SRINAGAR: The Peoples Conference on Thursday reaffirmed its commitment to restoring Article 370, Article 35A, and statehood for Jammu and Kashmir. In their election manifesto, released by party president Sajad Gani Lone and senior leaders, the party pledged to establish a judicial commission to investigate the rigging of the 1987 elections.
The manifesto outlines the party’s dedication to reinstating Jammu and Kashmir’s pre-2019 constitutional status. “The party will support all efforts within and outside legislative forums to restore the pre-2019 constitutional position of J&K,” the manifesto states.
The PC, which had challenged the abrogation of Article 370 in the Supreme Court, affirmed that it “stands by its commitment to undertake all exhaustive measures to pursue the cause of the restoration of Article 370 and the return of Statehood.”
The party promised to establish a judicial commission to investigate the rigging of the 1987 assembly elections. “We will set up a judicial commission to probe the murder of democracy in 1987 and hold its perpetrators accountable. It is our firm belief that the major socio-political instability affecting Kashmir today stems from that one cataclysmic event. The Great Robbery of 1987—of our rights, our young, our lives, and our collective destiny—needs to be addressed,” reads the manifesto.
The party pledged to end the blacklisting of Kashmiris by security agencies, noting that the practice, which prevents them from obtaining government jobs, passports, and contracts, is inhumane and regrettable.
The PC also committed to ending arbitrary property attachments, destructive demolition drives, and unwarranted terminations. The manifesto stated that the party “will strive to repeal the Public Safety Act (PSA) and other draconian laws that have been indiscriminately used to punish Kashmiris over the past three decades.”
Additionally, the party promised to revive the July 13 Martyrs’ Day holiday to preserve the cultural ethos associated with Kashmiris. The manifesto also included proposals for free electricity to BPL families, land ownership rights for poor dwellers, waiving off KCC loans, fast-track recruitments, revival of the old pension scheme, and a transfer policy for female ReT teachers.
