The National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-led central government has started its first major political outreach in the Kashmir valley since 5 August 2019, when the special status of the erstwhile state was revoked and its geography was bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Under this outreach, New Delhi convened an all-party meeting on July 24 with the valley’s elite club of political leaders—including the chiefs of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and National Conference (NC)—which was a significant development. After the meeting, New Delhi said that exercise of delimitation and peaceful elections were important signposts for the restoration of statehood. The political outreach comes days after the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, had a lengthy meeting with Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha in the presence of NSA Ajit Doval and the Union Home Secretary, Ajay Bhalla.
Kashmiris need good administration, not statehood or elections | ORF (orfonline.org)
