Why Mufti Mohd Sayeed decided in 1999 to launch J&K PDP as a ‘mainstream’ political party: tells Mehbooba Ji

PDP President offers unconditional support to NC & Congress but also seeks support for PDP- Agenda: Will They ?

Daya Sagar

GOI, all Indian political parties and opinion makers need to closely look into the Contents of PDP Self Rule Framework 2008 & what PDP President Mehbooba Mufti has said in her Press Conference on 24-08-2024 while releasing the PDP Manifesto for 2024 Elections to J&K Legislative Assembly particularly to find that does PDP’s Self Rule Framework fall within the provisions of constitution of India (with erstwhile princely state of J&K having acceded to India as integral part of Union of India J&K) as professed by Mehbooba Mufti ? Answer to this Question should have been found immediately after 2008 when Self Rule Framework Document was released on 25 Oct 2008 , any how it must be done now GOI/ Indian leadership/ the people who wish to see permanent peace and stability in J&K .
PDP President tells why Mufti Mohd Sayeed felt the need for launching J&K PDP as a ‘mainstream’ political party. She said while releasing the election manifesto for 2024 Legisative Assembly Elections for UT of J&K :: ,” jeh ek maksad se bani hui hai .. kyon ki Jammu Kashmir kisi aam riyasat ki tarah nahin hai … hum ne PDP ki 1999 mein buniyaad rakhi …. Is bajah se ki hum chate the ki jo mainstream…. kyon ki hum chahte the … ke jo… hum chahte the ki.. jo main stream parties …….abhi tak toe esa hai, aaj bhi hai ki masla e Kashmir ke hal ke habale se aam tor par bo parties awaaj uthati hain jo mainstream mein nahin hoti hain , isiliye Mufti sahib ka tajurba .. jo Home Minister bhi rahe the hai…. ne jeh socha ki jo main stream paty jo Hindustan ke aaeen mein jakeenrakhti hai oosi party ko jammu Kashmir ke masle ke hal ke hawale se pesh kash karni hogi”
A few of the references from SELF RULE Frame Doc worth taking immediate note are :–

(i). Surely the reference of Autonomy in the PDP SELF Rule Doc is in the context of National Conference Autonomy where Para 59 says . “Autonomy refers to empowerment of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir vis-a-vis the Government of India. As such it becomes a part of the centre-state debate in the Indian federal set up. Self-rule on the other hand refers to the empowerment of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, vis-a-vis the nation of India.” And 60 says ” Further, autonomy is for an institution of governance, self-rule is for a region, or geography. Therefore, while autonomy doesn’t have a territorial element to it, the concept of self-rule has an element of territoriality to it.”
(ii) SELF RULE Framework ( SRDoc) in simple terms appears professing something like (a)naming the Pakistan Occupied areas of J&K as Pakistan ‘Administered J&K and the remaining part as Indian Administered Jammu & Kashmir ( b) joint control of India & Pakistan on some affairs concerning the State of Jammu & Kashmir. PARA 78 of SR Doc . The Regional Council of Greater Jammu and Kashmir (c) New Political Superstructure: Para 75 :Towards this end, the Legislative Council will be restructured to form the Regional Council of Greater Jammu and Kashmir (GJAK) . It will be a kind of a regional senate. Para 77. The Regional Council of Greater Jammu and Kashmir will have 50 members. The respective state assemblies of J&K and Pakistan Administered Kashmir shall elect 40 members. The remaining 10 members will be nominated, five each, by the Governments of India and Pakistan. Council for Greater Jammu and Kashmir having 5 members each as nominated by India and Pakistan (
(iii) Self Rule Framework suggests at Para 7 < Economic Integration > .
(iv) Self Rule framework at Para 8 says ” Stage II would be to make GJAK a regional free trade area, with no tariffs or barriers between with GJAK, while maintaining their own external tariff on imports from the rest of the world, including India and Pakistan. GJAK will set a common external tariff on imports from India and Pakistan.> . Para 9 says Validity of currencies of both India and Pakistan in two parts of J&K .
(v) Talking for Setting the stage for Resolution: Demilitarization Para 31 says < If this is the basic premise, then a decisive move has to be made to reduce not only the physical presence of the armed forces in the state but also their influence in the decision making at a political and administrative level. Even in the sphere of operational matters of security, the armed forces should be a part of the J&K police hierarchy rather than being a parallel institution of power. This entire change is what ‘we’ refer to under the rubric of “demilitarization”>”. Such like indicators would surely help to find answer to the question whether agendas/ proposals referred are with in the provisions of India .
It is not out of place to mention here that both Congress ( formed government along with PDP 2002-2008) and BJP ( has formed government with PDP on1st March 2015 ) appear to have found PDP Self Rule concept no way falling outside mainstream . And hence in some uncontested separatist culture prevailing in some pockets could inflict some damages on National Conference too.
Ideologies like as expressed in PDP Self Rule Framework for Resolution (2008) and J&K Peoples Conference vision “Achievable Nationhood 2006” fall in mainstream political considerations has to be examined otherwise unanswered questions would keep on confusing the innocent minds unless the promoters come up with re articulated documents publicly.

(The writer is a Sr Journalist & a known analyst of J&K affairs)