Former CM and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Monday said the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), a coalition of political parties in Jammu and Kashmir seeking the restoration of Article 370 abrogated in 2019, will contest the Assembly elections in state together. On the sidelines of an event in Srinagar, Farooq Abdullah answered a media question about the strategy of the PAGD for the polls, and said: “Yes, we will contest together, we won’t fight alone (on an individual party basis).”
Those who left the PAGD “were never part of it as they had joined the alliance with the intention of breaking the alliance”, Mr Abdullah further added. He stressed that the environment was conducive for the elections and appealed to the people to be patient. “A time will come when Allah Almighty will help the people to get out of the current situation. We want peace. We want to move forward with peace. We want animosity to end. Only through love will the country develop and diversity needs to be protected,” the former CM said.
Farooq Abdullah, speaking on the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, said that Kashmiris have always helped and supported the peaceful conduct of the Yatra. “It was a local Muslim from Anantnag, who discovered the Lingam and reported it to the Pandits. Muslims have never raised a finger against the religion of others,” he said. Slamming the communal tensions across the country, Mr Abdullah said: “If this country wants to develop, diversity has to be protected. This is a culturally and linguistically diverse country”.
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