J&K parties question NC move to hold protest in Delhi over Statehood

Several Opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), J&K Apni Party, Awami Ittehad Party, J&K People’s Conference and an NC Member of Parliament on Thursday, June 4, 2026, questioned the ruling National Conference (NC)’s move to hold a protest in New Delhi on the issue of State and constitutional guarantees.

PDP leader Yasir Reshi said, “The Dachigam meeting of the ruling NC legislators was predicted to be a big deal. It is not. The NC does not have a surprising Delhi history. It has a history of disappointing Kashmiris. We have seen this scenario before and there is little reason to expect a different ending this time.”

Mr. Reshi said people abandoned their faith in NC leaders in 1977 and 1996 and gave him a clear mandate. “But the NC chose political survival over people’s desires,” Mr. Reshi said.

J&K PC chief Sajad Lone called the NC protest “yet another attempt to divert attention from their failures”. “Try to divert attention away from the lies in the election manifesto. Yet another attempt to create sob stories,” Mr Lone said.

Criticizing the functioning of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, ruling NC MP Syed Agha Ruhullah said: “The struggle for restoration of the State of Jammu and Kashmir and constitutional guarantees should be based on consistency and credibility, not theatrics or optics.

He asked NC to come up with a road map. Mr. Ruhullah said, “Reach out to all of Kashmir and create a movement in line with your demands. We must build a democratic and peaceful movement until the rights that were taken away from us in 2019 are restored.”

Mr. Ruhullah, who supports PDP’s united front idea, also wanted the unification of parties in Jammu and Kashmir. “If political parties are serious, they should put aside electoral politics and focus entirely on the movement. People will trust such efforts only if they see sincerity and consistency,” he said.

Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) spokesperson Inam Un Nabi described the NC protest outside Parliament as a “delayed implementation”. “We sincerely hope that this marks the beginning of a sustained and result-oriented struggle. The issue should not be limited to Statehood alone. The political leadership of Jammu and Kashmir must go beyond Statehood and collectively demand the restoration of all constitutional, democratic and political rights that have been gradually taken away since 1953,” Mr. Nabi said.

J&K Apni Party vice-president Ghulam Hassan Mir said the NC was “diluting the real issue of having meaningful dialogue with the Centre”. “At this juncture, there is a need to hold talks with the Center to ensure that the issues and issues faced by Jammu and Kashmir are rectified. However, the NC has announced a sit-in protest in Delhi. If it was serious about resolving the issues, it would not have chosen this route,” Mr. Mir said.

He said there was a need to “first identify the problems that New Delhi needs to address, understand the problems people are experiencing and set achievable goals.”

People’s Democratic Front (PDF) president Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen said the NC should first make it clear what exactly it wants from the Centre. He said the NC leadership must clarify whether it is demanding restoration of the same State that existed before August 5, 2019, with constitutional safeguards and protections for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, or whether it is seeking a diluted form of the State without any guarantees, safeguards or special constitutional provisions.

He said both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had publicly assured the Parliament and the people of Jammu and Kashmir that the State would be restored at an appropriate time.

Meanwhile, J&K Grand Mufti Nasir-ul Islam said that the people of the region want to “live together with India” while having their own state. “The demand for a state is a democratic right, not separatism,” he said.

The political backlash followed a meeting chaired by Mr. Abdullah, where the party decided to stage a protest on the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament in New Delhi and press for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood and constitutional guarantees.