JAMMU, JAN 21: PDP president and former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti emphasized that Kashmir remains incomplete without Kashmiri Pandits, urging their return to the Valley. She outlined her party’s singular focus: restoring peace in Jammu and Kashmir through dialogue and development.
Speaking to media in Jammu, Mufti strongly rejected accusations from the National Conference and BJP linking her demand for divisional status to Pir Panjal and Chenab Valley with the controversial Dixon Plan. “This is purely an administrative proposal to ensure balanced development and better governance for these neglected regions,” she clarified.
Mufti reiterated PDP’s commitment to dialogue, referencing her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s successful engagement during the Vajpayee era. “We opened cross-border routes like Poonch-Rawalakote and Uri-Muzaffarabad. Our agenda includes improving the security situation so the Army can return to barracks, resolving power project disputes, and ensuring J&K’s prosperity and unity,” she said.
Responding to National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah’s remarks, Mufti noted, “I respect him as J&K’s tallest leader, but he seems to have forgotten his father Sheikh Abdullah was arrested for supporting that formula.” She firmly distanced PDP from the 1950 Dixon Plan, proposed by UN representative Sir Owen Dixon to resolve the J&K dispute.
Mufti highlighted the unique challenges of Pir Panjal, which bears the brunt of India-Pakistan border tensions, and the environmentally fragile Chenab Valley prone to natural disasters. “People must be empowered. Democracy demands government reach the public. My father spent his life keeping J&K united,” she asserted.
The PDP leader accused the BJP of hypocrisy, noting they had already bifurcated the erstwhile state by carving out Ladakh in 2019 and pushing for Jammu’s separate statehood. “They claim we’re implementing the Dixon Plan by proposing divisional status, yet they redrew Anantnag’s parliamentary boundaries to include Poonch and Rajouri,” she charged.
On the Kashmiri Pandit issue, Mufti appealed directly to the community: “Kashmir is incomplete without you. The Valley awaits your return.” She recently urged Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to reserve assembly seats for KPs rather than nominating members.
“Let them contest elections and seek votes. Muslims will vote for them—that’s how communities unite,” Mufti said, emphasizing grassroots reconciliation.
