Srinagar, Jul 31: The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference (JKPC) on Friday intensified its offensive against PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, demanding an unconditional apology over her recent remarks on pellet firing, formally conferring upon her the title of “Pellet Queen” and rejecting what it termed the PDP’s persistent attempt to portray the People’s Conference as an “agency-backed” party.
The attack unfolded through a detailed statement by JKPC president and Handwara MLA Sajad Gani Lone, followed by a press conference addressed by Chief Spokesperson Advocate Bashir Ahmad Dar, Secretary Organisation Sheikh Mohammad Imran, Provincial President Kashmir Irfan Panditpuri and spokesperson Muneeb Quraishi.
Lone, as per a statement issued to Alfaaz – The Words, accused the PDP of attempting to shift the political discourse by targeting him and the People’s Conference instead of addressing the controversy surrounding Mehbooba Mufti’s remarks.
“All of a sudden, you have now found Sajad Lone, you found the People’s Conference, just so that attention can be diverted somehow,” he said.
Rejecting repeated allegations that the People’s Conference owed its existence to intelligence agencies, Lone remarked, “In Kashmir, not even Jammu and Kashmir, just in Kashmir, one party keeps saying 24 hours a day, ‘Agency people are breaking me.’”
According to Lone, the PDP itself had emerged by drawing leaders from different political formations, including Congress workers from South Kashmir, National Conference members from Central Kashmir and People’s Conference workers from North Kashmir.
“They were handed a khichdi, which is called a Coalition of Individuals. If any individual runs away from them, they drop to zero in that constituency,” he said, claiming the PDP’s vote share had declined from 36 per cent in 2014 to 2.5 per cent in 2024. “This is what you call a non-party. Agency wonders are exactly this. Rebels on rent are exactly this. People left, the party ended.”
Contrasting his party with the PDP, Lone maintained that the People’s Conference possessed an independent and stable political base.
“I promise, if we make Sheikh Imran Sahab contest from Kupwara tomorrow, we will get the same votes because it is our party’s vote. We do not have any agency vote,” he said.
Lone also sought to turn the PDP’s allegations back on its leadership, questioning what he described as the contradiction in Mehbooba Mufti’s narrative.
“Just imagine for five seconds, the agencies are doing this at Sajad Lone’s behest. The one you go to Delhi and call a separatist’s son. You are the Home Minister’s daughter. Meaning, a separatist’s son is scaring the Home Minister’s daughter?” he asked.
He further alleged that branding every political rival as an agency operative amounted to maligning Kashmir’s entire political class.
