Farooq Abdullah Urges Restoration of Jammu and Kashmir Statehood

National Conference President Farooq Abdullah reiterates the need to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, rejecting the Union territory status imposed after Article 370 abrogation. The state is preparing for upcoming Panchayat elections, highlighting ongoing political changes in the region.

In a renewed call for statehood, Farooq Abdullah, President of the National Conference, emphasized on Saturday that Jammu and Kashmir should no longer be a Union territory. "We don't want to accept the Union territory status. The time has come; it should be finished now. Statehood is a promise in Parliament and before the Supreme Court," Abdullah told ANI.

He also indicated that preparations are underway for the Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir, affirming that these will be conducted soon. The region has been without statehood since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, which led to its bifurcation into two Union territories.

The political landscape in Jammu and Kashmir continues to shift, with the NC-Congress alliance winning recent assembly polls after a long hiatus. Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was sworn in last month. Meanwhile, BJP, PDP, and other parties showed varying degrees of electoral success in the elections conducted last October.

(With inputs from agencies.)