‘Confrontation is not the way’: NC is diluting the possibility of engaging in a meaningful dialogue with the Centre, says Ghulam Hassan Mir

JK News Today

Srinagar, June 4: Former Cabinet Minister and Apni Party Senior Vice President Ghulam Hassan Mir on Thursday said that, by announcing a sit-in protest in Delhi, the ruling National Conference (NC) is essentially diluting the real issue of engaging in meaningful dialogue with the Centre.

He made this remark today while talking with media persons here.

Ghulam Hassan Mir said that Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, while addressing a convention in Jammu recently, said that just as the leaders and representatives of Ladakh and Kargil united to secure a positive response from the Centre on their demands, the people and political stakeholders of Jammu and Kashmir must also come together and engage constructively with the Government of India to ensure that their concerns and genuine demands are addressed.

Mir further said, “We have been appealing for the unity for long. We have repeatedly said that whoever takes the lead in forging such unity will have our full support. That is why we welcomed the PDP’s recent outreach to political parties for a united effort. However, the NC’s actions today reflect a familiar tendency towards political one-upmanship rather than genuine consensus-building.”

Expressing his displeasure over NC’s announcement of a sit-in in Delhi, Ghulam Hassan Mir said, “NC has a history and a pattern of misleading people with lofty promises for its own political and electoral dividends.”

He went on to say, “At this juncture, there is a need to engage in talks with the Centre to ensure the redressal of the issues and problems facing Jammu and Kashmir. However, the National Conference has announced a sit-in protest in Delhi. Had it been serious about resolving the issues of J&K, it would not have chosen this path.”

“There is a need to first identify the issues that must be addressed by New Delhi, understand the problems people are suffering from, and set achievable goals. Thereafter, all stakeholders should jointly engage with the Centre on these matters. Had this approach been adopted, we might have received a positive response from New Delhi as well. However, NC has once again demonstrated that their sole concern is power, while people’s suffering and genuine issues remain the least of their priorities,” Mir added.

“By announcing a sit-in protest in Delhi, the NC is diluting the genuine approach of identifying people’s issues, setting achievable goals, and engaging constructively with the Centre,” he said.

Ghulam Hassan Mir stressed the need of a constructive engagement with the Centre to ensure the redressal of our grievances and the resolution of our issues. “Confrontation is not the answer. Unfortunately, the NC will never allow that to happen,” he added.