Altaf Bukhari welcomes decision of resuming Darbar Move in J&K

Srinagar, Oct 16: J&K Apni Party (JKAP) president Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Thursday welcomed the decision of resuming region’s age-old practice of Darbar Move by elected government of Jammu and Kashmir.

Terming the decision “commendable”, Bukhari said this historic practice of moving offices between Jammu and Kashmir regions continues to hold great social, cultural and economic significance.

He also appealed to chief minister Omar Abdullah to set a 50-year residency requirement for domicile eligibility.

Taking to micro-blogging site X (formerly Twitter) Bukhari said: “Resuming the traditional biannual Darbar Move practice is truly a commendable decision”.

“This historic practice of moving offices between regions may no longer be essential for ensuring administrative efficiency in today’s context, but it continues to hold great social, cultural, and economic significance. I congratulate the government on taking this decision,” he said.

“That said, I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate my appeal to the Chief Minister, @OmarAbdullah, to take yet another bold step — to set a 50-year residency requirement for domicile eligibility”.

“Since you also hold the revenue portfolio, changing the domicile rules lies entirely within your authority. Extending the residency requirement from the current 15 years to 50 years would be a remarkable contribution by this government,” Bukhari said on X.