Will join NC protest if Article 370 restoration, lifting ban on Jamaat added to agenda: PDP

The People’s Democratic Party, which set out the condition of participating in the protest planned for the restoration of the state in Jammu and Kashmir at the National Conference held in Delhi on Monday, July 20, 2026, said in a statement on Saturday, July 18, 2026, that the restoration of Article 370, the release of political prisoners and the lifting of the Jamaat-e-Islami ban should also be on the agenda.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, after discussing the issue, said it did not seem appropriate to join the protest as the party was only demanding statehood.

“After careful consideration and discussion with my senior colleagues, I have concluded that it would be inappropriate for us to participate in a protest whose raison d’être is solely and solely the demand for statehood,” he said.

In a letter to National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba said PDP would join the Jantar Mantar protest only if restoration of Article 370, release of political prisoners and lifting of the Jamaat ban were at the center of its agenda.

“Protesting together for statehood alone will only legitimize and sanitize the illegal act of revoking Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and can be seen as a direct endorsement of August 5, the darkest day in our collective history,” Ms. Mufti said in her two-page letter. he wrote.

Mr. Abdullah invited leaders from across Jammu and Kashmir’s political spectrum to join the National Conference-led protest at Jantar Mantar on the first day of the Monsoon session of Parliament to press for the demand for restoration of the state.

Ms. Mufti said it would be “a grave injustice, a disservice and a complete betrayal” to reduce the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to “mere petty, parochial, parochial and harmful demand for statehood”.

“requesting something short [special status] This would mean a shameful surrender of our rights and dignity; “This is an unforgivable footnote in the annals of Jammu and Kashmir history that will condemn each and every one of us,” he said.

The PDP chief said this “half-hearted” demand reflects and legitimizes the BJP’s “obnoxious narrative of subordinating Article 370”.

He said the overwhelming mandate given by the people to the National Conference was not only to help restore the state.

“If that were the case, the BJP and its surrogates would have achieved much greater electoral success,” he added.

Ms. Mufti said that although there was no response to her earlier attempt to form an all-party front on the lines of the Ladakh movement, she reiterated her request to Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to take the lead in this regard.

“Perhaps the first step would be to convene an all-party meeting, including representatives from various sections of civil society, to discuss and resolve a number of issues that are disempowering and dehumanizing the people of Jammu and Kashmir. An honest and meaningful political process can only begin by addressing core issues, including the call for the release of political prisoners and the lifting of the ban on socio-political organisations, including Jamaat-e-Islami,” he said.

The former Prime Minister said that even the restoration of the state cannot be treated as a one-time event.

“This requires sustained political effort and engagement, which Prime Minister Omar Abdullah must initiate. Such an effort will give a much-needed ray of hope to our deeply disappointed people that there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel,” he added.