Saifuddin Soz urges NC to seek restoration of Article 370 alongside IIOJK’s statehood
Srinagar : In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), senior Congress leader Saifuddin Soz has urged the National Conference (NC) to raise the demand for the restoration of Article 370 along with statehood during its proposed protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
According to Kashmir Media Service, speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Soz said the NC should not confine its protest solely to the restoration of statehood to IIOJK, asserting that the people of the territory seek the restoration of the constitutional safeguards and special status that existed before August 5, 2019.
“The National Conference should not talk only about statehood at Jantar Mantar. Our issue is not merely statehood,” he said.
Soz maintained that statehood could not be permanently denied to Jammu and Kashmir, describing its conversion into a Union Territory as a temporary arrangement.
“Who can snatch statehood? Can anyone keep it a Union Territory forever? Whether it is the Prime Minister or the Home Minister, no one can permanently keep Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory,” he said.
The veteran Congress leader said the real issue for the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir is the restoration of internal autonomy and the constitutional guarantees that were withdrawn following the abrogation of Article 370.
“Our internal autonomy must definitely be restored on our own terms,” Soz added.
