Srinagar, Aug 5: Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board Chairperson Syed Darakhshan Andrabi on Wednesday said the abrogation of Article 370 had ended a prolonged phase of violence in Jammu and Kashmir and paved the way for peace, development and equal opportunities for its people.
Speaking to reporters after attending a BJP programme in Srinagar to mark the anniversary of the August 5, 2019 constitutional changes, Andrabi alleged that regional political parties had, under the cover of the erstwhile special status, encouraged separatism and unrest in the Union Territory for decades.
She claimed that the constitutional changes had freed Jammu and Kashmir from “bloodshed and violence” and enabled the region to move towards sustained peace, stability and development.
On the demand by some regional parties for the restoration of the special status, Andrabi said Parliament’s decision on Article 370 was final and irreversible, adding that attempts to revive the issue would not succeed.
She also said the people of Jammu and Kashmir now enjoy equal constitutional rights and opportunities as other citizens of the country and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for what she described as fulfilling his promise of restoring peace and accelerating development in the Union Territory.
