Will support that party at centre which restores statehood: Apni Party President

Pulwama: Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari on Sunday said that his party will support that party at Centre that guarantees the release of incarcerated youth and restore the democratic rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Talking to reporters in south Kashmir’s Trichil village of south Kashmir's Pulwama district, Bukhari said, “I will support the party at Center that will restore our statehood, release our youth and provide them with a chance to live with dignity,” he said.

In response to a question regarding the recent terror attack in Poonch, Bukhari said that such occurrences did not necessarily reflect the presence of militancy.

“Such isolated incidents may continue to take place. There are some elements who participate in the electoral process on one hand, but desire such incidents on the other hand,” he said.

Bukhari said that New Delhi was taking steps to connect with people of Jammu and Kashmir. “It was for the first time that the Home Minister of India said that AFSPA will be revoked and
the Prime Minister himself stated that the statehood will be restored,” he said.

Bukhari said that he guaranteed the protection of land and jobs from New Delhi. He
said that people could not see the distinction between the pre-and-post 2019 peri-
ods because safeguards for land and jobs were ensured by him.

Earlier, while addressing a public rally, Bukhari affirmed his commitment to securing the release of
incarcerated youth and get the ban lifted on the institutions of particular schools of thought.

“It is my promise that I will get the incarcerated youth and religious leaders out of jails. We are living in a secular country and every community here has a right to preach his religion,” he said.

Launching a tirade on National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party, Bukhari said that when these parties signed an agreement with New Delhi and formed a government with it then it was considered as acceptable. “But when I side with New Delhi, I am labelled a B-team” , he said.

He said that both NC and PDP were the part of BJP and there was no distinction between Vajpayee’s BJP or Modi’s BJP. “The BJP is an ideological party. There is no distinction between the two BJPs,” he said.

Bukhari also criticised the PDP’s past demand of introducing double currency. “

Now Where such demands have gone”, he said.