Srinagar: Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari today said that the light of truthful politics that his party has ignited will eventually rid the people of exploitative politics in Jammu and Kashmir. He added that the Apni Party seeks the empowerment of the people and the restoration of their democratic rights.
He said that Apni Party’s mission is to guide people toward development, strengthen democracy, and ensure that their rights are upheld.
He made these statements while addressing an event at the party headquarters in Srinagar. A number of prominent political activists and workers formally joined the Apni Party at the event.
Reiterating his demand for dialogue with the people, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari said, “There is a trust deficit between the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of the country. To bridge this gap, the Centre must engage in dialogue. The distance between ‘Dil and Delhi’ only benefits two political parties. While they gain politically from this divide, our youth suffer. They are getting killed and jailed.”He said that the Apni Party aims to create an environment of peace and development and generate employment opportunities in Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking on the occasion, the party’s Senior Vice President, Ghulam Hassan Mir, took a dig at the ruling National Conference, saying, “The NC, which claims to respect the people and their vote, is in practice depriving them of their right to choose their representatives through Panchayat and ULB polls. Why should the people of a village have to approach an MLA for small developmental works that can be handled by the Panchayat itself? The Panchayat, block, and district system is the right way to address people’s problems. Why don’t the ruling party conduct these polls here?”
“The truth is that the same NC which claims to protect people’s rights is, in fact, depriving them of those very rights,” Mir added.
He said that the Apni Party will continue its fight for the restoration of people’s rights. He added, “We will fight against autocracy and the centralization of power in Jammu and Kashmir.”
Lashing out at the NC, Mir said that “The NC claimed in its manifesto that it would provide one lakh jobs soon after taking office. However, this turned out to be a misleading promise used to lure the people. I want to ask the NC: what have you done to create job opportunities over the past one and a half years?”
He further said, “They (the ruling party) claim that they will confront the Centre to secure people’s rights. But why should there be confrontation when these goals can be achieved peacefully, if there is genuine will? There is no need for conflict. What we need is constructive engagement to ensure our rights are protected—achieved not through animosity, but through cooperation and mutual understanding.”
Those who joined Apni Party in this special event included, political activist Waseem Sajad, Gojar Chohan, Former NC Sarpanch Trigam Constituency Sher Ali Khan, Mujtaba Jhu, Former PC Panch Trigam Constituency Fayaz Ahmad Wani, Bilal Ahmad Wani, Zardula Lone, Nobat Khan, Hafeez Lone, Rafaqat Khan, Rafiq Chohan, Mohammad Irfan, Hilal Ahmad, Adbul Rasheed, Zameer Lone, Bilal Lone, Jaleel Jhu, Roshan Din, Mohammad Haneef, Shabir Ahmad, Mudasir Rasool, Mohammad Iqbal, Farooq Ahmad, Maznoor Ahmad and others.
