Mehbooba seeks restoration of reservation to safeguard Kashmiri youths’ future
Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti has called for the reinstatement of a key statutory order to ensure fair access for Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s youth to postgraduate medical courses.
According to Kashmir Media Service, in a post on X, Mufti stressed the importance of restoring SRO 49 (2018) of the J&K Reservation Act, which was introduced during her tenure as Chief Minister. The order ensured that 75% of seats in postgraduate medical courses were filled on open merit, with 25% reserved for underprivileged categories.
However, recent changes by the New Delhi backed lieutenant governor’s administration have drastically reduced the open merit quota to 30%, allocating 70% of seats to reserved categories—a move criticized for being disproportionate to IIOJK’s population ratios.
Highlighting the struggles of Kashmiri youth, who make up 65% of the population, Mufti pointed out that they have already endured years of political turmoil, violence, and instability. “Now, they face a fresh challenge of battling for merit and justice in admission processes,” she remarked, adding that the uncertainty created by the revised policy has jeopardized the careers of aspirants.
Mufti appealed for immediate intervention to reinstate the previous reservation framework to protect the interests of Kashmiri youth, emphasizing that equitable access to educ
