PDP constitutes drafting committee for self-rule

Srinagar, Sept 21: The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a ruling coalition partner in Jammu and Kashmir, today constituted a drafting committee for preparing a position paper on its vision of self-rule for the strife-torn state.

The newly-constituted Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the party met here to approve the formation of the committee.

After its completion, the Committee will submit the position paper to the PAC and then be discussed at the Working Group on Centre-State relations constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Headed by former Deputy Chief Minister and senior leader Muzaffar Hussain Baigh, the Committee comprises Ghulam Hassan Mir, Sardar Rangil Singh, Tariq Hameed Karra, Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, Ved Mahajan and Advocate Murtaza Khan.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed laid down the guiding principles for formulation of the document. The self-rule as envisioned by the party should reveal its strategic approach for ultimate definition of relations between the state and the Centre, he added.

The meeting was informed that the Instrument of Accession and Article 370, as originally provided by decision-makers, would be the corner stones of the self-rule proposal.

''That spirit was subverted over a period of time and any re-definition of the Centre-State relationship must start from the point of the original association between Jammu and Kashmir and the Union of India,'' the party said.

The meeting was told that all the central Laws extended to the state should be judged for retention only on the touchstone for their beneficial effect on the lives of the people.

The meeting also agreed that whatever empowerment flows to the state as a result of the self-rule must be equally shared between all the regions and parts of Jammu and Kashmir.

It was also agreed that any formulation of self-rule must ultimately empower the people and improve their living conditions by getting translated into economic and developmental activities in which people from all the regions participate on equal footing.

The Drafting Committee would take into account these broad-lines and formulate the paper for thorough deliberations and discussions, both within and outside the state, to build consensus on self-rule.

The meeting recognised that the PDP's self-rule proposal would provide a rallying point for deliberations on peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue after discussions among the parties concerned.

UNI

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