Statehood restoration priority: JKAP chief

Srinagar, March 8

Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) president Altaf Bukhari on Monday said the priority of his party was restoration of statehood and holding of Assembly elections in the UT as only the country’s Parliament or the Supreme Court could restore Articles 370 and 35-A of the Constitution.

“I am not a dream merchant… We only talk about achievable things. Our priority is restoration of statehood to J&K and holding of early Assembly elections only,” Bukhari told reporters on the first anniversary of his newly-floated party here.

Bukhari said each individual in J&K wanted restoration of statehood. “Article 370 and Article 35-A were not just numbers for us. They were reflection of our emotions and sentiments. However, only Parliament or the Supreme Court can restore these provisions,” he said.

Bukhari enlisted several decisions taken by the Centre as his fledgling party’s successes in the past one year including reserving all jobs in J&K for domiciles of the UT.

“When we learnt that only class four jobs had been reserved for locas, we met the PM and the Home Minister. The next day all the jobs were reserved for J&K people,” Bukhari said.

He also listed the notification for implementation of central Forest Rights Act in J&K among the achievements. — PTI