Mir has backed PDP president Mehbooba Mufti’s call for political parties in Jammu and Kashmir to set aside differences and jointly pursue issues concerning the region with the Centre.
Mir, speaking during a meeting with civil society stakeholders in Pahalgam, said J&K’s political leadership should develop an issue-based common platform and present a united position on matters affecting its people.
Mehbooba, speaking at the fifth Halla Bolle conclave in Srinagar, had urged political parties to draw lessons from Ladakh’s political unity and work together on Jammu and Kashmir’s political, social and economic concerns.
Mir said he had advocated such an approach for some time and had also discussed the need for political parties to jointly pursue issues of wider public importance with National Conference president Farooq Abdullah.
“We can have our political differences. We can contest elections against each other. But when it comes to the larger questions concerning Jammu and Kashmir, we must be able to sit together, keep our differences aside and speak with one voice,” he said.
He said issues such as constitutional safeguards, restoration of statehood, domicile rules, economic concerns and the continued incarceration of young people in jails outside J&K required sustained engagement with the Centre.
Mir argued that these matters could not be effectively pursued by one political party or leader alone and suggested that all parties identify areas of common concern and approach the Centre through a joint delegation.
He also said the Chief Minister’s engagement with the Centre as the principal channel for pursuing major political demands had not produced the desired results on key issues.
At the same time, Mir said any broader initiative would require the participation of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the ruling party, as well as opposition parties.
“This cannot become a political exercise of one party against another. If the idea is genuinely about Jammu and Kashmir, then everyone has to participate, including the government and the opposition,” he said.
Mir said the proposed platform should not be viewed as a new political alliance or an attempt to undermine individual parties, but as a mechanism for pursuing issues on which wider consensus exists.
Referring again to Ladakh, he said political parties in J&K should examine whether a similar collective approach could strengthen their engagement with the Centre.
He called on political parties to move beyond statements, sit together, identify common issues, prepare a joint memorandum and approach the Centre collectively.
